Top Stories

MLS Supplemental Draft: A Look Ahead

AndyRose

Had the MLS SuperDraft not been shortened to two rounds, then a lot more scrutiny would be applied to some of the early selections in Tuesday's MLS Supplemental Draft, with those picks typically being included among teams' draft hauls from last week's main event.   

As it stands, the upcoming four-round affair provides another chance for teams to bolster their rosters as training camps open across North America. Players who had some of the more notable showings at last week's combine are still up for grabs, including UCLA defensive midfielder Andy Rose (pictured above) and Charlotte attacker Evan James.

Recent history shows there is still talent to be had in the later rounds of the draft process. Last year's third round of the SuperDraft yielded TFC sparkplug Joao Plata and Columbus Crew attacker Bernardo Anor, both of whom contributed meaningful first-team minutes in their rookie seasons. Just a year prior, players like Philadelphia Union midfielder Kyle Nakazawa, Real Salt Lake centerback Chris Schuler and Portland Timbers midfielder Eric Alexander were taken in the third round, while current U.S. Under-23 player pool goalkeepers Sean Johnson and Brian Perk fell to the fourth round.

There is little fanfare to Tuesday's proceedings, as the picks will be made over a conference call instead of in a convention center ballroom, but that does not mean a few diamonds in the rough cannot be found.

Here are SBI's top 20 remaining prospects in the draft pool along with some other notes ahead of Tuesday's 2012 MLS Supplemental Draft:

SBI'S TOP 20 PLAYERS AVAILABLE

  1. Andy Rose, Defensive Midfielder, UCLA
  2. Evan James, Right Winger, Charlotte
  3. Alec Purdie, Right Winger, Indiana
  4. Evans Frimpong, Left Winger/Forward, Delaware
  5. Kirk Urso, Defensive Midfielder, North Carolina
  6. Antoine Hoppenot, Forward, Princeton
  7. Arthur Ivo, Attacking Midfielder/Left Winger, SMU
  8. James Kiffe, Left Back, UCSB
  9. Justin Chavez, Centerback, Tulsa
  10. Brian Ownby, Right Winger/Forward, Virginia
  11. Luke Holmes, Winger, Akron
  12. Miguel Ibarra, Attacking Midfielder, UC-Irvine
  13. Brian Rowe, Goalkeeper, UCLA
  14. Lance Rozeboom, Defensive Midfielder, New Mexico
  15. Charles Rodriguez, Centerback, Charlotte
  16. Mykell Bates, Right Back/Centerback, Santa Clara
  17. Rafael Garcia, Attacking Midfielder, Cal State Northridge
  18. R.J. Allen, Right Back, Monmouth
  19. Eder Arreola, Left Winger, UCLA
  20. Michael Green, Central Midfielder/Right Winger, New Mexico

NOTES

  • The draft order is the same as the SuperDraft, with the Montreal Impact having the first overall selection, and the ensuing picks being based on the order in which teams finished in 2011.
  • Past trades involving would-be third-round SuperDraft picks carry over into first-round Supplemental Draft picks. As a result, the Houston Dynamo have three selections in the first round. The Chicago Fire, Toronto FC and Real Salt Lake each have two.
  • The New York Red Bulls, D.C. United, San Jose Earthquakes, Colorado Rapids and Seattle Sounders do not have first-round selections after including those picks as part of past trades.
  • We'll finally see exactly what the Los Angeles Galaxy will receive in return for Juan Pablo Angel. The pick the Galaxy acquired from Chivas USA in exchange for the veteran forward is the fifth pick in the fourth round of Tuesday's draft. 

—————-

Which players who slipped past the SuperDraft do you want to see your team pick up? Who do you think can come into MLS and contribute off the bat?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. I agree. I think Luke could play even further back. And I’m stunned that Luke is in the supplemental while Sodade went in the main draft. I saw them together last summer. Sodade is soooooooo raw.

    Other players yelled for Luke. Other players yelled *at* Sodade.

    Reply
  2. I’m loosing my mind. Ive’s no. 1 pick is available and the Revolution use thier 3rd pick to take an unranked Jamacian who didn’t even start in his schools NAIA 2nd round tournament game which they lost anyway.

