Expansion San Diego FC took UC Santa Barbara midfielder Manu Duah with the first pick in Friday's MLS SuperDraft.
The six-foot-four freshman from Ghana started 14 games for the Gauchos. Duah also played for the Santa Barbara Soccer Club, helping it reach the MLS Next Cup playoffs in the under-19 age group.
"First and foremost Manu hits the key profile of the club," said San Diego coach Mikey Varas. "He's a high-talent, young player with amazing character and values."
Saint Louis University defender Max Floriani went second to the San Jose Earthquakes with Wisconsin freshman forward Dean Boltz going third to the Chicago Fire.
Duah and Boltz, both underclassmen, signed Generation Adidas contracts with the league ahead of the draft while Floriani signed a contract as a senior.
CF Montreal took Nigerian midfielder Michael Adedokun with the 13th overall pick. The five-foot-eight, 160-pounder led Ohio State with eight goals and 11 assists in the regular season and was named Big Ten Midfielder of the Year, also earning All-Big Ten first-team honours.
Adedokun is one of three finalists for the 2024 MAC Herman Trophy, awarded annually to the most valuable player in NCAA Division 1 soccer. The winner of the award will be announced on Jan. 3.
The Vancouver Whitecaps used the 15th overall pick on North Carolina freshman defender Tate Johnson, a Generation Adidas player whose contract won't count against the salary cap.
"A hard-working left back with a lot of technique also," said Axel Schuster, the Whitecaps CEO and sporting director.
Schuster said the Whitecaps had asked the league to sign Johnson to a Generation Adidas contract ahead of the draft
Johnson played for the USL's Tampa Bay Rowdies and Crown Legacy FC in MLS Next Pro before attending college.
The 19-year-old Johnson started 16 games, playing the full 90 minutes in 13 of them, for North Carolina. His father, Brian, played five seasons in MLS, which included winning the MLS Cup in 2000 with the Kansas City Wizards alongside current Sporting Kansas City coach Peter Vermes.
Fresh off an NCAA championship performance with the University of Vermont on Monday, Calgary winger Sydney Wathuta went 16th overall to the Colorado Rapids. Wathuta was named America East Midfielder of the Year after registering 14 assists, second most in NCAA Division 1.
Vermont forward Max Murray went one pick later to New York City FC.
With club academies playing a bigger role in roster building, the three-round draft has become less of a factor in recent years.
The Philadelphia Union demonstrated that earlier this month when it sent all of its draft picks for the next three years — eight selections in all — to the Colorado Rapids for up to US$600,000 in general allocation money.
New England and Nashville SC traded away the fifth overall and sixth overall picks, respectively.
Toronto FC, which landed Trinidad and Tobago wingback Tyrese Spicer with the first overall pick last December, traded away this year's first-round pick (ninth overall) to San Diego in the deal that netted TFC Brazilian winger Thiago Andrade.
Toronto general manager Jason Hernandez said the ninth overall pick "wasn't something that was incredibly relevant for us with our understanding of the player pool this year."
But TFC traded with D.C. United to get the 23rd overall pick, using it to select sophomore defender Reid Fisher from San Diego State. The six-foot-three 180-pounder was named to the All-WAC (Western Athletic Conference) team this year.
Toronto gave up US$50,000 in 2025 general allocation money, with another US$50,000 in conditional GAM, to get the pick, which originally belonged to Atlanta.
TFC used its second-round pick (38th overall) to take Pittsburgh senior midfielder Michael Sullivan. Able to play a variety of positions, he has also seen action as a defender and a variety of midfield roles.
Montreal used a second-round pick (44th overall), acquired from Portland, to take six-foot-four Cal forward Arik Duncan who led the Golden Bears in points (13) and goals (five) in 18 games this season.
Vancouver took defender Nikola Djordjevic, a Texan who captained SMU, in the second round (45th overall).
With the 50th overall pick, obtained from Cincinnati, Montreal picked Penn State midfielder/forward Caden Grabfelder. A product of the Philadelphia Union academy, he was named to the MLS Next Tournament Best XI in 2022.
Toronto chose Liberian midfielder Joseph Melto Quiah from Dayton in the third round (69th overall). He already has one senior cap for Liberia and has represented his country at youth level.
Montreal used the 73rd overall pick on French defender Arthur Duquenne, who won an NCAA title with Clemson in 2023.
Montreal's Mohamed Cisset, a Penn State defender who represented Mali at the Paris Olympics, went 71st overall to FC Dallas
---
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 20, 2024.
Neil Davidson, The Canadian Press