MLS ABCs: MLS Super Draft
Another article in our MLS ABCs Series to help new MLS fans in Seattle get accustomed to the rules and intricasies of MLS.
To the right, you will notice a countdown timer to the MLS SuperDraft. The SuperDraft will occur on January 15th in St. Louis.
Players eligible to be drafted include all current college seniors and other college underclassmen who have been signed by the league. These underclassmen are called Generation Adidas (and they will be addressed later this week).
Like other drafts that you may be familiar with such as the NBA, NFL, MLB, and NHL, each team is initially allocated one pick in each round. The Draft Order is usually ranked in the reverse order of finish from the previous year meaning that the Champion selects last and the worst teams gets the #1 pick. However, these draft spots can be traded and allocated to various teams through various deals.
The MLS SuperDraft last 4 rounds. The first round is scheduled to be televised live on ESPN2 from 11:00 AM to Noon PT.
Currently, the expansion Sounders FC holds the #1 pick in each round.
From Steve Goff here are some facts about MLS First Round Draft Picks…
- In MLS’s 13 seasons, no MVP winner has come to MLS directly from college or high school through the draft. (Taylor Twellman was drafted by New England but only after playing in Germany first, and Jason Kreis toiled in the USL before being selected by Dallas in the inaugural draft.)
- From the 2008 Best XI, only defenders Chad Marshall and Bakary Soumare and midfielder Sacha Kljestan were first-round draft picks.
- Of the 14 first-round picks last winter, Rob Valentino and Josh Lambo did not appear in any league matches, Dominic Cervi never signed with MLS, Ciaran O’Brien and David Horst made only one league appearance and Brek Shea played in two games. The group did combine to make 84 starts, but rookie of the year Sean Franklin had 26 of them, and none in the group scored more than one goal.
