Welcome back to Fantasy NWSL at ShePlays! It’s the third year for Fantasy NWSL, and if it’s anything like my third year of high school, I’m going to tell everyone I finished in the top 10% regardless of what the truth actually is.

Today, we are going to go through a step-by-step process for building your team from scratch for Round 1. Since you’ll have to pay points for extra weekly transfers throughout the season, making good choices in Round 1 is essential for your season-long success. The maximum player cost has been increased from $400,000 to $500,000 this year, but the salary cap is still $3.3M. To add to the fun, there are two new teams in the NWSL this season! So strap in and let’s get started building a roster that will not only get you in the top 10%, but make you valedictorian of the FNWSL Class of 2024.

One disclaimer: FNWSL is all about having fun and supporting women’s soccer. Put whichever players you’d like on your team! This is just a framework that may be helpful as you’re putting together your Round 1 roster. 

Another disclaimer: Some of my advice from last year was good, and some was slightly less good. I won’t hold it against you if you’d like to check out that article before you decide if you’d actually like to commit to reading this year’s.

UPDATE: San Diego and Gotham are playing in the NWSL Challenge Cup to begin the season this Friday, so both will have a blank Round 1 for Fantasy NWSL. Keep that in mind while building your roster.

Step 1: The Elite Forwards

You could technically afford three $400k+ players on your team, but that will likely involve too much budget cutting in other areas. It’s more prudent to start with just two of the premium players, and considering that goals are by far the best way to rack up points in FNWSL, at least one of your those players should be a striker. Sophia Smith, Lynn Williams, or Mallory Swanson.

Along with Megan Rapinoe, these three players were by far the most valuable in FNWSL last season, and you can’t go wrong with any of them. However, at this price point, I want a very safe investment. Gotham saw a huge influx of talent in the offseason, so we aren’t yet sure what each player’s role will be. Swanson should dominate the attack in Chicago, but she is coming off injury and may need some extra time to get back in form. For that reason, just like last year, I’m starting my team with Sophia Smith.

Step 2: The Second Premium Player

Like last year, I wouldn’t blame you for selecting Alex Morgan or Adriana as well, but consider taking a look at midfield for your other premium player. Last week, I discussed difficulty of finding elite fantasy value at midfield during 2023, and how Sam Coffey ($400k) was head and shoulders above every other player at her position. The gap in fantasy points (38) between her and Savannah McCaskill, who was in second place among midfielders, was equal to the gap between McCaskill and Julia Bianchi – who was in 13th.

Coffey will be on my team to start 2024.

Step 3: For The Defense

With the increased prices this year, and the expenditures on premium goalscorers, we’re going to have to save a little money somewhere. We’ learned over the last couple of seasons that you don’t necessarily need to break the bank to find great fantasy value at DF. Of the top ten fantasy DFs in 2022 and in 2023, only three have cost more than $300k. Also, in an expansion year, we can likely expect scoring to go up across the league, meaning it will be more difficult to find clean sheets – so I’m looking for DFs that also have some role in the offense, but don’t cost over $300k.

At the $300k level, there a lot of great options. I think Jenna Nighswonger is poised for a breakout fantasy season but, like the case with Lynn Williams, we aren’t yet sure exactly what Gotham’s lineup will look like in 2024. I also really like the attacking upside of the North Carolina duo of Ryan Williams and Kaleigh Kurtz, but my choice here is Hailie Mace ($300k), who is perhaps the least clean sheet-dependent DF in the league and should consistently rack up the points regardless of her weekly matchup.

Sofia Huerta ($250k) saw her fantasy points dip a little last year after a huge 2022, but she still is on one of the best back lines in the NWSL and had a total of 48 attacking points last year to go along with two assists and one goal. I think she could prove to be a big pickup this year.

With the additions of Sam Staab and Natalia Kuikka, I really like the Red Stars’ backline in 2024. Staab historically has relied on set pieces for fantasy value, and I want to see how they both fit into a new system before committing to either one, but in the meantime you know I’m starting with Tatumn Milazzo at $200k.

Now we have three starting DFs – let’s move back to the forwards!

Step 4: Reckless Spending on More Strikers

We definitely need at least one more elite striker. If you can afford it, W Gold Cup MVP Jaedyn Shaw ($350k) may be the best option in the second tier of FWs – the Wave score a lot of goals, and almost all of them are scored by either Shaw or Alex Morgan. (Also, strictly from an aesthetics perspective, you really want at least one Waver on your team – the new home jersey is fantastic). If you do want to go with Shaw, you may not be able to fit Smith or Williams into your budget, but a front two of Shaw and say, Adriana, is nothing to sneeze at.

