Three fifth-year seniors — Maya Doms, Kennedy Wesley and Katie Duong — traded their cardinal and white jerseys for new colors Friday evening when they were drafted to the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL). After concluding their collegiate careers last December as the NCAA Championship Runner-Ups, the Stanford women’s soccer alumni are now set to start professional careers far from the Farm.
Maya Doms
Maya Doms, who was integral to the Stanford midfield, will stay in the Bay Area. She was drafted eight in the first round by Bay Football Club — an expansion team which starts its first campaign in the upcoming season.
A native of Davis, Calif., Doms recently closed a phenomenal career on the Farm, where she cultivated a lengthy list of both individual and team accomplishments. From start — beginning with the 2019 NCAA Championship — to finish — ending with an almost undefeated season as the 2023 NCAA Runner-Ups — Doms was a force on the Stanford team.
A two-time team captain and two-time Pac 12 Champion (2019, 2022), Doms scored 33 goals and had 20 assists, an 86 point total for Stanford. And, she is one of only six players in Stanford history to play in 100 games.
She was named to the United Coaches All-Region first team three times (2021-23) and the All-Pac-12 first team three times (2021-23), among a plethora of other impressive awards.
Kennedy Wesley
Defender Kennedy Wesley was drafted by San Diego Wave FC as the 12th first round pick, soon after Doms. After finishing five outstanding years on the Farm, Wesley joins former captain Sierra Enge ’22 M.A. ’22 in San Diego. Enge was drafted ahead of the 2023 NWSL season.
With 104 matches under her belt, Wesley recently broke the program record for appearances. Across her appearances, she was a reliable and consistent member of the back line. Like Doms, she was a member of the 2019 NCAA Championship winning team and the 2023 NCAA Runner-Up team.
Wesley is both a standout player and an exceptional leader, having been a team captain alongside Doms the past two seasons (2022, 2023). She is also a two-time Pac-12 Champion (2019, 2022), and was named to the United Coaches All-Region first team (2022), All-Pac-12 first team (2023), All-Pac-12 second team (2022), All-Pac-12 third team (2021), TopDrawerSoccer Freshman Best XI second team (2019) and All-Pac-12 freshman team (2019).
Katie Duong
After spending two seasons at the University of Minnesota and three seasons at Stanford, Katie Duong is finally heading home. The midfielder is set to begin her professional career after being drafted as the 53rd pick of the fourth round by her hometown Portland Thorns. Duong began her collegiate career playing for the Gophers at the University of Minnesota, where she was named to the Big Ten All-Freshman team (2019) and All-Big Ten second team (2020), before transferring to Stanford prior to the 2021 season. Duong has appeared in 38 games for the Cardinal, starting four. With two goals and seven assists, Duong recorded 1294 minutes on the field representing Stanford. She was also a member of the Pac-12 Championship team (2022) and College Cup appearance team (2023).
Stay tuned as Doms, Wesley and Duong start their professional careers this NWSL season, which will run from March to November this year.