2022 MLS SuperDraft
2022 draft in Major League Soccer
| 2022 MLS SuperDraft | |
|---|---|
 | |
| General information | |
| Sport | Soccer |
| Date(s) | January 11, 2022 |
| Overview | |
| 79 total selections in 3 rounds | |
| League | Major League Soccer |
| Teams | 28 |
| First selection | Ben Bender, Charlotte FC |
| Most selections | Vancouver Whitecaps FC (5) |
← 2021 2023 → | |
The 2022 MLS SuperDraft was the 23rd edition of the SuperDraft conducted by Major League Soccer. The SuperDraft is held every January prior to the start of the MLS season and has been conducted via conference calls since 2020.[1] Previously, the SuperDraft had been held in conjunction with the annual January United Soccer Coaches convention.
Since 2021, the SuperDraft consists of three rounds. Teams that received fourth-round picks for this draft via past trades received compensatory picks instead.[2] Of the 75 players selected in the SuperDraft, 28 were signed by MLS teams—most of them from the first round picks.[3]
Format
The SuperDraft format has remained constant throughout its history and closely resembles that of the NFL Draft:
- Any expansion teams receive the first picks. MLS has announced that Charlotte FC[4] would begin play as an expansion team in 2022. Sacramento Republic and St. Louis City SC[5] were about to debut that year, but MLS delayed St. Louis's start to 2023 instead, and the league's expansion to Sacramento was withheld indefinitely.
- Non-playoff clubs receive the next picks in reverse order of prior season finish.
- Teams that made the MLS Cup Playoffs are then ordered by which round of the playoffs they are eliminated.
- The winners of the MLS Cup are given the last selection, and the losers the penultimate selection.
Player selection
| Player key | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| * | Denotes player who has been selected for an MLS Best XI team | ||||||||||
| ^ | Member of 2022 Generation Adidas class | ||||||||||
| † | Player who was named to an MLS Best XI and Generation Adidas | ||||||||||
| Signed key | |||||||||||
| 29 | Denotes player who signed for a MLS team (Division I) | ||||||||||
| 16 | Denotes player who signed for a USL Championship team (Division II) | ||||||||||
| 28 | Denotes player who signed for a MLS Next Pro, USL League One or NISA team (Division III) | ||||||||||
| 1 | Denotes player who signed for a team outside the United States soccer league system | ||||||||||
| Positions key | |||||||||||
| GK | Goalkeeper | DF | Defender | MF | Midfielder | FW | Forward | ||||
Round 1
Round 2
Round 3
Compensatory picks
| P | MLS team | Player | Pos. | College | Conference | Academy team | Other team | Signed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 85 | Chicago Fire FC [Trade 1] |  Yanis Leerman | DF | UCF | American | Troyes | — |  Loudoun United |
| 86 | Vancouver Whitecaps FC [Trade 2] |  Vitor Dias | MF | Marshall | C-USA | São Paulo | — | St. Louis City SC 2 |
| 87 | FC Dallas [Trade 3] | Holland Rula | DF | Wake Forest | ACC | FC Dallas | — | |
| 88 | Atlanta United FC [Trade 4] |  Tola Showunmi | FW | New Hampshire | America East | Cheshunt | — | Pittsburgh Riverhounds |
| 89 | San Jose Earthquakes [Trade 5] | PASS | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Notable undrafted players
Undrafted
| Player | Nat. | Position | College | Team | League |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kyle Hiebert |  | DF | Missouri State Bears | St. Louis City SC 2 | MLS Next Pro |
Homegrown players
| Original MLS team | Player | Position | College | Conference | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Atlanta United FC | Justin Garces | GK | UCLA | Pac-12 | [24] | |
| Columbus Crew | Jake Morris | DF | Campbell | Big South | ||
| Columbus Crew | Sean Zawadzki | MF | Georgetown | Big East | ||
| New York Red Bulls | Zach Ryan | MF | Stanford | Pac-12 | [25] | |
| Seattle Sounders FC | Dylan Teves | MF | Washington | Pac-12 |
Eligible players who signed outside of MLS in 2021
This is a list of eligible players who signed in leagues outside of MLS prior to the SuperDraft, but were still draft eligible.