    Reply
  3. Anybody else hear of this GK from Coastal Carolina, Scott Angevine? Someone sent me his highlight video on youtube which I watched a few times and the kid has some serious talent. His Player CV also was pretty impressive with championships at every level so far, plus he has spent the past 3 summers training with Sporting KC so clearly there must be some talent there.

    Reply
  4. Holmes as a “winger” has been, and remains, a misnomer. He manned wide positions out of necessity for Akron, not because that’s where he plays naturally. He’s probably best as a withdrawn forward, although moving players like him wide once they’re professionals is hardly unprecedented in recent years. Still, he doesn’t create width naturally, and if you watched him (as well as Akron’s other wide players) play at all, he almost exclusively looked to cut inside rather than hang around the touchline

    Reply
  5. One player not mentioned and not invited to the combine was CB Tim Pontius. He played solidly for UCSB this past year (including the 60+ yard goal he had). I feel that if someone takes a chance on him they’ll be pleasently surprised. I wouldn’t put it past DCU to pick him up since his brother is there and they need some CB depth if I remember correctly. Plus, Tim spent some time there over the summer working with DCU in the office and practicing with them from time to time I believe.

    Reply
  6. The story is supposed to be that the crop of internationals this year wasn’t up to snuff, one too slow, the other too this, the other too that. That being said, I was a big Plata fan last year and he just dropped and dropped and dropped and he turned out to be every bit what he looked in the combine. All due respect to the conventional wisdom but Paniagua and Yamada stood out a little and for teams that can spare a slot they’d seem to be better than late round leftovers from the combine. They might not have been Plata but I don’t think supplemental draft is even fair to their quality, it’s international slot preservation…..but do they take a slot just by being drafted? Plenty of MLS teams cut draft picks every year.

    Reply
  7. Is the Japanese player Yamada available? Really hoping the ‘caps pick him up.. Makes sense from a marketing point of view to pick up a young exciting Japanese player for the future.

    Reply
  8. Francisco Calvo, former Saprissa/CR youth player, came here for SanJac JC, then went back and now plays for Herediano.

    I don’t know if it has to do with amateurism rules (for players with professional trials) or academic issues or what, but some quality players go that route.

    Reply
  9. Velasquez has an insane CV, like 35 goals and 16 assists THIS YEAR ALONE in 20 JuCo games (after a first season of 20 G 17 A). He would have been NCAA D1 by all reports but he gambled on dropping out of HS, and trying out for pro teams in the Barcelona, Spain area, and it didn’t work out. Got his GED and played JuCo.

    Also, I thought he was either on or ticketed for the US U17s and then there was a citizenship issue between us and Colombia. So though he is under the radar it’s not because he stinks or was even that unknown, it’s just because he never quite made it into the whole youth NT/bigtime college pipeline.

    FWIW, Costa Rica played a SanJac (Texas) JuCo kid (formerly Saprissa youth) at the 2011 Gold Cup, it’s not unheard of.

    Reply
  10. I had the same thought, does this mean Paniagua et al are toast? The international limits are a hurdle but you’d think somebody would take a flyer on one of these guys, particularly if they could treat spring training as like a trial for the players with a contract available only once they’ve convinced they’re roster material. Now, if you had to sign them now, particularly for a supplemental pick where MLS teams seem to think these are limited talents, that’s another story.

    Reply
  11. Thats because they all went in the superdraft. I liked what I saw of Justin Chavez in the combine. He was actually quite good with the ball @ his feet & was very solid.

    Reply
  12. Wait. Do the internationals not participate in the supplemental or are you just not picking them because its unlikely a team would chose them if they didnt in the 1st round? Paniagua & Yamada should really be here..

    Reply
  13. Yeah, Brian Holt is definitely worth a look. He is small for a keeper, but from what I’ve seen, he makes up for it. I don’t know if he’s MLS material, but the team takes him will get their moneys worth!

    Reply
  14. I wonder if anyone will take a chance on Brian Holt from Creighton; he was extremely impressive last year, definitely better than Blais, for instance, in the South Florida-Creighton game. Obviously lacks size, however …

    Reply

Leave a Comment