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Orlando Pride selected forward Mia Fishel with the fifth overall pick at the 2022 NWSL Draft out of UCLA, joining her former college coach in newly appointed Head Coach Amanda Cromwell with the selection.
Shortly after, the Pride acquired the No. 10 overall selection from OL Reign, opting to select defender Caitlin Cosme out of Duke University. The trade also saw Orlando add defender Celia Jiménez Delgado and forward Leah Pruitt to the squad, while also obtaining a 2023 NWSL natural Second Round pick from the Reign in exchange for defender Phoebe McClernon.
With the subsequent pick, the Pride selected forward Julie Doyle from Santa Clara University at No. 11 overall. The side did not select again until the third round, opting to trade out of No. 29 overall with the North Carolina Courage in exchange for the rights to Canadian international Deanne Rose, before taking Jada Talley out of USC just two picks later.
"I'm feeling really well. We were able to go out there and grab a couple of players here that we feel really strong about," Orlando Pride General Manager Ian Fleming said. "A sequence of events that took place that led to us being able to take a player that we thought we'd have to jump up higher to get and, in the end, we're really satisfied with being able to strengthen in a few different positions."
A two-time United Soccer Coaches All-American, Fishel appeared in 59 matches, starting 55, scoring 32 goals while adding 14 assists in three years with the Bruins. In both her sophomore and junior seasons, Fishel was named to the United Soccer Coaches All-Pacific Region First Team while earning First Team All Pac-12 honors the same two years. As a freshman in 2019, she led the Bruins with 14 goals, including six game-winners, and was named to Top Drawer Soccer’s Freshman Best XI while being named to the All-Pac 12 third team and Pac-12 All Freshman Team.
On the international stage, Fishel has competed for the United States at the U-15, U-17 and U-20 levels, earning her first callup to the senior team for an October 2020 camp. That same year, she won the Golden Ball at the 2020 CONCACAF U-20 Championships after scoring a new all-ages record for the USWNT in a qualifying tournament with 13 goals in the tournament, including a brace in the championship game.
Cosme, 22, spent five years in Durham, appearing in 70 matches, 62 of which were starts, scoring 10 goals and adding an assist. As a graduate student in 2021, Cosme led the Blue Devils in minutes played with 1,829 and earned United Soccer Coaches All-Atlantic Region First Team honors the year prior as a senior in 2020.
A product out of Santa Clara University, Doyle helped the Broncos to their second national title in program history in 2020, scoring one goal and adding four assists while captaining the side. A three-time All-WCC selection, Doyle finished her collegiate career with 70 appearances and 55 starts, scoring 16 goals with 14 total assists, earning First Team All-West region honors as a senior in 2020.
With their final pick on the night, the Pride selected Talley out of the University of Southern California, after using her fifth year of eligibility. Over 18 matches with the Trojans, Talley totalled three goals and two assists. Prior to joining USC, Talley played four seasons at the University of Arizona where she scored 24 goals and added 16 assists. A three-time Pac-12 honoree, Talley started all but one match between her sophomore and senior seasons.
Jiménez Delgado, 26, joins the Pride following three seasons with OL Reign, whom she was drafted by at the 2018 NWSL Draft out of the University of Alabama. After signing with the club ahead of the 2019 season, she appeared 33 times for the Reign, starting 25 matches with a pair of goals and two assists to add, with loan spells at Swedish side FC Rosengård, Australian club Perth Glory and perennial powerhouse Olympique Lyon in that span as well. On the international stage, she has appeared 23 times for the Spanish National Team, earning a start in all three of the nation’s matches at their first World Cup in 2015.
Pruitt, 24, comes to Orlando after two seasons with the Reign, appearing 19 times across all competitions with seven starts and a pair of finishes in that time. Prior to her time with the Tacoma-based side, Pruitt spent a season with the North Carolina Courage, winning both an NWSL Championship and NWSL Shield as a rookie. After being drafted fifth overall by the Courage in 2019, Pruitt would appear 14 times for the Courage, scoring two goals.
McClernon, 24, departs the Pride following one season in the City Beautiful. After being selected No. 14 overall at the 2020 NWSL College Draft, the University of Virginia, would go on to make 25 appearances in purple, tallying 19 starts as part of a Pride defense that tallied five shutouts in all competitions in 2021. McClernon would also earn NWSL Team of the Month honors in May of this past year, starting every match of a four-game run that saw the Pride go 3-0-1 to open the regular season.