Orlando City SC used the top pick in Thursday's 2014 MLS SuperDraft to select striker Cyle Larin from the University of Connecticut.
Larin, the first-ever Canadian selected as the top overall pick, joins the expansion side as the consensus No. 1 prospect. In two seasons at UConn, the 19-year-old collected American Athletic Conference Offensive Player of the Year honors in 2014 and Rookie of the Year honors in 2013. He finished his collegiate career with 23 goals in 39 games.
New York City FC followed with its first-ever draft selection, taking Oregon State striker Khiry Shelton. The 6-foot-3 forward netted 10 goals and added 12 assists in his final season with the Beavers, a haul good enough to earn Pac-12 Player of the Year honors.
The Montreal Impact ensured a streak of three consecutive strikers taken to open the SuperDraft by selecting Romario Williams with the third overall pick. Williams joins Montreal on the back of an impressive career at the University of Central Florida where he produced 18 goals and five assists in 51 appearances.
A pair of midfielders were next to go as the San Jose Earthquakes selected Fatai Alashe out of Michigan State while the Portland Timbers picked Notre Dame standout Nick Besler, the brother of Sporting Kansas City and U.S. national team defender Matt Besler.
Toronto FC used its three first-round picks to shore up the defense, taking goalkeeper Alex Bono with the sixth pick as well as defenders Clement Simonin and Skylar Thomas with the ninth and 11th picks, respectively.
Sporting Kansas City also enjoyed the luxury of having three selections in the first round. The club swooped in for midfielder Connor Hallisey with the 10th pick before making defensive additions with Saad Abdul-Salaam and Amadou Dia.
Seattle Sounders FC and Red Bull New York came away with two of the steals of the opening round. The Sounders traded up to No. 16 to select midfielder Cristian Roldan, a player many projected as a top-five prospect. Two picks later, the Red Bulls landed MAC Hermann Trophy finalist Leo Stolz from UCLA.
The third and fourth rounds of the MLS SuperDraft will be held Tuesday, Jan. 20.
All of Thursday selections are listed below:
ROUND 1:
1. Orlando City SC - Cyle Larin (F, Connecticut) 2. New York City FC - Khiry Shelton (F, Oregon State) 3. Montreal - Romario Williams (F, Central Florida) 4. San Jose - Fatai Alashe (M, Michigan State) 5. Portland (from COL) - Nick Besler (M, Notre Dame) 6. Toronto FC (from CHIV) - Alex Bono (GK, Syracuse) 7. Chicago - Matt Polster (D, SIU Edwardsville) 8. Houston - Zach Steinberger (M, Butler) 9. Toronto FC - Clement Simonin (D, NC State) 10. Sporting KC (from PHI) - Connor Hallisey (M, California) 11. Toronto FC (from POR) - Skylar Thomas (D, Syracuse) 12. Sporting KC - Saad Abdul-Salaam (D, Akron) 13. Vancouver - Tim Parker (D, St. John's) 14. Colorado (from CLB) - Axel Sjoberg (D, Marquette) 15. Dallas - Otis Earle (D, UC Riverside) 16. Seattle (from RSL) - Cristian Roldan (M, Washington) 17. D.C. United - Miguel Aguilar (F, San Francisco) 18. New York Red Bulls - Leo Stolz (M, UCLA) 19. Columbus (from CLB and DAL) - Sergio Campbell (D, Connecticut) 20. Sporting KC (from NE) - Amadou Dia (D, Clemson) 21. Los Angeles - Ignacio Maganto (F, Iona)
ROUND 2:
22. Orlando City FC - Conor Donovan (D, NC State) 23. New York City FC - Connor Brandt (M, San Diego) 24. Portland (from MON) - Andy Thoma (D, Washington) 25. Orlando City FC (SJ) - Akeil Barrett (F, Tulsa) 26. Colorado - Joseph Greenspan (D, Navy) 27. Real Salt Lake (from SEA & CHIV) - Boyd Okwuonu (D, North Carolina) 28. Chicago - Kingsley Bryce (F, St. Louis) 29. Toronto FC (from HOU) - Wesley Charpie (D, South Florida) 30. Houston (from KC & TOR) - Oumar Ballo (D, Maryland - Baltimore County) 31. Philadelphia - Dzenan Catic (F, Davenport) 32. Portland - Christian Volesky (F, SIU Edwardsville) 33. Seattle (from NE & KC) - Tyler Miller (GK, Northwestern) 34. Portland (from VAN) - Kharlton Belmar (F, VCU) 35. Columbus SC - Sagi Lev-Ari (F, CS Northridge) 36. Houston (from DAL) - Rob Lovejoy (M, North Carolina) 37. Toronto FC (from RSL) - Edwin Rivas (F, CS Northridge) 38. Vancouver (from DC) - Kay Banjo (F, UMBC) 39. New York Red Bulls - Stefano Bonomo (F, California) 40. Seattle - Oniel Fisher (M, New Mexico) 41. Philadelphia (from COL) - Eric Bird (M, Virginia) 42. D.C. United (from LA) - Dan Metzger (M, Maryland)
[SportsNetwork.com]
