IMG Academy Alumna Michelle Cooper Selected Second in NWSL Draft

The IMG Academy Girls Soccer Program had former player Michelle Cooper selected second overall to the Kansas City Current in the 2023 National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) Draft on Thursday night in Philadelphia. With Cooper’s draft position, she becomes the highest draft selection to a professional sports organization in IMG Academy history.

The Clarkston, Michigan native solidified her spot as one of the best to wear the blue and white during her time as a forward with the Ascenders from 2019-2021. She captained both IMG Academy Under-19 Girls Academy Teams during the 2019-20 and 2020-21 soccer seasons and tallied 26 goals and 14 goals in those seasons as a forward, respectively.

Cooper graduated from IMG Academy in 2021 and went onto Duke University where she was named TopDrawerSoccer.com National Freshman of the Year and Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Freshman of the Year. In 2022 as a sophomore, the IMG Academy alumnus earned the Hermann Trophy and was named ACC Offensive Player of the Year. Earlier this year, she was the captain of the 2022 U.S. Under-20 Women’s Youth National Team for the FIFA World Cup.

Cooper adds to a remarkable list of extraordinary accomplishments in girls sports and education at IMG Academy within the last year including:

IMG Academy Team/Student-Athlete	Accomplishment
Under-19 Premier Girls Soccer Team	DPL National Championship (IMG Academy’s first Girls Sport National Title)
Kosi Umerah (Girls Track and Field)	National Champion for Hammer Throw
Grace VanSlooten (Girls Basketball)	McDonald’s All-American
Ruby Lynch (Girls Lacrosse)	US Lacrosse All-American
Bella Toscano (Girls Track and Field)	Harvard Book Award
Flora Zhang (Girls Golf)	Yale Book Award
Brooke Pedersen (Girls Tennis)	Certificate of Merit for the National Merit Scholarship Program

IMG Academy launched its own Women in Sports Committee in early 2022 to develop programs and initiatives for improving accessibility and participation of young women in sports. Committee members include Cari Champion, Dany Garcia, Lindsay Davenport, Lindsey Vonn, Michele Tafoya, and Robin Roberts.

About IMG Academy

IMG Academy is the world’s leading sports education brand, providing a holistic education model that empowers student-athletes to win their future, preparing them for college and for life. IMG Academy provides growth opportunities for all student-athletes through an innovative suite of on-campus and online experiences:

Boarding school and camps, via a state-of-the-art campus in Bradenton, Florida
Online coaching via the IMG Academy+ brand, with a focus on personal development through the lens of sport and performance
Online college recruiting, via the NCSA brand, providing content, tools, coaching and access to a network of 40,000 college coaches