First in the 21st-year history of the V-League! 'UCLA alumna' Audrey Park goes to IBK Industrial Bank of Korea with the No. 1 overall pick [KOVO Rookie Draft On-Site]

*This content was translated by AI.View Original

For the first time in the 21st-year history of the professional volleyball V-League, a player with foreign nationality and Korean heritage has received the honor of being selected with the No. 1 overall pick in the rookie draft. Setter Audrey Park (24, Korean name: Park Hye-rin), who attended UCLA in the United States, will don the IBK Industrial Bank of Korea uniform.

IBK Industrial Bank of Korea selected Audrey Park with the No. 1 overall pick at the 2026-2027 Korea Volleyball Federation (KOVO) Women's Rookie Player Draft held at 10:30 a.m. on the 28th at the Mayfield Hotel in Gangseo-gu, Seoul.

This year's draft was intriguing from the start. The order of selection was determined by a lottery based on the reverse of the final standings from last season, with probabilities set as follows: Cheongguksan 35%, SOOP 30%, IBK Industrial Bank of Korea 20%, Heungkuk Life 8%, Hyundai Construction 4%, Korea Expressway Corporation 2%, and GS Caltex 1%.

As a result of the lottery, IBK Industrial Bank of Korea secured the No. 1 overall selection rights against a 20% probability. Following this, SOOP was determined to hold the No. 2 pick, Hyundai Construction the No. 3 pick, and Korea Expressway Corporation the No. 4 pick. In particular, when the balls for Hyundai Construction and Korea Expressway Corporation, which had winning probabilities of only 4% and 2% respectively, came out in succession, cheers erupted from the venue. Cheongguksan held the No. 5 pick, Heungkuk Life the No. 6 pick, and GS Caltex the No. 7 pick.

However, there was no upset regarding the No. 1 overall selection. IBK Industrial Bank of Korea head coach Manabe Masayoshi (63) called out Audrey Park's name without hesitation.

Audrey Park, born on April 18, 2002, is a tall setter from the United States standing at 180 cm. She played as a starting setter at prestigious UCLA in the U.S., and subsequently continued her playing career with Columbus Fury in the U.S. professional volleyball Major League Volleyball (MLV). A player who has experienced both the U.S. college and professional stages is entering the V-League through the Korean rookie draft.

Above all, this selection is significant in that it sets a new milestone in V-League history. In December last year, KOVO approved for the first time the participation of players with foreign nationality and Korean heritage in the rookie draft through its board of directors meeting. The intention was to broaden the foundation for player supply and discover new talent in response to the decline in domestic promising prospects.

The eligibility criteria apply to foreign-nationality players whose at least one parent previously held or currently holds Korean citizenship. If a player joins a team through the draft, they receive the same treatment as domestic players, but must acquire Korean citizenship within six years of joining. Teams may select one player with foreign nationality and Korean heritage per season and hold up to two such players.

In the first year, Audrey Park and Annabelle Park (17, Korean name: Park Ju-eun), an outside hitter from Ontario Tech University in Canada, both submitted their applications. Among them, Audrey Park simultaneously set the record as the first player with foreign nationality and Korean heritage to be selected and as the No. 1 overall pick.

A total of 58 players participated in this year's women's division draft, including 50 high school graduates-to-be, 6 university students, and 2 players with foreign nationality and Korean heritage. Domestic promising prospects such as Yoo Da-eun (18, Geunyoung Girls' High School) and Jung Ga-young (17, Ilsin Girls' Commercial High School), who are former U-18 national team members, and Oh Se-in (20, Jungang Girls' High School), a former U-21 national team member, are also awaiting selection by professional teams.

Meanwhile, Cheongguksan holds the Heungkuk Life first-round selection rights acquired through a trade, allowing them to select two rookies in the first round of this draft.

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*This content was translated by AI.View Original