Among the several big names that San Diego Wave Fútbol Club has acquired, but has flown under the radar, as they enter their inaugural NWSL regular season is that of defender Tegan McGrady.

The 24-year-old native of San Jose has garnered various accolades in her career including winning the 2021 NWSL championship with the Washington Spirit and representing the USWNT in a match against México back in 2018.

“I learned a lot from the players that I played with the past three years at Washington,” said McGrady. “Just as other players are bringing different things to the table, I think I can bring a unique aspect from seeing what the fight and journey was like last year.”

The Washington Spirit drafted McGrady with the seventh overall pick in the 2019 NWSL College Draft out of Stanford after winning a national championship with the Cardinal in 2017. In October 2020, the Spirit re-signed her to a two-year contract with a club option for an additional 12 months, however, San Diego Wave FC announced it had acquired the rights to McGrady in December of last year where she will be joined by fellow Stanford teammate Naomi Girma.

“It’s so valuable to have teammates from where you played college no matter how long it’s been,” McGrady added. “That was a huge thing at Washington, having four other teammates from Stanford with me. I think it creates a unique situation where you already know each other and you’re able to pick up right where we left off from college.”

McGrady was part of the U.S. women’s national U20 team in 2016 making three appearances and she progressed to the U.S. women’s national U23 team the following year making another three appearances.

“Last year, was very long… one thing that you figure out as you’ve been in the league is understanding what your body needs,” said McGrady. “For me, it was just giving my body a break, the skills and reading the game comes back very quickly.”

She acknowledges the contributions of San Diego Wave mental well-being and performance coach, Buddy Huttanus, who has previously worked with the women’s national team, as being one of the reasons she is at full strength for 2022.

McGrady and her teammates will be putting their abilities to the test soon with the opening match of the 2022 NWSL Challenge Cup against fellow expansion team Angels City FC on Saturday, March 19 at Cal State Fullerton.