UNC players selected No. 1 and No. 2 in NWSL Draft, as six total Tar Heels are drafted

ANAHEIM, Calif. – Three Tar Heels were selected in the first round of the 2024 NWSL Draft, including a pair with the top two picks. Ally Sentnor was the No. 1 overall pick followed by Savy King at No. 2, while Maycee Bell was selected at No. 14.

In the second round, Sam Meza was the 17th player chosen with Avery Patterson as the 19th overall selection. Julia Dorsey was the 40th overall section taken in the third round.

Sentnor will join the Utah Royals with King headed to Bay FC for its inaugural season as the league’s 14th expansion club. Bell will become part of reigning NWSL champion NJ/NY Gotham FC and Meza will join Seattle Reign FC. Patterson was selected by the Houston Dash and Dorsey will stay local, having been picked up by North Carolina Courage.

Carolina’s three first-round draftees in Sentnor, King and Bell set a new NWSL record for most players selected by a single school in the Draft’s 12-year history. UNC’s six players chosen in this year’s draft class ties the NWSL record for most players selected in a Draft from a single school.

Sentnor joins current USWNT stars Crystal Dunn (2014, Washington Spirit) and Emily Fox (2021, Racing Louisville FC) as No. 1 overall selections in program history.

Sentnor and King become the second Tar Heel duo to receive the first and second overall Draft picks in UNC history, joining Dunn (No. 1, Washington Spirit) and Kealia Ohai (No. 2, Houston Dash) in 2014.

More information about Tar Heels in the history of the NWSL Draft can be found here.

The 2024 NWSL Draft took place on Friday, Jan. 12, at the U.S. Coaches Convention in Anaheim, California. The Draft featured four rounds, totaling 56 picks with 14 selections in each round.

ALLY SENTNOR (Round 1, Pick 1, 1st Overall, Utah Royals)

A year after captaining the U-20 team in the 2022 World Cup, Sentnor played in all five games for the stars and stripes at the 2023 Concacaf Women’s U-20 Championship, earning four starts. She totaled four goals and two assists to lead the USA, which included a brace in a 5-2 win over Canada to win the group.

Returning to Chapel Hill for her redshirt-sophomore season, Sentnor started all 23 contests and concluded the season with a team-high 11 goals, seven assists and 29 points, including four goals and three assists in the NCAA Tournament. A native of Hanson, Mass., she was named the ACC Midfielder of the Year, also garnering United Soccer Coaches Third Team All-America, All-Atlantic Region First Team and All-ACC First Team praise.

“Ally has been riding an aggressive player development rocket ship for the past two years. We knew she was special when we recruited her. And this past season, her game went through the roof,” said UNC head coach Anson Dorrance. “Her improvement every year is one of the greatest of any player I have ever coached in my life, including the full national team players I coached for eight years. She is a consummate professional already and is going to make her mark because her commitment in training has been incredible every single day of her soccer life.”

Additionally, Sentnor was nominated for the prestigious U.S. Soccer Young Female Player of the Year award and was recently named to the U-20 Youth National Team training camp roster, the first step toward the 2024 FIFA U-20 World Cup.

SAVY KING (Round 1, Pick 2, 2nd Overall, Bay FC)

A fast and physical defender, King was one of the country’s top players at the U-17 WYNT level before moving up to the U-20s in 2023. She started all five games at the Concacaf Women’s U-20 Championship last June, helping the U.S. to a runner-up finish while qualifying for the 2024 U-20 World Cup.

The West Hills, Calif. native began her freshman season at Carolina soon after, starting all 23 matches and leading the team with 2,030 minutes at center back. She was named to the All-ACC Second Team, ACC All-Freshman Team and United Soccer Coaches All-Atlantic Second Team in addition to twice being tabbed the ACC Defensive Player of the Week during her lone season in Chapel Hill.

“I couldn’t believe how good Savy was during her freshman season. We played a tough schedule, and she did not blink,” said Dorrance. “From her first game on she was one of the best players on the field in every single game. She checks every single box: athletic ability, competitive fire and work ethic. She will not only be an extraordinary pro, but if she commits herself to the task, she has a shot at the next World Cup roster playing next to Naomi Girma at center back for the United States.”

Like Sentnor, King was also nominated for the prestigious U.S. Soccer Young Female Player of the Year award. She will join Sentnor later this month on the U-20 Youth National Team training camp roster as the USA prepares for the FIFA U-20 World Cup this summer.

