Boyds, Md. – Tegan McGrady, the No. 7 overall pick in the 2019 NWSL College Draft, joins her former Stanford teammate Andi Sullivan – and fellow 2019 draftee Jordan DiBiasi – as the third 1st round pick to join the Spirit out of Stanford in the past two years.

Tegan McGrady credits much of her success to former Stanford teammate Andi Sullivan

“Andi has helped me so much grow over the years, from Stanford, and she always had positive remarks for me but also had constructive criticisms and it’s really helped me turn into the player that I am now and just watching her lead and how hard that she works it just made me want to put so much more work in every single day,” said McGrady.

McGrady, the seventh overall pick in the 2019 NWSL College Draft, played alongside current Spirit and U.S. WNT midfielder Andi Sullivan for three years at Stanford, winning three PAC-12 Championships and the 2017 D-I NCAA National Championship in their time together.

Tegan McGrady’s youth success and California roots guided her pathway to Stanford

“I started playing soccer when I was really young, about three years old, and started out on the field with my mom and my sister, so it has kind of been my life forever now,” McGrady said. “Just growing up it was my dream to play for Stanford and I found my way to that growing up in San Jose, California. I was surrounded by really good clubs and MVLA just helped me become the player that I am now.”

Prior to arriving at Stanford, McGrady played for the Mountain View-Los Altos Soccer Club and a was first-team All-San Jose area selection at Santa Teresa High School while leading her high school squad to the 2014 CS Division I title. In addition to achieving honors as a two-time NSCAA Youth All-American, the seventh overall pick in the 2019 NWSL College Draft made appearances for the U.S. youth teams in tournaments in Costa Rica and England as well as joining the U.S. U-17s for the 2013 CONCACAF Championships.

Stanford helped shape Tegan McGrady on and off the field

“Going through my career at Stanford, I’ve just developed so much more and they’ve shown me what not only being a soccer player was like, but a real person, and someone that can develop and mature over time. Their classroom facilities, their field and athletics facilities, have just made me who I am now.”