That being said, I’m going to break the bank at FW this year. Not only will I start with both Smith and Shaw, I’m also going to bring in Ashley Hatch ($300k). Though there was a lot of turnover in the District during the off-season, Hatch has probably the highest probability of positive regression this year, and I’m betting that she’ll be able to return premium fantasy value without the premium cost.

UPDATE: With Shaw playing in the Challenge Cup this Friday, I’m going to replace her with Claire Emslie (also $350k), who starts the season at home against Bay FC. I’ll probably transfer in Shaw for Round 2. Keep in mind that Trinity Rodman will be serving a suspension for her final day red card in Round 1.

Admittedly, $1.15M is a large amount to spend on forwards. But, we know the value of elite goalscorers in FNWSL, and I’ll be starting all three of them each week. With a core of three solid players at both FW and DF, as well as the elite MF, I can fill in the rest of the roster with lower-cost players and still rack up the fantasy points each week!

Step 5: The Goalkeepers

There were a lot of changes made to GK pricing in the off-season, so let’s take a look at the best way to spend your goalie budget. We’ve seen over the last couple of years that there really isn’t too much separation between the top six or seven GKs in terms of fantasy points, and GKs generally score fewer points than the other positions – so you can usually get good fantasy value without paying for the premium keepers. This season, all starting goalkeepers cost between $125k and $200k. I’m going to start with Claudia Dickey ($150k), who is slated to take over from Phallon Tullis-Joyce as the starter in Seattle – meaning she’ll play behind a great defense and will save you some money.

I’m comfortable starting Claudia Dickey every week for the beginning of the season (Seattle only plays one of last year’s elite offensive teams, San Diego) in the first six rounds, so I’m going to bring in a back-up keeper in the second GK slot rather than spending money on two starters. Nicole Barnhart costs only $75k and filled in while Aubrey Kingsbury was out last year, and she’ll be my second goalie to start the year.

Step 6: Oh Boy, I Still Need Three Midfielders

If you’re still with me, and haven’t thrown up your hands after all these irresponsible financial decisions, you still need at least two more midfielders to fill out your starting line-up. In fact, since it’s an expansion year and we’ll probably see a jump in goalscoring, I’m going to start in a 3-4-3 to maximize the attacking potential of my team – so I need three more quality MFs. Unfortunately, there’s probably only enough money left to spend about $500k-600k on these three players. Narumi Miura ($250k) is on the way up (she finished third in fantasy points among MFs last year in her first season) and probably has the highest upside of any midfielder below $350k.

Since all three of these players are going to be starting in my lineup, we want two more midfielders that will have a high floor (guaranteed playing time) and cost a total of $300k (so I have enough money left for the last three slots on my roster). In this price range, I do like Olivia Moultrie ($175k), but Portland is in something of a transitional season this year, and I’m not going to commit too much money beyond Smith and Coffey to Thorns players until we know what the Portland lineup will look like each week. For guaranteed playing time, as the first player ever signed by Bay FC, I see Alex Loera ($150k) being a lock for 90 minutes each week and recapturing her 2022 fantasy magic – when she was by far the highest value DF in FNWSL and finished fourth in DF attacking points.

I personally have never gotten over Vanessa DiBernardo ($150k) leaving Chicago, and when she’s fit, she is another lock for 90 minutes every week. She did suffer an injury (listed as a concussion) that kept her out of the second half of the season last year, but should be back in the lineup this season. In her last full season in 2022, she was the sixth-highest scoring MF in FNWSL, which would be huge value for $150k. She’s back in training and should be fit for Round 1.

Step 7: Only $225k Left

There are still three roster spots left to fill, and none of them can cost more than $75k. We’ve talked before about the high upside for rookies in FNWSL, and since I’m not planning on having any of these three players start on my team immediately, the best strategy here is to fill up the team with those high-upside rookies.

I’m going to go with three of the top four players chosen in the 2024 NWSL Draft: Ally Sentnor, Savannah King, and Brecken Mozingo. All three are on the expansion teams (Sentnor and Mozingo on Utah and King on Bay FC), so it’s likely they will see significant playing time immediately. And as the season goes on, the fantasy points should start rolling in. I probably won’t be starting either of the FWs early in the season, but keep King in mind over the first couple of weeks if you want to rotate in a DF based on a specific matchup.

Step 8: Time to Start the Season!

Remember to lock your team in by Saturday, March 16 at 12 pm EDT/11 am CDT! Who will be on your roster to start the season? Comment or tweet @MansersAnswers!