OL Reign Selects Six Players in 2022 NWSL Draft

OL Reign made six selections in the 2022 NWSL Draft. The club selected Zsani Kajan, Claudia Dickey, Ryanne Brown, Kaile Halvorsen, Olivia Van der Jagt and Marley Canales.

OL Reign selected Zsani Kajan with the 8th overall pick in the 2022 NWSL Draft. Kajan a Budapest, Hungary native, played at St. John’s University, where she was a mainstay in the lineup. A tenacious forward, she is a star at both the college and national team level. She earned her first full national team cap with Hungary at just 16 years old. In her last season with St. John’s, she played in 23 games for the Red Storm. She scored 17 goals and added six assists in her 1,725 minutes of playing time for the team. Over her entire five-season career with the Red Storm, she amassed almost 6,000 minutes played and scored 45 goals and notched 11 assists.

With the 10th overall pick, OL Reign acquired defender Phoebe McClernon from the Orlando Pride. In exchange, OL Reign traded its 10th round pick in the 2022 NWSL Draft, its natural 2nd round pick in the 2023 NWSL Draft, forward Leah Pruitt and defender Celia. OL Reign then traded the 15th overall pick to Washington Spirit for $85,000 in allocation money.

With the 20th overall pick, OL Reign selected Claudia Dickey, goalkeeper from Charlotte, North Carolina. She played and started in 18 matches this season for the University of North Carolina. She only allowed 13 goals throughout the season and notched a goal of her own in UNC’s 3-0 win over Clemson in September. In addition, she earned third team all-conference honors. In her career with UNC, Dickey played 81 matches for a total of over 5,800 minutes. She earned an impressive goals-against average of 0.53 and tallied two goals, both of which were penalty kicks.

OL Reign selected Ryanne Brown, a forward out of Wake Forest University, with the 21st overall pick. She started all 14 games and recorded second-most minutes played her senior season with 1,248 minutes. She finished the season tied for second on the team with three goals and in a three-way tie for first with two assists. She played at least 65 minutes in every game, including the full 90 or more eight times. She is a very versatile player and saw action at the forward, midfield and right back positions.

With the 32nd overall pick, the Reign selected Kaile Halvorsen, a forward out of Santa Clara University. Halvorsen, from Hawaii Kai, Hawaii, played 75 total games for Santa Clara and scored seven goals and added three assists. In her final season with Santa Clara, she started in 15 of the 23 games she played and scored three goals and two assists. She was named to the All-West Coast Conference Second-Team.

With the 33rd overall pick, OL Reign selected Olivia Van der Jagt. The Kent, Washington native played as a midfielder at University of Washington. During the 2021 season, Van der Jagt started and played in 18 matches for the Huskies and played a full 90 minutes 14 times. She scored three goals throughout the season and added two assists in her 1,668 minutes of playing time. Her senior season, she was named to the All-Pac-12 Third Team and Scholar All-Region Second-Team. Van der Jagt also set a Husky record for most games played in a career with 88. In her career, she scored 12 goals and notched nine assists.

With its final pick of the 2022 NWSL Draft, OL Reign selected Marley Canales, a midfielder out of UCLA. Canales was a third-team All-Pac-12 selection. She was also one of four players to start in all 20 games for UCLA. The midfielder was ranked fifth on the team with three goals and three assists in the 2021 season. She was the captain of the UCLA team and saw over 100 minutes in three games and led all UCLA field players in minutes played with a career-high of 1,735.