XC New York Special Advisor Barrett Christy Cummins, Mark McMorris and X Games CEO Jeremy Bloom at the XGL winter draft.
Jen Rosenstein / X Games
On Wednesday, the first-ever X Games League winter draft saw 40 of the world’s top skiers and snowboarders selected to one of four Winter X Games League (XGL) clubs: XC Golden State, XC New York, XC Park City and XC Whistler.
More than 180 athletes opted in to the draft, and those who weren’t selected will still compete in the upcoming XGL winter season as free agents.
The athletes who were drafted represented 14 countries and ranged in age from 14 (Patti Zhou, drafted by XC New York) to 32 (Mark McMorris and Scotty James, drafted by XC New York and XC Golden State, respectively). Each club had to draft five men and five women representing both skiing and snowboarding.
Heavy-hitting freeskier Eileen Gu went No. 1 overall, no doubt because her well-rounded skill set allows her to threaten the podium in every ski discipline: halfpipe, slopestyle and big air.
“I think this league is going to be so big for our industry, for our sport, and my dream of bringing freeskiing to more people will be realized one step at a time with you guys,” Gu said after she was selected.
Some athletes came off the board far later than expected. Seven-time X Games gold medalist Alex Hall was drafted by his hometown club, XC Park City. Kelly Sildaru is the second-most decorated female skier in X Games history, but she was taken second to last.
The league, which reimagined the previously standalone X Games events as a year-round, global, team-based competition, launched with title sponsor MoonPay in 2026 and held its summer draft in March. XC New York emerged as the first-ever XGL summer champion.
The X Games League winter season will kick off at Aspen’s Buttermilk Mountain in January 29–31. The league will then travel to WinSport’s Canada Olympic Park in Calgary February 19–21, marking the first time in 31 years of X Games history that the event will be held in Canada.
Finally, the winter league will crown its inaugural champion on April 11 in Ruka, Finland.
X Games League Winter Draft Results
XC Golden State
Pick No. 1: Eileen Gu, 23, China (Ski)
Pick No. 8: Luca Harrington, 22, New Zealand (Ski)
Pick No. 12: Scotty James, 32, Australia (Snowboard)
Pick No. 13: Mari Fukada, 19, Japan (Snowboard)
Pick No. 19: Hiroto Ogiwara, 21, Japan (Snowboard)
Pick No. 22: Anni Karava, 26, Finland (Ski)
Pick No. 26: Henry Sildaru, 20, Estonia (Ski)
Pick No. 31: Lainey Steen, 14, USA (Ski)
Pick No. 33: Marcus Kleveland, 27, Norway (Snowboard)
Pick No. 40: Lily Dhawornvej, 17, USA (Snowboard)
XC New York
Pick No. 2: Mark McMorris, 32, Canada (Snowboard)
Pick No. 7: Mia Brookes, 19, Great Britain (Snowboard)
Pick No. 9: Kirsty Muir, 22, Scotland (Ski)
Pick No. 16: Finley Melville-Ives, 20, New Zealand (Ski)
Pick No. 20: Taiga Hasegawa, 20, Japan (Snowboard)
Pick No. 21: Zoe Atkin, 23, Great Britain (Ski)
Pick No. 27: Red Gerard, 26, USA (Snowboard)
Pick No. 30: Jessica Perlmutter, 16, USA (Snowboard)
Pick No. 34: Matěj Švancer, 22, Australia (Ski)
Pick No. 39: Patti Zhou, 14, China (Snowboard)
XC Park City
Pick No. 3: Yiming Su, 22, China (Snowboard)
Pick No. 6: Cocomo Murase, 21, Japan (Snowboard)
Pick No. 10: Mathilde Gremaud, 26, Switzerland (Ski)
Pick No. 15: Birk Ruud, 26, Norway (Ski)
Pick No. 17: Indra Brown, 16, Australia (Ski)
Pick No. 24: Yuto Totsuka, 24, Japan (Snowboard)
Pick No. 28: Alex Hall, 27, USA (Ski)
Pick No. 29: Sara Shimizu, 16, Japan (Snowboard)
Pick No. 35: Troy Podmilsak, 22, USA (Ski)
Pick No. 38: Kelly Sildaru, 24, Estonia (Ski)
XC Whistler
Pick No. 4: Megan Oldham, 25, Canada (Ski)
Pick No. 5: Mac Forehand, 25, USA (Ski)
Pick No. 11: Liam Brearley, 23, Canada (Snowboard)
Pick No. 14: Gaon Choi, 17, Korea (Snowboard)
Pick No. 18: Rocco Jamieson, 20, New Zealand (Ski)
Pick No. 23: Amy Fraser, 30, Canada (Ski)
Pick No. 25: Valentino Guseli, 21, Australia (Snowboard)
Pick No. 32: Tess Coady, 25, Australia (Snowboard)
Pick No. 36: Naomi Urness, 22, Canada (Ski)
Pick No. 37: Cam Spalding, 21, Canada (Snowboard)
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