National defender gets drafted to Chicago Red Stars
Published:Tuesday | December 21, 2021 | 12:08 AMDaniel Wheeler/Staff Reporter
National defender Jadya Hylton-Pelaia will begin life as a professional with National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) franchise the Chicago Red Stars.
The club selected the former Arizona State University (ASU) and East Carolina University (ECU) alumna with the 49th overall pick in Saturday’s 2022 NWSL draft, making her the fifth and final draft pick for the team, joining Ava Cook from Michigan State, Samantha Fisher from Notre Dame, Sarah Griffith from Purdue, and Kayla McKeon from Arkansas University.
Her selection has been welcomed by Graham Winkworth, her former college coach at ASU. He is pleased with how she has progressed over the last year, since joining the programme last January
“I could not be more proud of Jayda. We knew when we added her a year ago she had this potential. Over the last 12 months, I have loved watching her development and ability for success as a modern, attacking full back,” Winkworth told the ASU sports website.
Pelaia, 23, joined the programme after transferring from ECU following a 2019 season which limited her to three appearances because of an injury. This season she made 19 appearances, which included 16 starts for the Arizona State Sun Devils, registering one goal and two assists. She was a part of the squad that managed to qualify for the rescheduled 2020 division one women’s tournament held this past spring.
Winkworth said that she will be a great addition to a Chicago franchise that made it to the title game this past season but lost to the Washington Spirit, which included national goalkeeper Sydney Schneider.
“Most of all, I love when good things happen to good people. The Chicago players and staff are going to love her. She is an incredible teammate who is adored by everyone in our Sun Devils soccer family,” Winkworth said.
Pelaia has competed for Jamaica at the under 20- level and made her international debut during the 2019 Pan American Games in Lima, Peru. She started in all four games for the Reggae Girlz, as they finished seventh in the competition that year.
Pelaia will report for her preseason camp next February in preparation for the 2022 season, which begins on March 19.