Real Salt Lake draft Pitt’s Bertin Jacquesson at No. 16 in 2023 MLS Superdraft

Photo courtesy John Krysinsky

Real Salt Lake drafted Pitt junior forward Bertin Jacquesson at the No. 16 pick in the 2023 MLS Superdraft.

Jacquesson is the highest draft pick in Panthers history and is the sixth overall Panther to earn a draft pick in the MLS Superdraft.

Dreams ➡️ Reality‼️

Junior @BertinJacquess4 goes No. 16 overall in the @MLS SuperDraft to @realsaltlake 🙌

✅ Highest draft pick in program history#H2P // #SuperDraft pic.twitter.com/ZquaYYV8LC

— Pitt Men's Soccer (@Pitt_MSOC) December 21, 2022

The first draft pick saw midfielder/defender Pol Calvet Planellas to the LA Galaxy at the No. 24 pick in Round Two in 2018. Los Angeles FC drafted midfielder Javi Perez in Round Three at the No. 64 pick in 2019 and New England Revolution selected forward Edward Kizza in Round One at the No. 24 pick in 2021. The Houston Dynamo selected defender Arturo Ordoñez in Round Two at the No. 38 slot and Real Salt Lake drafted defender Jasper Löffelsend in Round Three at the No. 81 pick, both in the 2022 draft.

Jacquesson signed a Generation adidas contract on Tuesday, ending his career as a Panther after three seasons.

His time as a Panther marks one of the greatest careers of any player in program history. He scored 19 goals, provided 23 assists and 61 points over 57 matches. The 23 assists are the second most for a Panther and the 61 points are seventh best in Panthers history.

He finished this past year with eight goals and five assists and started all 19 games he played.

Jacquesson played a big part in Pitt making three straight Elite Eight appearances and two College Cups from 2020-22.

He scored three goals in the 2022 NCAA Tournament, second most on the team behind senior midfielder Valentin Noel who scored four goals.

He scored twice against Cleveland State in a 2-1 victory at home in the First Round and then scored an incredible strike for an 87th minute winner over No. 1 Kentucky in the Sweet 16 on the road. Jacquesson also created the assist for Noel who scored the go-ahead goal in the second period of extra time of their Elite Eight victory over Portland.

He earned All-ACC Second Team honors all three seasons at Pitt. He also made the All-ACC Freshman Team in 2020-21 and TopDrawerSoccer named him the Freshman of the Year.

If he signs a contract with Real Salt Lake, he will join Löeffelsend and they will become the first two Panthers to play at the same MLS club.

Stay tuned for more coverage on the MLS Superdraft from Pittsburgh Soccer Now to see where more Pitt players go.