Gu the headline act as XGL's draft era begins
The inaugural MoonPay X Games League Winter Draft wrapped up at Cosm Los Angeles on Wednesday evening, September 16, with 40 of the world's best skiers and snowboarders distributed across four newly formed clubs ahead of the league's debut competitive season in 2027. In action sports' first-ever team draft of its kind, the four XGL clubs — XC Golden State, XC New York, XC Park City and XC Whistler — conducted a snake-format selection across five rounds. Each roster is required to carry five men and five women and include athletes from both skiing and snowboarding disciplines. More than 180 athletes had opted into the pool, leaving 140 undrafted.
Eileen Gu, the most decorated freestyle skier in Olympic history, was the first name called when XC Golden State's general manager Jonny Moseley — a 1998 Olympic moguls champion — selected her as the No. 1 overall pick. Gu has accumulated three Olympic gold medals across the Beijing and Milan-Cortina Games and remains one of the most marketable athletes in winter sports globally. Her landing at the Bay Area-branded Golden State club, which will compete partly out of Lake Tahoe terrain, was widely anticipated ahead of draft night.
Round-one selections and notable picks
XC New York used the second pick on Canadian snowboard icon Mark McMorris, who holds 26 Winter X Games medals — the most in the event's history. XC Park City followed by selecting four-time Olympic medalist Yiming Su of China, the dominant force in men's snowboard big air and slopestyle. XC Whistler rounded out the first round of men's selections with Canadian freeski standout Megan Oldham.
Among the most notable mid-round selections, Norwegian freeski star Birk Ruud landed at XC Park City, joining a roster that also includes Japan's Cocomo Murase and Yuto Totsuka, Switzerland's Mathilde Gremaud and Estonia's Kelly Sildaru. XC New York assembled an international crew around McMorris by drafting Mia Brookes, Kirsty Muir, Red Gerard, Taiga Hasegawa and Matěj Švancer. XC Whistler secured Valentino Guseli and Tess Coady among its ten picks.
Complete club rosters
XC Golden State (GM: Jonny Moseley): Eileen Gu, Scotty James, Marcus Kleveland, Hiroto Ogiwara, Henry Sildaru, Mari Fukada, Luca Harrington, Anni Karava, Lainey Steen, Lily Dhawornvej.
XC New York (GM: Dave Sypniewski): Mark McMorris, Red Gerard, Finley Melville-Ives, Taiga Hasegawa, Matěj Švancer, Mia Brookes, Kirsty Muir, Zoe Atkin, Jessica Perlmutter, Patti Zhou.
XC Park City (GM: Sharalee "Haze" Hazen): Yiming Su, Birk Ruud, Alex Hall, Yuto Totsuka, Troy Podmilsak, Cocomo Murase, Mathilde Gremaud, Sara Shimizu, Kelly Sildaru, Indra Brown.
XC Whistler (GM: Ryan Stutt): Mac Forehand, Valentino Guseli, Liam Brearley, Rocco Jamieson, Cam Spalding, Megan Oldham, Tess Coady, Amy Fraser, Gaon Choi, Naomi Urness.
Three stops, two continents, one inaugural season
The XGL Winter Season opens in Aspen, Colorado on January 29–31, 2027, before moving to Calgary on February 19–21 and closing at Ruka, Finland on April 9–11. The draft broadcast streamed on ESPN+, the Roku Sports Channel and the X Games YouTube channel. The league format pits clubs against each other for overall standings points across the three events, a structure designed to give freestyle skiing and snowboarding a team identity beyond individual world cups and X Games invitations.