CHICAGO — The 2015 NWSL Draft saw the Red Stars with seven total picks that would eventually lead to four players selected in the first round destined to become current members of the Chicago first team. 

After drafting Stephanie McCaffrey with their natural fifth overall pick, the Red Stars selected Arin Wright (formerly Gilliland) out of Kentucky with the eighth overall pick having acquired the pick via trade with FC Kansas City. Wright has made 106 appearances for the Red Stars so far, securing a spot in the league’s Second XI at the conclusion of her rookie season. In 2016, Wright would end the season on the Best XI and be named a finalist for the Defensive Player of Year award. 

 Chicago would then make another trade, acquiring the ninth and final pick in the first round from the Boston Breakers to select Danielle Colaprico from Virginia, where she’d leave as the program’s all-time leader in assists and appearances. To date, Colaprico has made 120 appearances and has scored five goals. In her rookie season, she was named the league’s Rookie of the Year and began her three-year streak being a member of the league’s second XI (‘15-’17). 

The first two overall picks of the 2015 Draft are now also part of the Red Star’s roster, with Morgan Gautrat (formerly Brian) and Sarah Woldmoe (formerly Killion) being selected first and second overall respectively.  

 Gautrat, selected out of Virginia by the Houston Dash, was acquired by the Red Stars in a 2017 trade and has since made 34 total appearances for Chicago. Also a member of the U20 World Cup championship team, Gautrat became the youngest member of the 2015 Women’s World Cup-winning roster on her way to 83 total caps tallying six goals and 11 assists while becoming a two-time World Cup champion at the senior level. 

 Woldmoe, drafted by Sky Blue FC out of UCLA, was traded to Chicago this year. Woldmoe has made 116 total NWSL appearances, playing in all of Sky Blue FC’s six 2020 Challenge Cup games and four Fall Series games, and has 11 career goals to go along with nine assists. Woldmoe was also a part of the same U.S U20 Women’s World Cup team that rostered fellow 2015 draftee Gautrat, as well as Julie Ertz, Vanessa DiBernardo, and Kealia Watt.