| Player | Nat. | Position | College | Conference | Team | League | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Haji Abdikadir |  | MF | Louisville | ACC | San Diego Loyal | USL Championship | Traded to Colorado Springs Switchbacks | [26] |
| Giovanni Aguilar | | MF | CSUN | Big West | Sacramento Republic | USL Championship | Drafted by Vancouver Whitecaps FC and subsequently transferred to Whitecaps FC 2 | [27][28] |
| Frank Daroma |  | MF | Cal Sate Bernardino | CCAA | Las Vegas Lights | USL Championship | Undrafted | [29] |
| Michael Knapp | | MF | Montclair | NJAC | New York Red Bulls II | USL Championship | Drafted by Austin FC | [30] |
| Roberto Molina |  | MF | UC Irvine | Big West | Las Vegas Lights | USL Championship | Drafted by Colorado Rapids | [31] |
Summary
Selections by college athletic conference
| Conference | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Comp. | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NCAA Division I conferences | |||||
| ACC | 6 | 6 | 6 | 1 | 19 |
| America East | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| American | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| ASUN | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| A-10 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 7 |
| Big East | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 5 |
| Big Ten | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 6 |
| Big West | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| CAA | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Conference USA | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Ivy | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Mid-American | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 5 |
| NEC | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Pac-12 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| Patriot | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| SoCon | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| WAC | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 6 |
| WCC | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| NCAA Division III conference | |||||
| NJAC | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Passes | |||||
| Pass | 0 | 1 | 8 | 1 | 10 |
Schools with multiple draft selections
| Selections | Schools |
|---|---|
| 6 | Clemson, Saint Louis |
| 5 | Washington |
| 3 | Note Dame, St. John's |
| 2 | Akron, Duke, Grand Canyon, Marshall, Maryland, NIU, Oregon State, Penn State, Pittsburgh, UCF, UCLA, Wake Forest |
2022 SuperDraft trades
- Round 1
- ^ No. 3: Toronto → Dallas. January 10, 2022: Dallas acquired Toronto FC's first-round selection and Dom Dwyer in exchange for $50,000 in general allocation money and buying out Dwyer's contract.[6]
- ^ No. 7: Chicago → NY Red Bulls. January 11, 2022: The Red Bulls acquired Chicago's 2022 first-round selection in exchange for $100,000 in general allocation money.[7]
- ^ No. 10: Los Angeles FC → Colorado → Nashville. July 27, 2021: Colorado acquired a 2022 first-round selection and midfielder Mark-Anthony Kaye from Los Angeles FC in exchange for $1 million in 2021 general allocation money and a 2022 international roster slot. On January 11, 2022, Colorado traded the pick to Nashville SC in exchange for general allocation money.[8]
- ^ No. 7: Montréal → NY Red Bulls → Chicago. January 11, 2022: The New York Red Bulls acquired Montréal's 2022 first-round selection in exchange for $100,000 in general allocation money and the Red Bulls traded to Chicago Fire for the same GAM.[7]
- ^ No. 13: D.C. → San Jose. January 11, 2022: San Jose acquired D.C.'s 2022 first-round selection in exchange for $100,000 in general allocation money.[7]
- ^ No. 14: LA Galaxy → Cincinnati. April 8, 2021: Cincinnati acquired a 2022 first-round selection and $250,000 in 2021 general allocation money from the LA Galaxy in exchange for the discovery rights to winger Kévin Cabral.[9]
- ^ No. 15: NY Red Bulls → Montréal. January 11, 2022: Montréal acquired the New York Red Bulls' 2022 first-round selection as part of their earlier first-round trade.[7]
- ^ No. 20: Seattle → NY Red Bulls. January 11, 2022: The New York Red Bulls acquired Seattle's 2022 first-round selection in exchange for general allocation money.[7]
- ^ No. 21: Nashville → LA Galaxy. December 12, 2021: LA Galaxy acquired Nashville's first-round selection in exchange for Ethan Zubak.[10]
