Kiki Pickett, a former Dos Pueblos High soccer star and a two-time national champion at Stanford, was the No. 4 pick overall in the 2021 National Women’s Soccer League Draft on Wednesday.
Pickett was taken by Kansas City, which made a trade with Sky Blue FC for the fourth pick. In exchange for the pick, Sky Blue receives $175,000 in allocation money.
“Kiki is a player we had ranked very high on our draft board,” said Kansas City head coach Huw Williams of the defender. “She is a great fit for our system, she’s explosive and can attack from the back.”
Pickett won NCAA College Cup national titles with Stanford in 2017 and 2019 and is a three-time Pac-12 champion (2017-2019). She started every game in her 2019 season and converted the game-winning penalty kick against North Carolina in the 2019 College Cup final.
Pickett is in her senior year at Stanford. She announced earlier Wednesday that she was turning pro but also planning to play for Stanford in the rescheduled NCAA spring season before reporting to her new team.
“I am so honored to have this opportunity during these uncertain times and circumstances,” she said on Twitter. “I’m very excited to have one last chance to compete for another championship with my closest friends. I want to enjoy these last moments in a Cardinal uniform before playing professionally.”
North Carolina defender Emily Fox was drafted No. 1 by the expansion Racing Louisville. Forward Trinity Rodman, 18, the daughter of former NBA star Dennis Rodman, was taken by the Washington Spirit as the No. 2 pick, and forward Brianna Pinto of North Carolina went third to Sky Blue FC.
— Noozhawk sports editor Barry Punzal can be reached at bpunzal@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk Sports on Twitter: @NoozhawkSports. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.