The signs pointed towards a quiet day for the Washington Spirit, but the 2022 NWSL College Draft ended up being a busy one for the defending champions. Washington announced a signing just before the event, and then — after entering the draft with just two late picks — traded nearly $200,000 in allocation money to obtain three separate 2nd round picks.
Before the draft even began, the Spirit announced that they’d signed defender Alia Martin to a one-year deal with the club. Martin took a fifth year at the University of Michigan as a graduate student, and was one of the top defenders in the nation in 2021.