- ^ No. 25: Salt Lake → Columbus. January 11, 2022: Columbus acquired Real Salt Lake's first-round selection in exchange for $50,000 in general allocation money.[7]
- ^ No. 26: Philadelphia → Nashville → Colorado. January 19, 2021: Nashville acquired a 2022 first-round selection and 2021 second- and third-round selections from Philadelphia in exchange for up to $225,000 of general allocation money. On January 11, 2022, the pick was traded to Colorado for general allocation money.[11]
- ^ No. 28: NY City FC → Dallas. January 11, 2022: New York City FC traded the pick to FC Dallas in exchange for $50,000 in general allocation money.[11]
- Round 2
- ^ No. 34: Dallas → NY City FC. January 11, 2022: NYC FC traded $50,000 in general allocation money to Dallas in exchange for a second-round selection.[7]
- ^ No. 38: Los Angeles FC → Nashville. February 26, 2020: Nashville acquired a 2022 second-round selection, $350,000 in combined 2020 and 2021 general allocation money, and the No. 24 spot in the MLS Allocation Order from Los Angeles FC in exchange for the No. 1 spot in the Allocation Order. The traded pick was LAFC's natural selection.[12]
- ^ No. 45: Minnesota → Colorado. September 19, 2020: Colorado acquired a 2022 second-round selection and $150,000 in 2020 general allocation money from Minnesota in exchange for forward Kei Kamara.[13]
- ^ No. 49: Nashville → Vancouver. November 26, 2019: Vancouver acquired a 2022 second-round selection and the No. 25 selection in Stage One of the 2019 MLS Re-Entry Draft from Nashville SC in exchange for the No. 2 selection in the same stage of that Re-Entry Draft. Nashville used the No. 2 pick to select defender Eric Miller. The traded pick was Nashville's natural selection.[14]
- ^ No. 54: Philadelphia → Miami. December 23, 2021: Inter Miami acquired a 2022 second-round selection from Philadelphia in exchange for forward Julián Carranza on loan with a purchase option.[15]
- Round 3
- ^ No. 60: Houston → LA Galaxy. December 12, 2021: LA Galaxy acquired a 2022 third-round selection from Houston in exchange for defender Daniel Steres.[16]
- ^ No. 66: Los Angeles FC → Dallas. March 9, 2021: Dallas acquired a 2022 third-round selection and additional incentives, if certain performance thresholds are met, from the Los Angeles FC in exchange for forward Cal Jennings and his college protected list rights.[17]
- ^ No. 73: Minnesota → NY Red Bulls. April 30, 2021: The Red Bulls acquired a 2022 third-round selection from Minnesota in exchange for the homegrown player rights to midfielder Aziel Jackson.[18]
- Compensatory picks
- ^ No. 85: Charlotte → Chicago. December 18, 2020: Charlotte and Chicago swapped fourth-round selections in exchange for Charlotte's acquisition of midfielder Brandt Bronico.[19] The pick acquired from Chicago was not exercised.
- ^ No. 86: Miami → Vancouver. September 5, 2019: Vancouver acquired a conditional 2022 selection from Inter Miami in exchange for midfielder David Norman Jr.[20]
- ^ No. 87: Minnesota → Dallas. December 13, 2020: FC Dallas acquired a 2022 fourth-round selection and up to $50,000 of general allocation money from Minnesota in exchange for the MLS rights to defender Callum Montgomery.[21]
- ^ No. 88: Colorado → Atlanta. March 4, 2020: Atlanta acquired a 2022 fourth-round selection from Colorado in exchange for the homegrown player rights to midfielder Will Vint.[22]
- ^ No. 89: New England → San Jose. December 13, 2020: San Jose acquired a 2022 fourth-round selection from New England in exchange for the player rights to Jon Bell.[23]
References
- ^ Fuhrmeister, Chris (November 15, 2019). "MLS to get rid of live SuperDraft in 2020". Pro Soccer USA. Archived from the original on December 19, 2019. Retrieved January 9, 2020.
- ^ Rueter, Jeff; Stejskal, Sam (November 18, 2020). "MLS will trim 2021 SuperDraft to three rounds from four: Sources". The Athletic. Retrieved December 20, 2020.
- ^ Sigal, Jonathan (May 25, 2022). "College to MLS: Which SuperDraft picks are most impactful in 2022?". MLSsoccer.com. Retrieved December 14, 2022.
- ^ Andrejev, Alex (July 17, 2020). "Charlotte MLS pushes back inaugural season. Team to begin play in 2022". Charlotte Observer. Archived from the original on July 22, 2020.
- ^ Young, Jabari (July 17, 2020). "Major League Soccer to delay debuts of 3 expansion franchises due to coronavirus". CNBC. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
- ^ "FC Dallas acquire & buyout Dom Dwyer, receive SuperDraft pick from Toronto FC" (Press release). MLS. January 10, 2022. Retrieved January 11, 2022.
