OL Reign acquire defender Phoebe McClernon from Orlando

There were a large number of trades during the NWSL Draft on Saturday, many of which involved future picks or allocation money moving around. But one trade which involved OL Reign saw the departure of two players to the Orlando Pride, with a promising young defender coming to Seattle in return.

OL Reign parted with the 10th overall pick, a 2022 2nd round draft pick, defender Celia Jimenez Delgado, and forward Leah Pruitt, and in exchange are welcoming defender Phoebe McClernon.

McClernon, a graduate of Virginia, was drafted by Orlando 14th overall in the 2020 NWSL College Draft. However, following Orlando’s withdrawal from the 2020 Challenge Cup, she was released from her contract and signed with Växjö in Sweden, where she made 12 appearances. She returned to Orlando for the 2021 season and made 21 appearances. She was named to the NWSL Team of the Month for May 2021, and she played both right back and centerback for the Pride.

Celia was drafted 36th overall in the 2018 NWSL College draft and made her first appearance for the club in 2019, appearing in 13 games that season and scoring one goal. She made four appearances in the 2020 Challenge Cup and played in all four 2021 Challenge Cup games, scoring another goal. She made 12 appearances during the 2021 NWSL regular season, earning one assist, but was sidelined midseason with an injury and ultimately lost her starting right fullback spot to Sofia Huerta.

Pruitt was traded from North Carolina to the Reign ahead of the 2020 season. She appeared in all four Fall Series matches for the Reign in 2020, scoring one goal. In 2021, she played in all four Challenge Cup matches and scored one goal. She also played in 11 regular-season matches, but was generally an unused sub later in the season.