MLS SuperDraft: What is it, how does it work and who was selected for 2026?

Tom Weber

• Updated: 19 Dec 2025 17:05 CST
• 16 min read

News

The 2026 Major League Soccer SuperDraft took place on 18 December 2025, but the mere existence of the draft has become a hotly debated topic in recent years.

The SuperDraft is perhaps the most distinctly 'American' feature of MLS. Since the league's inaugural season in 1996, a draft for college players has taken place annually.

Initially, there were two different drafts: a College Draft for players graduating and a Supplemental Draft for players who had already graduated. In 2000, the two were merged into the SuperDraft.

To the European mind, a draft seems unnecessary due to the existence of youth academies. However, when MLS was created, this infrastructure quite simply did not exist. Youngsters were nurtured, not in the academies of MLS franchises but in amateur clubs and, later, in college.

This infrastructure was only gradually created with the expansion of the United States' premier soccer league. A point has now been reached where some believe the draft to be an anachronism.

How does the MLS SuperDraft work?

Each year, players in the US college system can make themselves available for the SuperDraft. There is no requirement for players to do this, and there have been high-profile examples of athletes opting out of the draft, just as clubs are not required to pick players in the SuperDraft.

The SuperDraft consists of three rounds, with clubs taking turns making their selections based on their draft order. Expansion teams generally have the first pick. A coin toss decides who gets the first pick if there is more than one expansion team that year.

The clubs next in line are those that missed the playoffs. Like in other American drafts, the worst teams get to pick first as a way of trying to create parity within the league. The MLS Cup winners get the final pick.

However, draft picks can be traded, and clubs are allowed to have more than one pick per round. The Colorado Rapids, for example, had eight overall picks heading into the 2026 draft but selected only six players.

Passing on a pick means relinquishing the right to make any further selections in the draft, which is why clubs usually trade away the picks they do not plan on utilising.

The Rapids traded their 40th and 44th overall picks to FC Dallas in exchange for $70,000 in 2027 General Allocation Money (yes, that sentence alone could have its own dedicated explainer).

Clubs have four minutes to make their selection in round one and three minutes in rounds two and three. Each team is permitted one three-minute timeout during the draft.

The round in which a player is drafted generally - but not always - reflects their level of quality. Naturally, the best players are usually selected in round one, and being the No. 1 overall pick is a major distinction.

Franchises are not required to actually sign their draft picks to contracts, however. Nowadays, many draftees first get a deal with their new club's MLS Next Pro team. Some are traded away, some don't get a contract at all and end up in the USL Championship, USL League One or elsewhere.

Players of any nationality are eligible to be drafted. The only requirement is that they must have played in the US college system (the NCAA and NAIA). Players from Canada's U Sports are not eligible, which is why many Canadians play their college soccer in the US.

Interestingly, only four of the first 10 draft picks in the 2026 MLS SuperDraft were Americans. The first US national was the No.5 overall pick.

Is the MLS SuperDraft outdated?

For the past decade or so, all MLS clubs have been required to have a youth development programme, which is why the existence of the draft has increasingly been debated in recent years.

With the infrastructure to nurture players now in place, clubs are no longer reliant on the draft for a fresh influx of talent.

The biggest problem with the draft compared to youth academies is the simple fact that players going through college enter the professional level at an older age than homegrown prospects.

Players coming through an academy will have spent more time in an elite, professional environment than players who went off to college. There is no minimum age to feature in MLS, so academy players will often get a taste of senior football before college players.

As a result, academy prospects who have a good chance of making it as a pro, or who have already made it, do not enter the college system at all, and understandably so.

For example, 20-year-old Seattle Sounders midfielder Obed Vargas has been playing in MLS for five years, whereas players chosen in the draft are typically aged between 20 and 23.

With MLS franchises increasingly aiming to sell young talent overseas, the time spent in a professional environment makes a huge difference, and it is telling that college graduates are rarely sold to top European leagues these days.

It would be unfair to suggest that a college graduate is automatically worse than an academy graduate - many college players spent time in MLS academies before pursuing their studies - but leaving the professional environment at a crucial age like 18 or 19 will affect a player's abilities.

The Philadelphia Union, who have one best youth academies in the country, did not deem it necessary to pick any player in the 2026 MLS SuperDraft.

Nevertheless, it is difficult to say whether the draft has truly become an anachronism because it remains a valuable source of talent for clubs that do their homework.

Minnesota United selected Hassani Dotson and Dayne St. Clair in the 2019 SuperDraft, and both went on to make over 100 appearances for the club. The latter was named MLS Goalkeeper of the Year in 2025.

