Red Stars get NWSL Defender of Year finalist Staab for draft pick

By Jeff Vorva
Correspondent

The Chicago Red Stars may not have a general manager, but whomever is pulling the strings and making the big decisions had a few busy days last week.

After adding Masaki Hemmi to the mix as an assistant coach, the Stars wheeled and dealed and set up a revolving door during the NWSL draft on Jan. 12.

So, let’s sort out who is coming and going.

Coming

• Sam Staab, 26, came to Chicago in a trade with Washington. The Stars gave up the draft’s third overall pick for her.

Staab was a finalist for the league’s Defender of the Year award in 2023. She is also on the field a lot, as she is a three-time NWSL Ironwoman, a designation to players who play every available minute. She holds the league record for most consecutive regular-season starts with 90. The previous record was 72.

The San Diego native earned Best XI of the month honors in March, April and May in 2023.

• Lailanni Nesbeth was drafted with the 10^th overall pick out of Florida State. The Stars traded allocation money to North Carolina to get the pick.

Nesbeth started 21 games last season for the Seminoles, scoring two goals with five assists in 1,617 minutes.

During her career at FSU, she was on national championship teams in 2021 and 2023, made the NCAA Tournament All-Tournament in 2023 and was an All-Atlantic Coast Conference second-teamer in 2022 and 2023.

• Jameese Joseph was selected in the second round with the 15^th overall pick out of North Carolina State. She started in all 17 matches in the 2023 season, recording three goals and one assist.

Before joining the Wolfpack, Joseph was called up to the U.S. Women’s Youth National Team camp in 2016.

• Hannah Anderson, a third-round pick from Texas Tech, was Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year in 2023.

• Bea Franklin, also taken in the third round out of Arkansas, was SEC Midfielder of the Year.

• Celia Maynor, picked in the fourth round, was an all-Big Ten player at Michigan State.

Going

• Arin Wright, a longtime Red Star, requested a trade to be closer to home and was dealt to Louisville for the 15^th pick used to select Joseph.

In nine seasons with the Red Stars, Wright has played in 173 matches with 161 starts and scored three goals with 12 assists across all competitions. In 2023, Wright made her 141st regular-season start with the club, setting a new record for most starts in club history. Wright also served as team captain in 2023 while goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher was away from the team.

• Casey Krueger, a Naperville native, signed a free agency deal with Washington. That one seemed to raise fans’ ire.

Generally, Red Stars fans are a positive group on social media, but when the team wished Krueger well on X, one poster said, “You know you can sign players and keep players, right?”

“This is getting absolutely insane. How about we just start signing the incredible players we already have to new contracts?” tweeted another.

Krueger, one of the best international defenders, had been with the Red Stars since 2016.

• Yuki Nagasato, who had two stints with the Red Stars, inked a free agency deal with Houston. She scored seven goals over the 2022 and 2023 seasons.

In limbo

• Mallory Swanson, one of the best scorers on the planet, is coming off an injury. She is a free agent, and there are rumblings she will sign a deal with the Stars because her husband, Dansby Swanson, is the Chicago Cubs starting shortstop. But until she actually signs, all bets are off.

• Ella Stevens is a midfielder who has been with the club since 2020 and is a free agent. She has eight goals in 29 appearances.

• Emily Boyd is a free agent goalie who has been with the Red Stars since 2018, making 16 appearances.