MAYCEE BELL (Round 1, Pick 14, 14th Overall, NJ/NY Gotham FC)

Regarded as one of the top defenders in the nation – and with good reason – Bell anchored a Carolina defense that allowed only 7.4 shots and 0.83 goals per game during the 2023 season as a redshirt-senior. Serving as team co-captain this past year, the Wichita, Kansas native was named to the All-Atlantic Region First Team and All-ACC Second Team.

Bell capped off her time in Carolina blue with 77 games played, 76 starts, seven goals, four assists, eight points and over 6,500 minutes. She collected four ACC Defensive Player of the Week honors throughout her career and was tabbed the league’s Freshman of the Year. She was also called up to the U.S. U-20 National Team training camp in December 2018.

“Maycee is an extraordinary talent, and the sky’s the limit for her. She can go to any level that she wants in this game,” said Dorrance. “She is wonderfully athletic with an incredible combination of height and vertical jump for the position she’ll play at a professional level. She’s good technically and tactically and possesses good leadership qualities. If she commits herself, she could be one of the best center backs in the league within two to three years.

SAM MEZA (Round 2, Pick 3, 17th Overall, Seattle Reign FC)

An All-American midfielder from Dallas, Texas, Meza started all but one of the 72 games in which she played in during her incredible college career. She logged nearly 4,500 minutes on the pitch and recorded seven goals, 10 assists and 24 points, even notching five game-winners. Also strong defensively, she helped keep six opponents without a shot on goal during a half during UNC’s 2023 slate.

Meza found herself on the MAC Hermann Trophy Watch List and was named to the All-ACC Second Team as a senior. She was chosen for the U.S. U-23 National Team squad in June 2022 for the U-23 Three-Nations Tournament, also having been called up to U-17 and U-20 national teams.

“Sam is the reason we all pay money to watch soccer. She is extraordinarily creative and shockingly impactful defensively despite her small size,” said Dorrance. “Her creativity and skill set separate herself from other elite players. The Mexican full national team already wants her, but I would love for her to establish herself as an elite pro so the United States will come and embrace her.”

AVERY PATTERSON (Round 2, Pick 5, 19th Overall, Houston Dash)

Patterson, a forward, finished her illustrious four-year career at UNC with 27 goals, 13 assists and 67 points while starting all 72 matches she played in. The team co-captain had nine goals and 20 points as a senior to earn Third Team All-America, All-Atlantic Region First Team and All-ACC First Team honors. She also totaled 13 points behind four goals and five assists in four NCAA Tournament berths.

Hailing from Jacksonville, Florida, Patterson was named to the U.S. U-23 Women’s National Team in March 2023. She scored four goals – all in the first half – and added an assist against Puerto Rico in the 2022 U-20 Concacaf World Championships during her first cap. With that performance, she became the seventh player in tournament history to score four goals in a single game.

“Avery has excelled in the Competitive Cauldron, the very difficult player development environment that we designed for her four seasons at UNC. She finished first in the competitive cauldron her last three years, a near impossible feat in light of all of our talent,” said Dorrance. “That demonstrates an extraordinary commitment to dominating everything she does in our game. She can score goals, create goals, head the ball, shoot with power and defend. She checks every box and is that rare player that is complete.”

JULIA DORSEY (Round 3, Pick 12, 40th Overall, North Carolina Courage)

An elite defender, Dorsey was a key part of UNC’s national championship game run in 2022. She played 528 of a possible 560 minutes during the NCAA Tournament that season, including every minute of the last four games, and scored the game-winner in the national semifinals. Forced to sit the 2023 season out due to injury, Dorsey’s four-year career saw 69 games, 58 starts, two goals, three assists, seven points and just over 5,200 minutes.

A two-sport athlete, Dorsey was an integral member of the UNC women’s lacrosse team that won the national championship in 2022 after an undefeated season. She is the sixth student-athlete to have played both soccer and lacrosse at North Carolina. The Baltimore, Maryland native joins Sarah Dacey as the only two to turn professional in soccer, but Dorsey is the only one drafted into the NWSL.

“Julia is one of the hidden gems in this Draft. I have spoken to several coaches and I was dying for them to pick her,” said Dorrance. “Given her lacrosse background, she is an expert at staying between the ball and the middle of the goal, which is her best quality. She is nearly impossible to beat off the dribble. She is such a talented athlete that she was within 16 seconds against UCLA in 2022 of being a two-sport national champion.”