The Official 2025 MLS SuperDraft thread (Friday, 12/20/24) [R]

If that's the case name the five late rounders from the 2023 draft who are better than the five first rounders listed below lol

 

Well thats why i threw in "usually" lmao

And the 2023 MLS Draft was god awful.

 

Those are five guys who would be top three players for the Quakes

 

The bar isn't very high.

 

The Top Drawer Midseason Player Rankings are here, showcasing the 100 best men’s college soccer stars! 🔥 👀

Denver's Sam Bassett takes the top spot, with many other standout players making an impact

Check out the full list! ➡️ https://t.co/LDDS4QHALS pic.twitter.com/UXmM6wOuJS

— TopDrawerSoccer (@TopDrawerSoccer) October 17, 2024

Americans in the top 10:

Sam Bassett is the younger brother of Cole. Not sure his YOB. Either an '02 or '03. He's a Rapids academy product. Like Cole, was not heralded in his academy years, but seems like he's found higher success despite that.

Sam Williams ('05) is a holding… https://t.co/v4305BQdQE

— USMNTProspects (@ProspectsUsmnt) October 17, 2024

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GaHFfpDWwAA1Ty8.jpg

If Sam Bassett is anywhere close to his brother Cole let's draft him

Emil Jaaskelainen second, Alex Harris fourth (both mentioned on the previous page)

Oh no there's a Stanford player ninth so that's who we're drafting

 

Would it surprise anyone if we didn't take one top 10 guy?

 

It says "Rapids academy product" so I would assume they have homegrown rights, no?

 

Plenty of guys come through some MLS academy and then get drafted because they didn't sign a homegrown deal.

 

Are the Rapids not going to offer a homegrown deal to the top-rated college player?

 

How many "Quakes academy products" have gone on to fame and fortune for other teams?

 

None who were let go in the way being suggested, simply passing on them and letting them go into the draft pool. If there's information showing that the Rapids don't have homegrown rights in this case, I'd love to see it.

 

https://gostanford.com/sports/mens-soccer/roster/player/jackson-kiil

 

They may offer some borderline-insulting deal like I suppose the Quakes have done on occasion...

 

Stanford so 98% chance we draft this guy

GOALLLLLLLL!! 🚨

DYLAN HOOPER WITH A MIRACLE FROM MIDFIELD TO WALK IT OFF!!!!!!

💻» @ACCNetworkExtra#GoStanford pic.twitter.com/zXsM3r6UNV

— Stanford Men’s Soccer (@StanfordMSoccer) November 7, 2024

 

Keeper fail. It's not like he was chipped. All he had to do was tip it over the bar.

 

I just realized Bruce Arena will be doing the drafting not the usual Quakes brain trust...

The Revs first round draft picks from 2019 - 2023:

2019: #9 Tajon Buchanan (GA, CanMNT winger the Revs sold for $7 million now with Inter Milan)
2020: #6 Henry Kessler (GA, center back who is a MLS regular with 2 USMNT caps)
2021: #22 Edward Kizza (forward in USL)
2022: #24 Jacob Jackson (goalkeeper now with the Quakes)
2023: #4 Joshua Bolma (GA, central midfielder, has mostly played in MLSNP)

Out of five first round draft picks that's one home run, one other very solid hit, another that's at least making MLS rosters... and then one bust, and one that's too early to call. Buchanan and Kessler were both key pieces of the 2021 Revs team that won Supporters Shield and set the MLS points record.

So we can assume that with the #2 pick Arena will be looking at younger guys with high upside that are Generation Adidas signings, at any position, who are probably better bets to pan out than whatever Stanford pick the Quakes were going to select before they hired him.

 

Random blog I found:
https://kelkensport.substack.com/p/2025-mls-superdraft-sophomore-prospects
https://kelkensport.substack.com/p/2025-mls-superdraft-junior-prospects

 

This things are a crap shoot. As was mentioned before Arena has done pretty decent over time with the draft. We can only hope for the best.

https://draftutopia.com/2025mlsmockdraft.html

 

Convince this kid Dylan Borso to sign a Generation Adidas deal?

JUST. A. FRESHMAN. pic.twitter.com/CjwNxcQ9Vz

— Wake Forest Men's Soccer (@WakeMSoccer) December 2, 2024

Dylan Borso, top 2006 to head to college this year, on a heater. https://t.co/ftMoZtf8Dc

— Marcus Chairez | US/SC (@USSoccerColl) December 2, 2024

 

Generation Adidas, Project 40, all part of the bullshit smokescreen thrown up by Sunil Gulati as part of his "Project 2010". Remember how well that turned out?

 

What does any of that even mean, Generation Adidas has certainly been successful, plenty of good MLS players were GA draft picks, they certainly have a much higher success rate than non-GA draft picks.... in this age if you're staying in college soccer for all four years your odds of being a difference maker at the MLS level are fairly low.

Another name: Dean Boltz (potential GA)

https://www.givemesport.com/mls-transfer-notebook-union-closing-in-on-new-head-coach/

The 2025 MLS SuperDraft, for collegiate players entering the professional game, will take place on December 20. The combine happens next week with the draft’s top talent.

One player to keep an eye on is Wisconsin Badgers freshman forward Dean Boltz. Sources say he’s in the mix for a potential Generation adidas (GA) contract, given by MLS to each year’s top potential draft picks.

Boltz had 10 goals and four assists in 15 matches and was named to the Top Drawer Soccer Best XI Freshman Team.

🚨 The TDS Midseason Freshman 100 is here! 🚨

Dean Boltz of Wisconsin leads a stellar class that's redefining impact players in NCAA history! 📈

Check out the top freshmen so far! 😤 ➡️ https://t.co/8MZnku7tsn pic.twitter.com/L57o7H5djD

— TopDrawerSoccer (@TopDrawerSoccer) October 21, 2024

 

Here's another guy who was pretty good as a freshman. This has to be one of the 1st college games he played.

 

So Dylan Borso top rated player from his birth year to enter college soccer, Dean Boltz #1 freshman according to Top Drawer Soccer, Tommy Thompson "pretty good as a freshman"... is there a point you're attempting to make here or are you just commenting to comment?

 

TT was the best player on his team and one the best freshmen in college soccer in 2013, his only year in college soccer (and Big 10 Freshman of the Year). So, yeah "JUST. A. FRESHMAN.!!!!" It's not like we haven't seen it before and also it's not necessarily a predictor of greatness. That's the "point I'm attempting to make".

 

What does a sample size of one matter, who cares about Tommy Thompson??
And how many top soccer programs were even in the Big 10 in 2013?

Even then plenty of guys have been named Big 10 Freshman of the Year and then gone on to have successful MLS careers: Dema Kovalenko, Nick Garcia, Lee Nguyen, Will Bruin, Eriq Zavaleta, Jack Maher, Aidan Morris, etc.

In any case I would guess the success rate for "best freshman in the country" is quite a bit higher than "best freshman in the Big 10" because the latter is a subset of the former...

Wake Forest may not be in the Big 10 (even within the Big 10 I would guess Maryland has produced more MLS players than Indiana, and so has UCLA which wasn't in the conference back when TT was winning freshman of the year) but they have produced plenty of soccer talent in recent years: Ike Opara, Jack Harrison, Mark McKenzie, Brandon Servania, Omir Fernandez, Alistair Johnston, etc.