"Came from the U.S. and Canada" — First-ever ethnic Korean players with foreign nationality enter V-League draft... Audrey Park and Anabel Park draw attention

*This content was translated by AI.View Original

For the first time in the 21st years since the launch of the professional volleyball V-League, ethnic Korean players with foreign nationality have submitted their names to the rookie draft.

The Korea Volleyball Federation (KOVO) announced on the 12th that Audrey Park (Korean name: Park Hye-rin) and Anabel Park (Korean name: Park Ju-eun) will participate in the 2026-2027 Women's Rookie Draft, to be held on the 28th at the Mayfield Hotel in Gangseo-gu, Seoul.

To expand player supply due to a shrinking pool of promising prospects and to boost league popularity, KOVO permitted ethnic Korean players with foreign nationality to participate in the draft at its board meeting last December. Eligible players must have at least one parent who previously held Korean nationality, or be children of current Korean nationals who hold foreign nationality. However, they must acquire Korean nationality within six years after joining a V-League team and will receive the same treatment as domestic players. Each club may hold up to two such players, with a limit of one per season.

For this draft, Audrey Park, a former starting setter at UCLA in the U.S. who also played in Major League Volleyball (MLV), and Anabel Park, an outside hitter from Ontario Tech University in Canada, have submitted their applications.

A total of 58 players will participate in this year's draft, including 50 high school graduates-to-be, 6 university students, and 2 ethnic Korean players with foreign nationality. High school prospects include Yoo Da-eun (Geunyoung Girls' High School) and Jung Ga-young (Ilsin Girls' Commercial High School), both former U-18 national team members, as well as Oh Se-in (Jungang Girls' High School), a former U-21 national team member.

The draft order will be determined by a probability-based lottery based on the reverse of the final standings from last season. The probabilities are: Cheongguksan 35%, SOOP 30%, IBK Industrial Bank of Korea 20%, Heunguk Life 8%, Hyundai E&C 4%, Korea Expressway Corporation 2%, and GS Caltex 1%.

Notably, Cheongguksan secured Heunguk Life's first-round pick through a trade and will exercise two first-round picks. As the newly established team SOOP acquired IBK Industrial Bank of Korea's second-round pick, and Hyundai E&C transferred its second-round pick to IBK Industrial Bank of Korea during the process of signing Kim Hee-jin, the outcome of any changes in draft rights is also a point of interest.

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*This content was translated by AI.View Original