New Major League Soccer club FC Cincinnati made Frankie Amaya its latest player, picking the UCLA midfielder first in the 2019 MLS SuperDraft. Below is the full list of first round picks made so far:
#1 – FC Cincinnati: Frankie Amaya, UCLA
A United States youth international, Amaya is a raw midfielder that, despite being the youngest player in the draft, is still far more experienced than most in the pool. His college numbers and production are a big question mark, but he is a consensus high ceiling guy who can make an impact if given time.
#2 – San Jose Earthquakes: Siad Haji, VCU
An well-publicized underwhelming combine didn’t deter San Jose, who took a VCU midfielder that has good attacking ability and great vision, but still has questions to answer about his speed.
#3 – Orlando City: Santiago Pantino, FIU
Known as a strong target man striker, Pantino played with Seattle’s U-23 USL League Two side and could be a legitimate backup option right away.
#4 – FC Dallas (from Colorado): Callum Montgomery, Charlotte
A Generation Adidas player, Montgomery is another guy that has a shot to be a contributor at the back right away, with many believing he’s maybe the most pro-ready player in the draft. His position on this list lends to that belief.
#5 – Colorado Rapids (from Chicago): Andre Shinyashiki, Denver
The Brazilian was a Hermann Award finalist in his senior year, scoring a whopping 28 goals in 21 games during the campaign to lead the nation.
#6 – Toronto FC: Griffin Dorsey, Indiana
#7 – Minnesota United: Dayne St. Clair, Maryland
#8 – Houston Dynamo: Sam Junqua, Cal
#9 – New England Revolution: Tajon Buchanan, Syracuse
#10 – FC Dallas (from Montreal): John Nelson, UNC
#11 – New England Revolution (from Vancouver): DeJuan Jones, Michigan State
#12 – NYCFC (from LA Galaxy): Luis Barraza, Marquette
#13 – FC Cincinnati (from Philadelphia): Logan Gdula, Wake Forest
#14 – DC United: Akeem Ward, Creighton
#15 – Minnesota United (from Chicago via FC Dallas and Colorado): Chase Gasper, Maryland
#16 – NY Red Bulls (from Cincinnati via LAFC): Roy Boateng, UC Davis
#17 – Real Salt Lake: Sam Brown, Harvard
#18 – Columbus Crew: J.J. Williams, Kentucky
#19 – LA Galaxy (from NYCFC): Emil Cuello, SMU
#20 – Seattle Sounders: Tucker Bone, Air Force
#21 – Sporting KC: Kamar Mariott, Florida Gulf Coast
#22 – NY Red Bulls: Janos Loebe, Fordham
#23 – Portland Timbers: Ryan Sierakowski, Michigan St.
#24 – Atlanta United: Anderson Asiedu
Round 2
#25 – NY Red Bulls (from Cincinnati): Sean Nealis, Hofstra
#26 – San Jose Earthquakes: Sergio Rivas, Seattle
#27 – Orlando City: Kamal Miller, Syracuse
#28 – Atlanta United: Marcelo Borges, Michigan
#29 – FC Cincinnati (from Chicago via Philadelphia): Tommy McCabe, Notre Dame
#30 – FC Cincinnati (from Toronto): Jimmy Hague, Michigan St.
#31 – Minnesota United: Hassani Dotson, Oregon St.
#32 – New York Red Bulls (from Houston via Chicago): Rece Buckmaster, Indiana
#33 – Houston Dynamo: Andrew Samuels, Maryland
#34 – Montreal Impact: Amar Sejdic, Maryland
#35 – Vancouver Whitecaps: Brandon McDonough, Georgetown
#36 – LA Galaxy: Don Tchilao, Oregon St.
#37 – FC Cincinnati (from Philadelphia): Ben Lundt, Akron
#38 – Orlando City (from D.C. United): Tommy Madden, UNC-Charlotte
#39 – Toronto FC (From FC Dallas via Colorado): Adam Wilson, Louisville
#40 – LAFC: Peter-Lee Vassell, Harbor View FC
#41 – Real Salt Lake: Kyle Coffey, Washington
#42 – Colorado Rapids (from Columbus): Jacob Hauser-Ramsey, UConn
#43 – NYCFC: Abdi Mohamed, Akron
#44 – Seattle Sounders: Joel Rydstrand, Creighton
#45 – Sporting KC: Camden Riley, Pacific
#46 – San Jose Earthquakes (from RBNY): Mamadi Camara, Simon Francis
#47 – Portland Timbers: Lennart Hein, Saint Louis
#48 – Atlanta United: Amir Bashti, Stanford
Also, of note, Major League Soccer announced just prior to the draft that the annual Coach of the Year award would be renamed after former LA Galaxy, Columbus Crew, and Seattle Sounders head coach Sigi Schmid, who passed away last month. The announcement was fitting as Amaya, a UCLA grad, was selected first just after the announcement. Schmid coached UCLA for nearly 20 years before he moved to the USMNT youth fold and then on to Major League Soccer.
