Stanford defender joins club on two-year deal
San Francisco, Calif. (Jan. 21, 2024) – Bay FC, the Bay Area’s new women’s professional soccer franchise in the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL), have signed free agent defender and former Stanford standout Kiki Pickett to a two-year deal, it was announced today.
Pickett concluded her third season in the NWSL in 2023, playing each of the last two seasons with the North Carolina Courage. Across two seasons with North Carolina, Pickett featured in 22 games across all competitions, starting in 14 games. In NWSL regular season play, the Santa Barbara, Calif. native, appeared in 13 games, making seven starts.
“Kiki is a dynamic, explosive outside back that we believe is an excellent addition to our roster,” said Bay FC General Manager Lucy Rushton. “She offers great variation to her game by being able to play inside off the line or stay wide, and as an attack-minded fullback, is impactful, taking players on and connecting defense to attack. Defensively, she is intelligent with her ability to read the game and has the versatility to play at either fullback position, which is always an asset.”
Drafted fourth overall in the 2021 NWSL Draft, Pickett played her rookie season in 2021 with the Kansas City Current after concluding her collegiate career at Stanford. In her first NWSL season, she appeared in 16 regular season matches, making 13 starts while logging 1,244 minutes. Pickett made her professional debut on June 26, 2021, against the Washington Spirit as a substitute.
At Stanford from 2017-21, Pickett played in 87 games (85 starts), recording five goals and 17 assists, helping lead the Cardinal to NCAA Championship titles in 2017 and 2019. As a senior in 2020-21, she was named Pac-12 Defender of the Year, United Soccer Coaches All-Region first team and All-Pac-12 first team. Individually, Pickett garnered third team All-American honors (2019), All-Pac-12 accolades first team honors twice (2019, 2020-21) and first team All-Region recognition in each of her last two seasons.
Kiki Pickett
Position: Defender
Height: 5-0
Birthdate: April 30, 1999
Hometown: Santa Barbara, Calif.
Previous Club: North Carolina Courage (NWSL)
Citizenship: United States
College: Stanford University
Bay FC will kick off its inaugural season in March 2024 at PayPal Park in San Jose. Ticket deposits are now open for Bay FC’s inaugural season and new merchandise can be purchased at BayFC.com. Fans can also follow @wearebayfc on social channels for more exciting announcements to come.
About Bay Football Club
Bay Football Club (Bay FC) is the new women’s professional soccer franchise representing the Bay Area and the 14th team to join the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL). Bay FC was established in April 2023 and co-founded by USWNT legends Brandi Chastain, Leslie Osborne, Danielle Slaton, and Aly Wagner in partnership with global investment firm Sixth Street and an investor group of leading tech, business and sports executives. Sixth Street’s investment is the largest institutional investment to date in a women’s professional sports franchise. Bay FC is changing the face of women’s soccer as we know it. Beginning play in the 2024 season, we are building a squad that will play the beautiful game with power, passion, energy, and creativity. Ticket deposits are now open for Bay FC at https://bayfc.com and fans can follow Bay FC’s social channels (@wearebayfc) for the latest news, merchandise, and events.
