MLS SuperDraft

The MLS SuperDraft is an annual college draft for teams of Major League Soccer in the United States and Canada.The MLS SuperDraft is an annual draft allowing MLS clubs to take turns selecting from a pool of eligible amateur players. These drafted players usually come from university teams competing in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). It takes place in January and is used by teams to select players who have graduated from college or otherwise been signed by the league. <ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>The SuperDraft was first instituted in 2000, as a combination of the MLS College Draft, in which players having graduated from college were selected, and the MLS Supplemental Draft, in which all other players were chosen.The draft is divided into three rounds in which each club has a selection, the order of which is determined by a combination of the teams' playoff and regular season positions, with the last placed team (or expansion teams) getting the first pick.

History

From 1996 to 1999, all American players graduating college were entered into the MLS College Draft, and were eligible to be selected by all Major League Soccer teams. Players who had already graduated from college were entered into a separate MLS Supplemental Draft.Template:Citation needed The division between the two was eliminated in 2000, when they were combined into a single MLS SuperDraft. Originally created to ensure strict parity in the league, the draft was designed to allow weaker clubs to develop their rosters. The first SuperDraft was held in 2000, and since then has become the primary draft of the league. Recently, the draft has been considered to be secondary to youth academies.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

The importance of the SuperDraft waned in the 2010s as MLS teams established their own youth academy systems and acquired young players from other leagues. The 2020 MLS SuperDraft was conducted exclusively by conference calls and online streaming for the first time.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

Eligible players

Only players from the American college sports system (e.g., the NCAA and the NAIA) are eligible to be drafted. Canadian U Sports men's soccer players are not included, despite numerous proposals and discussions in 2010<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and 2012<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> when U Sports was Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS). In previous SuperDrafts, a few players were drafted directly from clubs outside the U.S. or Canada. While the NFL and NBA rely heavily on the annual event for an infusion of workers, MLS is now 10 years into allowing teams to groom talent in their youth academies and maintain exclusive rights to those players, even if they do end up playing NCAA soccer. They are called homegrown players.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Rules of draft selection

The draft process for the SuperDraft closely resembles the NFL draft. Below is the process for the 2023 MLS SuperDraft:

1. Any expansion club automatically gets the first pick; should there be two expansion teams, a coin toss determines who picks first in the SuperDraft and who picks first in the expansion draft.
2. Teams that did not make the playoffs are ordered by their regular-season record.
3. Teams that made the MLS Cup playoffs are then ordered by which round of the playoffs they are eliminated.
4. The winners of the MLS Cup are given the last selection, and the losers the penultimate selection.
5. Remaining ties are broken by the goal differential, goals scored, goals conceded, and then the flip of a coin.

Status	Draft picks
Expansion clubs	1
Non-playoff clubs	2–17
Eliminated in knockout round	18–21
Eliminated in conference semifinals	22–25
Eliminated in conference championships	26–27
MLS Cup finalist	28
MLS Cup winner	29

List of MLS College Drafts

Year	Date	Template:Tooltip	Template:Tooltip	City	Template:Tooltip	Template:Tooltip
1996	March 4, 1996	3	30	Fort Lauderdale, FL	Template:Flagicon Matt McKeon	Kansas City Wiz
1997	February 1, 1997	3	30	Fort Lauderdale, FL	Template:Flagicon Tahj Jakins	Colorado Rapids
1998	January 31, 1998	3	36	Fort Lauderdale, FL	Template:Flagicon Leo Cullen	Miami Fusion
1999	February 6, 1999	3	36	Fort Lauderdale, FL	Template:Flagicon Jason Moore	D.C. United

List of MLS SuperDrafts

Year	Date	Template:Tooltip	Template:Tooltip	City	Template:Tooltip	Template:Tooltip
2000	February 6, 2000	6	72	Fort Lauderdale, FL	Template:Flagicon Steve Shak	MetroStars
2001	February 5, 2001	6	72	Davie, FL	Template:Flagicon Chris Carrieri	San Jose Earthquakes
2002	February 10, 2002	6	70	Lake Buena Vista, FL	Template:Flagicon Chris Gbandi	Dallas Burn
2003	January 17, 2003	6	60	Kansas City, MO	Template:Flagicon Alecko Eskandarian	D.C. United
2004	January 16, 2004	6	60	Charlotte, NC	Template:Flagicon Freddy Adu	D.C. United
2005	January 14, 2005	4	48	Baltimore, MD	Template:Flagicon Nikolas Besagno	Real Salt Lake
2006	January 20, 2006	4	48	Philadelphia, PA	Template:Flagicon Marvell Wynne	MetroStars
2007	January 12, 2007	4	52	Indianapolis, IN	Template:Flagicon Maurice Edu	Toronto FC
2008	January 18, 2008	4	56	Baltimore, MD	Template:Flagicon Chance Myers	Kansas City Wizards
2009	January 15, 2009	4	60	St. Louis, MO	Template:Flagicon Steve Zakuani	Seattle Sounders FC
2010	January 14, 2010	4	64	Philadelphia, PA	Template:Flagicon Danny Mwanga	Philadelphia Union
2011	January 13, 2011	3	54	Baltimore, MD	Template:Flagicon Omar Salgado	Vancouver Whitecaps FC
2012	January 12, 2012	2	38	Kansas City, MO	Template:Flagicon Andrew Wenger	Montreal Impact
2013	January 17, 2013	2	38	Indianapolis, IN	Template:Flagicon Andrew Farrell	New England Revolution
2014	January 16, 2014	4	77	Philadelphia, PA	Template:Flagicon Andre Blake	Philadelphia Union
2015	January 15, 2015	4	84	Philadelphia, PA	Template:Flagicon Cyle Larin	Orlando City SC
2016	January 14, 2016	4	75	Baltimore, MD	Template:Flagicon Jack Harrison	Chicago Fire
2017	January 13, 2017	4	81	Los Angeles, CA	Template:Flagicon Abu Danladi	Minnesota United FC
2018	January 19, 2018	4	81	Philadelphia, PA	Template:Flagicon João Moutinho	Los Angeles FC
2019	January 11, 2019	4	75	Chicago, IL	Template:Flagicon Frankie Amaya	FC Cincinnati
2020	January 9, 2020	4	77	via teleconference	Template:Flagicon Robbie Robinson	Inter Miami CF
2021	January 21, 2021	3	75	via teleconference	Template:Flagicon Dani Pereira	Austin FC
2022	January 11, 2022	3	79	via teleconference	Template:Flagicon Ben Bender	Charlotte FC
2023	December 21, 2022Template:Efn-ua	3	83	via teleconference	Template:Flagicon Hamady Diop	Charlotte FC
2024	December 19, 2023Template:Efn-ua	3	87	via teleconference	Template:Flagicon Tyrese Spicer	Toronto FC
2025	December 20, 2024Template:Efn-ua	3	90	via teleconference	Template:Flagicon Manu Duah	San Diego FC

References

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