The Red Stars have their 2023 draft class locked in for the long term after strong preseasons from each player.
The Chicago Red Stars announced that they have signed all three of their 2023 NWSL Draft Picks. First-round pick Penelope Hocking (seventh overall) and second-round pick Ally Schlegel (23rd overall) signed three-year contracts with a fourth-year option while third-round pick Sophie Jones (43rd overall) signed a two-year deal.
Hocking joins the Red Stars after a standout college career at USC and then Penn State. She scored a school-record 54 goals over her four seasons at USC before tallying seven goals and 11 assists in her redshirt-senior season at Penn State. Hocking impressed during the preseason, scoring against Racing Louisville and Gotham FC.
Schlegel, a Parker, Colorado native, was a teammate of Hocking at Penn State and started all but two matches she appeared in during her collegiate career. Over four seasons (she redshirted in 2018) in Happy Valley, Schlegel scored 47 goals and assisted 20 more in over 5,500 minutes. Oh, she also always has a dope headband on. Look out for that.
Once Jones was put in the Duke starting lineup, she was never taken out of it. Her 75 consecutive starts from 2019-2022 put her fifth all-time for Duke. Playing just under 6,000 minutes as a Blue Devil, Jones had five goals and eight assists in her career.
"We’re really excited about the future for these three talented young players. They have fit in perfectly from day one," Red Stars head coach Chris Petrucelli said in a release. "The draft at times can be a bit of a guessing game. It looks like we guessed correctly with this group. All three will contribute immediately and I expect will have long careers in the league."
The Red Stars kick off their 2023 regular season on Saturday evening when they take on the San Diego Wave at 9:00 PM CST on CBS Sports Network.
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