Utah Royals draft Ally Sentnor with first overall pick
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SANDY, Utah (ABC4 Sports) – The Utah Royals selected former North Carolina star midfielder Ally Sentnor with the first overall pick of the 2024 NWSL Draft on Friday.
Sentnor, a redshirt sophomore and member of the U.S. Women’s Youth National U-20 Team, is regarded as one of the top attacking talents in the nation.
“I am just so grateful,” Sentnor said. “To have this opportunity and to be a part of the Royals, I think I came in just wanting to be a part of a team that was going to value and believe in me, and I believe this is the place.”
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Sentnor had 11 goals and seven assists for the Tar Heels last season, earning ACC Midfielder of Year and All-ACC First Team honors.
Sentnor has spent time in U.S. women’s youth national team camps and was a U.S. Soccer 2023 Best Female Youth Player of the Year nominee.
The Royals then drafted former BYU star forward Brecken Mozingo with the fourth overall pick of the first round.
Mozingo, an Alta High School graduate, transferred to BYU from UCLA, and led the Cougars to the 2023 College Cup by leading the team with 14 goals and 15 assists this past season.
“Oh my goodness, it means the absolute world to me,” Mozingo said. “There’s no feeling to describe it. My parents the whole time were literally praying that I would be staying here in Utah. And my brothers, obviously they want their older sister to be staying in. So it just really means a lot to me because I know I have a lot of little girls that I even look up to that are a part of the community. They say they look up to me, but in reality, I look up to them and how hard they work and I’m so excited to stay and watch them progress and what they do. I can’t wait to give back to my community in any way that I can.”
This marks the Royals’ first draft choices since being revived for the league’s expansion this year. Utah played in 2018-20 before ceasing operations. The Royals will begin the 2024 season March 16.
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