San Diego Wave acquire defender Tegan McGrady

NWSL expansion team San Diego Wave FC truly entered a period of wheeling and dealing on Wednesday, when they announced their second trade of the day, for defender Tegan McGrady. In a deal with the Washington Spirit, San Diego exchanged expansion draft protection to the Spirit for McGrady’s NWSL rights, a 2022 international slot, and a 2022 first-round draft pick, which the Spirit acquired previously from OL Reign.

“Tegan is a great addition to our roster and will bring valuable winning experience to our back line. said Wave FC head coach Casey Stoney in a team statement. “She has great college pedigree and many caps at youth national level and has shown her qualities during her time in the NWSL. I am looking forward to working with Tegan and developing and supporting her to achieve even more within the game”

McGrady, 24, grew up in California in the Bay Area, and played NCAA soccer at Stanford, winning the national championship in 2017.

Drafted by Washington in 2019, McGrady made 31 appearances across three seasons, capped off with winning the 2021 NWSL Cup Final last month. She also has one cap for the U.S. Women’s National Team to date. While injuries slowed her down at times, she emerged by the end of the past season to be the starting left back and seems to have a lot of room for growth moving forward.

McGrady joins Abby Dahlkemper on San Diego’s nascent backline, with Jodie Taylor the first attacker signed by the club. Expect more moves to be announced in the coming days and weeks, although we now know that Wave FC won’t be selecting any Spirit players in the expansion draft next week. But McGrady is a player to get excited about, and the roster is coming together, little by little.

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