Duncan McGuire, Patrick Agyemang and Max Arfsten were part of the SuperDraft class of 2023. All three have been capped by the USMNT. It can't be ignored, however, that these players are the exception rather than the rule.

Most draftees end up as squad players or get discarded. 2025 No. 1 and No. 2 SuperDraft picks Manu Duah and Max Floriani only made 14 MLS appearances each for San Diego and San Jose, respectively, in their debut season.

Famous MLS SuperDraft picks

The SuperDraft has produced many an MLS great over the years. Particularly in the league's early growth phase, the draft was a vitally important source of domestic talent in a fragmented footballing landscape.

The first SuperDraft following the merger in 2000 saw the Chicago Fire pick Carlos Bocanegra, who would go on to make over a century of appearances for Fulham and the USMNT.

Ryan Nelsen, picked by DC United, was the standout name of the 2001 SuperDraft. He had a 13-year career with the New Zealand national team, was a two-time MLS Best XI inclusion and played 172 times for Blackburn Rovers.

Many of the early picks of the 2002 SuperDraft went on to have standout MLS careers, most notably Nick Rimando, who is regarded as the greatest goalkeeper in league history. Taylor Twellman and Houston Dynamo legend Brad Davis were also part of the class of '02.

2003 was another golden year of the draft, producing long-time MLS stars like Ricardo Clark, Mike Magee, Todd Dunivant and Pat Noonan.

Perhaps the most historic SuperDraft was the 2004 edition because DC United drafted Freddy Adu as the No. 1 overall pick. The 14-year-old was too young to play college soccer, so MLS bypassed the traditional rules to sanction his move to DC.

DC formally received the No. 1 pick from the Dallas Burn to select a player who had already been officially signed by them two months prior. Adu, of course, never managed to live up to his potential.

The 2004 draft also produced MLS greats Chad Marshall, arguably the greatest defender in league history, 46-cap US international Clarence Goodson and Clint Dempsey, who needs no introduction.

The 2005 iteration was another great one. Former Aston Villa goalkeeper Brad Guzan is the most high-profile name, but that draft also catapulted MLS stalwarts Chad Barrett, Drew Moore and Michael Parkhurst onto the professional scene.

In 2006, US internationals Marvel Wynne, Sacha Kljestan and Dax McCarty were drafted, alongside Calen Carr, who has become a popular pundit since his retirement in 2013.

Former Rangers star Maurice Edu was selected as the No. 1 pick by Toronto FC in the 2007 SuperDraft. 2008 draftees Chance Myers, Brek Shea, Sean Franklin, Tony Beltran and Roger Espinoza all had lengthy MLS careers.

2009 similarly platformed a host of MLS greats like Stefan Frei, Steve Zakuani, Matt Besler and Omar Gonzalez, to name but a few. In 2010, defensive icon Ike Opara, Tony Tchani and Teal Bunbury were drafted.

The class of 2011 produced four-time MLS champion Darlington Nagbe, long-time Houston Dynamo and Seattle Sounders striker Will Bruin, as well as CJ Sapong and Justin Meram.

The 2012 SuperDraft was the shortest in MLS history to date, with only two rounds. Nevertheless, a bunch of notable MLS players came out of that draft. Dom Dwyer, Kellyn Rowe and Ray Gaddis are just three of them.

New England Revolution legend Andrew Farrell and the enigmatic Ryan Hollingshead, who always scores crucial goals despite being a full-back, were picked in the 2013 SuperDraft.

In 2014, three-time MLS Goalkeeper of the Year Andre Blake began his iconic journey with the Philadelphia Union, while MLS cult hero Tommy McNamara and USMNT defender Aaron Long were also drafted that year.

Seattle Sounders legend Cristian Roldan, Canada international Cyle Larin and reliable centre-back Tim Parker were selected in 2015. Premier League winger Jack Harrison and Keegan Rosenberry, a great full-back for Philadelphia and Colorado, joined MLS in 2016.

In 2017, US internationals Miles Robinson, Jeremy Ebobisse, Jackson Yueill and Julian Gressel were chosen. 2025 Defender of the Year Tristan Blackmon was picked in 2018, alongside long-time New England full-back Brandon Bye.

The aforementioned Dayne St. Clair and Hassani Dotson came out of the 2019 draft. Daryl Dike, Jack Maher and Henry Kessler were the standout picks of the 2020 edition.

From the 2021 iteration, Jackson Ragen and Paul Rothrock have had the most success, both with Seattle, despite being second and third-round picks, respectively.