- ^ a b c d e f g "MLS SuperDraft 2022 Draft Tracker". MLS. January 11, 2022.
- ^ "Rapids Acquire Canadian International Mark-Anthony Kaye". Colorado Rapids. July 27, 2021.
- ^ "LA Galaxy sign winger Kevin Cabral from Valenciennes FC". MLS. April 9, 2021.
- ^ "Nashville Soccer Club Acquires Forward Ethan Zubak from LA Galaxy". Nashville SC. December 12, 2021.
- ^ a b "Philadelphia Union trade away SuperDraft picks to Nashville SC for allocation money". MLS. January 20, 2021.
- ^ "Nashville SC Acquires Allocation Money and SuperDraft Pick" (Press release). Nashville SC Communications. February 26, 2020. Retrieved February 26, 2020.
- ^ "Minnesota United signs Kei Kamara from Colorado". ESPN. September 19, 2020.
- ^ "Whitecaps FC acquire 2022 MLS SuperDraft second round selection from Nashville SC" (Press release). Vancouver Whitecaps FC. November 26, 2019. Retrieved November 26, 2019.
- ^ "Philadelphia Union acquire Julian Carranza from Inter Miami on loan". MLS. December 23, 2021.
- ^ "Houston Dynamo FC acquire defender Daniel Steres". Houston Dynamo FC. December 12, 2021.
- ^ "LAFC Acquires 23-Year-Old Forward Cal Jennings". Los Angeles FC. March 9, 2021.
- ^ "Minnesota United sign midfielder Aziel Jackson to Homegrown deal". MLS. May 1, 2021.
- ^ "Charlotte FC acquire Brandt Bronico from Chicago Fire". MLS. December 18, 2020.
- ^ "Inter Miami trade for Vancouver Whitecaps Homegrown David Norman Jr" (Press release). MLS. September 4, 2019. Retrieved November 23, 2019.
- ^ "Minnesota United acquire defender Callum Montgomery from FC Dallas". MLS. December 13, 2020. Retrieved December 20, 2020.
- ^ "Colorado Rapids Sign 18-Year-Old Midfielder Will Vint to Homegrown Contract" (Press release). Colorado Rapids Communications. March 4, 2020. Retrieved March 4, 2020.
- ^ "Revolution acquire College Player Rights to defender Jon Bell" (Press release). New England Revolution. December 13, 2020. Retrieved January 11, 2022.
- ^ "Atlanta United sign goalkeeper Justin Garces to homegrown contract". MLS. January 10, 2021. Retrieved January 12, 2021.
- ^ "New York Red Bulls sign forward Zach Ryan as homegrown player". MLSSoccer.com. January 20, 2022. Retrieved January 23, 2022.
- ^ "Abdikadir Signs Pro Contract with San Diego Loyal SC". July 27, 2021. Retrieved January 12, 2022.
- ^ "Republic FC Signs Former Academy Standout Giovanni Aguilar". December 20, 2021.
- ^ "Republic FC and Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2 Agree to Transfer of SRFC Homegrown Gio Aguilar".
- ^ "Frank Daroma Signs Professional Contract With Las Vegas Lights". April 8, 2021. Retrieved January 12, 2022.
- ^ "New York Red Bulls II Sign Midfielder Michael Knapp". April 23, 2021. Retrieved January 12, 2022.
- ^ "ROBERTO MOLINA SIGNS WITH LAFC ORGANIZATION". April 5, 2021. Retrieved January 12, 2022.
- v
- t
- e
2022 MLS SuperDraft first-round selections
- Ben Bender
- Roman Celentano
- Isaiah Parker
- Thorleifur Úlfarsson
- Kipp Keller
- Lucas Bartlett
- Matt Nocita
- Ousseni Bouda
- Ryan Sailor
- Ahmed Longmire
- Kendall Burks
- Patrick Schulte
- Oskar Ågren
- Ian Murphy
- Jojea Kwizera
- Simon Becher
- Tani Oluwaseyi
- Jack Lynn
- Erik Centeno
- O'Vonte Mullings
- Farai Mutatu
- Esai Easley
- Mohamed Omar
- Jacob Jackson
- Philip Quinton
- Anthony Markanich
- Justin Rasmussen
- Tsiki Ntsabeleng
