KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Kansas City Current shipped midfielder Victoria Pickett to the NJ/NY Gotham FC in exchange for a future first-round pick and $200,000 in allocation money, the club announced Monday afternoon.
The Current will receive the Gotham’s second-highest pick, whether that is NJ/NY’s natural selection or the OL Reign’s pick as acquired in a trade before the 2022 NWSL Draft. Pickett was the No. 15 overall pick in the 2021 NWSL Draft, appearing in 44 games with 38 starts during the last two seasons during the regular season and NWSL Challenge Cup.
Thirty-five of those appearances and 30 starts came in regular-season action, during which she scored one goal as a rookie for the Current.
Pickett, who has appeared in three games for the Canadian Women’s National Team, started 15 consecutive games for the Current from May 4 to Aug. 13, but she only played the full 90 minutes four times during that span.
“Victoria has been an amazing player for Kansas City, and we want to thank her for all that she has done for this club and community," Current General Manager Camille Levin Ashton said. “Victoria has an incredibly bright future, and we will always view her as part of the foundation which has become the Current.”
The Current’s midfield became crowded last month after the signing of French international Claire Lavogez, who had a goal and an assist in her second match with the club.
With the addition of the first-round pick, the Current now have eight picks in next year’s draft.
They previously traded their natural 2023 first-round pick to the North Carolina Courage in the Lynn Williams deal.
This gives the Current back a first-round pick to go with three second-round, a third and three fourth-round picks.
The Gotham currently sits dead last in the NWSL standings, while the Reign currently are fifth and would be in line for the No. 8 pick in next spring’s draft.
