January 13, 2024 – National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) – Racing Louisville FC News Release
Racing Louisville FC’s Reilyn Turner
(Racing Louisville FC, Credit: NWSL)
Racing Louisville FC made four picks in Friday night’s NWSL Draft, presented by Ally, with the bunch headlined by reigning Pac-12 Conference Forward of the Year Reilyn Turner.
The former UCLA star Turner went to Racing Louisville at No. 6 overall before the club selected Ohio State forward Emma Sears (No. 28, second round), Iowa defender Sam Cary (No. 48, fourth round) and Texas Tech goalkeeper Madison White (No. 54, fourth round).
Racing also completed another major piece of business minutes ahead of the draft, trading the 15th overall pick to the Chicago Red Stars along with $125,000 in allocation money in exchange for Arin Wright. The veteran defender and Bluegrass State native starred collegiately at the University of Kentucky, where she’s in the athletics hall of fame.
“I can’t wait to start working with this group,” said Racing head coach Bev Yanez. “We worked hard identifying players we felt would fill our specific roster needs the best. We feel we were able to add to our squad on the pitch and in the locker room. I am looking forward to the start of preseason with a competitive group that can build together.”
“Today could not have gone better for our organization,” said Racing general manager Ryan Dell. “We started the day by adding Arin Wright, an experienced defender who will have a big presence in our locker room, then we finished strong with four great selections. We’re so excited to get this preseason started, and I can’t wait to see how Bev shapes and builds our team.”
Racing’s draft picks will have the opportunity to earn contracts starting later this month as they enter preseason camp with the rest of Louisville’s roster. The club enters its first season under Yanez having narrowly missed the NWSL Playoffs last year.
Returning is a strong core including U.S. Women’s National Team member Savannah DeMelo and captain Jaelin Howell in the midfield; veterans Abby Erceg and Carson Pickett in defense; and standout shot stopper Katie Lund in goal. The forward position, however, seemed an area of need going into the draft.
Turner, a U.S. Youth National Team regular, scored double-digit goals in each of her four seasons at UCLA, finishing with 42 career scores and 15 assists. She laughed Friday evening when reminding Racing’s staff that she scored against Louisville for the U.S….