2022 was a great year for goalkeepers, with Roman Celentano and Patrick Schulte coming out of the draft. However, it also produced striker Tani Oluwaseyi, a Canada international who left Minnesota United for Villarreal in 2025.

As mentioned before, Duncan McGuire, Patrick Agyemang and Max Arfsten came out of the 2023 draft, as did Canada international Moise Bombito. 2024 pick Yannick Bright has enjoyed success with Inter Miami, while any 2025 draftee has yet to truly make a mark on MLS.

Who was selected in the 2026 MLS SuperDraft?

DC United had the first pick in the 2026 MLS SuperDraft, which took place on Thursday, 18 December 2025. The capital club selected Canadian defender Nikola Markovic, a sophomore at NC State, to bolster their leaky defence.

FC Dallas, who acquired the No. 2 overall pick from Atlanta United, drafted Haitian forward Ricky Louis, a sophomore at Georgia Southern. Dallas also acquired the No. 3 overall pick with which they chose Jamaican freshman Nicholas Simmonds, a forward from the Virginia Cavaliers.

For the No. 4 pick, Ghanaian Kwaku Agyabeng was selected by Sporting Kansas City. He was a freshman midfielder at Clemson.

The first American in the draft was No. 5 pick Harvey Sarajian. The sophomore midfielder from Wake Forest was chosen by Orlando City with a pick they acquired from the LA Galaxy.

Below are all the 2026 MLS SuperDraft picks. Teams are sorted alphabetically, players are ordered by round and then by pick. GK stands for goalkeeper, D for defender, M for midfielder, F for forward.

