How Savy King’s move to Angel City could help her development

Credit: Denny Medley-Imagn Images

There’s nothing remarkable about a rookie having a tough time of it in the National Women’s Soccer League.

The jump from college and youth clubs to the pros is a steep one. The speed, the physicality, the tactical and technical sophistication, and the adjustments to a new and largely unsupervised environment can be a lot for a young player to handle. If you’re entering the professional game before the age of 22, those elements can be even more pronounced.

Nobody experienced the cold hand of NWSL reality more so than Savannah King last year. Selected as the No. 2 overall draft pick a month before her 19th birthday, King entered the league with plenty of hype. She had spent her freshman year at UNC dazzling as a ball-playing center back, helping the Tar Heels make it to the quarterfinals of the NCAA tournament in 2023. She was a centerpiece for the U.S. U-17 squad at the 2022 World Cup. She may not have had anything left to prove in the youth game, and some analysts projected her to go No. 1 overall.

By the end of her first professional season, King had been benched at Bay FC. This week, she was transferred to Angel City. She went from being touted as perhaps the most talented member of the 2024 NWSL Draft class to requesting a trade to another team, all in the span of 12 months.