2018 NWSL Draft: Washington Spirit select Penn State defender Brittany Basinger

With their fifth pick in the 2018 NWSL draft, the Washington Spirit selected Penn State defender Brittany Basinger. Basinger is a former Spirit Reserves player and is from Purcellville, Virginia. At Penn State, Basinger scored 5 goals and contributed 9 assists as a fullback in 95 career appearances.

So far in the draft, the Spirit have focused on improving their backline from the poor defensive performance in 2017. Basinger adds depth at fullback and seems well-suited to the Spirit’s preference for attacking outside backs.

Basinger played for the Spirit Reserves in the summer of 2016 when the team made the WPSL playoffs after posting an undefeated season. Former 2015 Spirit Reserves defender Schuyler DeBree was also selected by the Spirit today, following a longtime trend with the club to use their WPSL side to scout talent.

The Spirit entered the day with a whopping seven picks, including two of the top three and five of the top 21. With their first pick, the Spirit selected Stanford midfielder Andi Sullivan, who is currently in California for a U.S. national team training camp. Later the Spirit selected two defenders, Rebecca Quinn and DeBree. The team also drafted forward Mallory Eubanks.