Atlanta United

Round 1: Enzo Dovlo (No. 12) - D, University of North Carolina Greensboro

Round 3: Noah James (No. 62) - M, University of San Diego

Austin FC

Round 2: Stefan Dobrijevic (No. 47) - F, University of Akron

Round 3: Patrick Cayelli (No. 77) - M, University of Pennsylvania

Charlotte FC

Round 1: Will Cleary (No. 22) - D, Stanford University

Round 2: Luke Adams (No. 52) - D, University of Tulsa

Round 3: Jahiem Wickham (No. 82) - GK, University of South Florida

Chicago Fire FC

Round 1: Jack Sandmeyer (No. 18) - M, University of North Carolina Chapel Hill

FC Cincinnati

Round 2: Ayoub Lajhar (No. 55) - D, University of Connecticut

Colorado Rapids

Round 1: Mamadou Billo Diop (No. 6) - F, Colorado Rapids 2

Round 1: Mitchell Baker (No. 10) - F, Georgetown University

Round 1: Wahabu Musah (No. 26) - F, Clemson University

Round 2: Asher Hestad (No. 56) - D, University of Washington

Round 3: Koven Johnson (No. 70) - M, High Point University

Round 3: Jabari De Coteau (No. 86) - D, Xavier University

Columbus Crew

Round 2: Tarun Karumanchi (No. 49) - M, University of California Los Angeles

Round 3: Isaac Heffess (No. 79) - D, North Carolina State University

FC Dallas

Round 1: Ricky Louis (No. 2) - F, Georgia Southern University

Round 1: Nicholas Simmonds (No. 3) - F, University of Virginia

Round 1: Niklas Herceg (No. 16) - GK, University of Vermont

Round 2: Edouard Nys (No. 40) - M, University of Illinois Chicago

Round 2: Umberto Pela (No. 44) - M, University of Virginia

Round 3: Olayinka Ogunleye (No. 66) - D, University of Louisville

DC United

Round 1: Nikola Markovic (No. 1) - D, NC State

Round 1: Richie Aman (No. 8) - F, University of Washington

Round 2: Isaac Emojong (No. 31) - M, Utah Valley University

Round 3: Stephane Njike (No. 61) - F, University of Maryland

Round 3: Lasse Kelp (No. 85) - D, University of Maryland

Houston Dynamo FC

Round 1: Joe Highfield (No. 11) - F, University of Portland

Round 2: Calem Tommy (No. 39) - D, North Carolina State University

Round 3: Agustin Resch (No. 69) - D, Seton Hall University

Round 3: Austin Brummett (No. 78) - F, University of Connecticut

Round 3: Gilberto Rivera (No. 88) - M, San Jose State University

Los Angeles Football Club

Round 1: Giuliano Fravolini Whitchurch (No. 24) - D, Princeton University

Round 3: Iain Wagner (No. 84) - M, University of San Diego

LA Galaxy

Round 2: Palmer Bank (No. 35) - D, Stanford University

Round 3: Sebastian Conlon (No. 65) - GK, University of Kentucky

Round 3: Jaime Amaro (No. 72) - M, Bryant University

Inter Miami CF

Round 1: Abdel Talabi (No. 30) - D, Bryant University

Round 2: Kenan Hot (No. 32) - M, Duke University

Round 2: Mamadi Jiana (No. 54) - F, Bryant University

Round 2: Alex Barger (No. 60) - D, Indiana University

Round 3: Maximilian Kissel (No. 90) - F, University of Vermont

Minnesota United FC

Round 1: Jaylinn Mitchell (No. 23) - F, Southern Methodist University

Round 2: Bardia Hormozi (No. 53) - F, Princeton University

Round 3: Aiden Bengard (No. 67) - D, California State University Fullerton

Round 3: Michal Mroz (No. 83) - GK, University of Evansville

CF Montreal

Round 2: Aidan Godinho (No. 46) - M, Georgetown University

Round 3: Tate Lorentz (No. 63) - M, Wake Forest University

Nashville SC

Round 2: Max Miller (No. 50) - D, University of Kentucky

Round 3: Charles-Emile Brunet (No. 80) - M, Southern Methodist University

New England Revolution

Round 2: Schinieder Mimy (No. 38) - D, University of California Los Angeles

Round 3: Kyle McGowan (No. 68) - F, University of Denver

New York City FC

Round 1: Ransford Gyan (No. 27) - F, Clemson University

Round 2: Kevin Pierre (No. 57) - M, Georgia Southern University

Round 3: Joey Mueller (No. 71) - M, University of Central Florida

Round 3: Luca Nikolai (No. 87) - D, University of North Carolina Chapel Hill

New York Red Bulls

Round 1: Tomas Hut (No. 21) - GK, Syracuse University

Orlando City SC

Round 1: Harvey Sarajian (No. 5) - F, Wake Forest University

Round 1: Nolan Miller (No. 9) - D, University of Michigan

Round 1: Jaylen Yearwood (No. 14) - D, University of North Florida

Round 1: Issah Haruna (No. 20) - M, University of North Carolina Greensboro

Round 3: Mitch Ferguson (No. 74) - D, University of Notre Dame

Philadelphia Union

None

Portland Timbers

Round 1: Justin McLean (No. 15) - F, North Carolina State University

Round 2: Colin Griffith (No. 45) - F, University of Maryland

Round 3: Lucas Fernandez Kim (No. 75) - M, Oregon State University

Real Salt Lake

Round 1: Lukas Magnason (No. 13) - D, Clemson University

Round 1: Dylan Kropp (No. 25) - D, University of North Carolina Chapel Hill

Round 2: Tre Wright (No. 33) - D, University of California Los Angeles

Round 2: Jefferson Amaya (No. 42) - M, High Point University

Round 2: Niklas Soerensen (No. 48) - D, University of Pittsburgh

Round 3: Brayden Beason (No. 73) - F, University of San Francisco

San Diego FC

Round 1: Martin Luala (No. 28) - M, Grand Canyon University

Round 2: Remi Agunbiade (No. 58) - F, University of Akron

Round 3: Kyle Durham (No. 76) - GK, University of Connecticut

San Jose Earthquakes

Round 2: Jack Jasinski (No. 41) - D, Princeton University

Seattle Sounders FC

Round 2: Joe Dale (No. 51) - M – University of Washington

Round 3: Stockton Short (No. 81) - GK, Utah Tech University

Sporting Kansas City

Round 1: Kwaku Agyabeng (No. 4) - M, Clemson University

Round 1: Nikos Clarke-Tosczak (No. 19) - D, University of Portland

Round 2: Sadam Masereka (No. 34) - F, University of Maryland

Round 3: Blake D'Agostino (No. 64) - F, California Baptist University

St. Louis City SC

Round 1: Zack Lillington (No. 7) - D, UC Davis

Round 2: Andrew Samuels (No. 37) - GK, Princeton University

Round 2: Cooper Forcellini (No. 43) - M, Xavier University

Toronto FC

Round 2: Jackson Gilman (No. 36) - D, University of Pittsburgh

Vancouver Whitecaps FC

Round 1: Zach Ramsey (No. 17) - M, University of Washington

Round 1: Daniel Lugo (No. 29) - F, High Point University

Round 2: Yeider Zuluaga (No. 59) - F, Seattle University

Round 3: Connor Lofy (No. 89) - M, University of Washington

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