Major League Soccer’s Annual SuperDraft is today. Why it’s called Super, I’m not sure, but it’s what MLS has been using for 17 years to select (mostly) from players that have graduated from College or have been signed to play in the league as they have also combined the college player selections with its supplemental draft.
The draft will go four rounds, and like its counterparts in U.S. pro sports, will follow a format based on how the teams finished in the previous season.
And although Pittsburgh does not have an MLS team, there will be at least two story lines that we will be following here.
ROBERT MORRIS’ NECO BRETT
The three-time Northeast Conference Player of the Year, Neco Brett, who completed his career at Robert Morris University, will likely be picked anywhere from late in the first round to the fourth round.
The Jamaican striker accumulated 41 goals and 98 points in the last three years at RMU, both league-leading totals in that span. There’s been some speculation that his stock has dropped since the beginning of 2015, as his production tailed off at the end of his Senior season.
Here are a few nice goals Brett scored with RMU and Jamaica…
HOUNDS AFFLIATE COLUMBUS CREW HAVE FOUR PICKS IN FIRST TWO ROUNDS
The Crew, 2015 MLS Cup Runner-Up, will be picking 19th (out of 20 teams) in the first round.
Then, they have a slew of selections.
They have picks 21, 31 and 41. Depending on how things shake down, with a roster that is pretty deep, coming off MLS Cup appearance, there’s a possibility that some of the players drafted may end up playing in Pittsburgh this Summer.
There’s also an indication that because they traded Jack McInerney, their first forward off the bench from last year’s team, to Portland for Targeted Allocation Money and General Allocation Money, that they may be looking a forward in the draft.
Could Brett, who is a forward, be on the Crew’s radar?
There are also rumors that Cheslea’s Radamel Falcao Garcia could use a change of scenery in order to find more playing time, and Columbus Crew SC are interested in making that happen.
Heading into the 2016 campaign, Kai Kamara, is the incumbent starter at forward in Columbus.
Should be fun to see how this all plays out — and how the ripple effects could involve the Riverhounds.