The National Womens Soccer Leagues August announcement that it was doing away with the draft might have gone unnoticed by fans of the San Diego Wave, who strruggled through a nightmarish summer (and season).
Wednesday, the Wave became the first team in the NWSL to sign an active college player rather than draft her.
University of Texas star forward Trinity Byars and the Wave have agreed to a two-year contract through the 2026 season, with a mutual option for 2027, the club announced Thursday. Byard is the Longhorns career leader in goals (47), game-winning goals (17) and hat tricks (four). She was named Big 12 Forward of the Year as a junior and Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year as a sophomore. In 2022, she was named to the NCAAs Best Starting XI team.
A native of Richardson, Texas, Byars was ranked the No. 1 overall player and No. 1 forward by Top Drawer Soccer coming out of high school.
“We are thrilled to welcome Trinity to the San Diego Wave,’ said Wave Sporting Director and General Manager Camille Ashton. “Trinity has proven to be one of the most dynamic and exciting forwards at the collegiate level. Her ability to play between the lines and threaten in behind is special and we believe she will be an incredible addition to our team.
In August, the NWSL announced it had entered into a new collective bargaining agreement that was doing away with the draft in favor of free-agent signings and a hard salary cap that starts at $3.3 million per team in 2025 and rises to $5.1 millon in 2030. As part of the new deal, players mininum salaries will rise from $48,500 in 2025 to $82,500 by 2030.
The Wave are coming off the most disappointing season in franchise history. The club finished 6-13-7, good for 10th in a 14-team league, and missed the eight-team NWSL playoffs.
Franchise player Alex Morgan retired, and the club traded original Wave player Abby Dahlkemper and agreed to release Sofia Jakobsson. Olympian Jaedyn Shaw missed a large chunk of the season with injury. General manager Molly Downtain resigned as general manager and was replaced by Ashton. President Jill Ellis fired coach Casey Stoney, replacing her first with Paul Buckle and then former U.S. National Team star Landon Donovan.
San Diego FC hires 4 to front office
The expansion San Diego FC of Major League Soccer announced a handful of hires on Thursday.
Mark Prizant has been named the clubs assistant sporting director, Kenneth Heiner–Møller is San Diegos new technical director, Luke Jenkinson is head of human performance and Joe Jesseau is operations director.
All four men will report to SDFC Sporting Director Tyler Heaps.
“Mark, Kenneth, Luke, and Joe bring invaluable expertise that will help us create a cohesive, competitive, and forward-thinking environment for our players and staff., Heaps said. Their combined experience and diverse backgrounds across top clubs and international competition is key to building a strong foundation for long-term success at SDFC.”
Prizant was most recently the director of scouting and recruitment for Inter Miami of MLS.
Heiner–Møller was the technical director for the Danish FA. Jenkinson comes from D.C. United, where he was the MLS clubs high-performance director. Jesseau was most recently with the LA Galaxy, where he oversaw all non-technical aspects of the MLS clubs soccer department.
San Diego FC officials are in the middle of building the clubs roster ahead of its inaugural season. The club will play its first-ever home match on March 1 at Snapdragon Stadium.