Photo by ISIPhotos.com
Teams searching for talent in the 2012 MLS Draft found quite a few quality gems. Several players who were able to step right in and make smooth transitions from college to the pros.
Some high draft picks lived up to their draft hype, like Darren Mattocks and Luis Silva, while some other rookies emerged to surprise and impress, like Connor Lade and Ray Gaddis. Late picks like Andy Rose found important roles on good teams, and the draft even produced a solid starting caliber goalkeeper in Ryan Meara, who was a Rookie of the Year front-runner before missing half the season with a hip injury.
Not making the SBI MLS All-Rookie Best XI doesn’t mean a rookie isn’t going to be a good player. In some cases, like with No. 1 overall pick Andrew Wenger, it was more a case of battling for minutes with veterans. Players like Wenger, Andrew Jean-Baptiste and Ethan Finlay didn’t play as much as some other Top 10 draft picks, but will still be players to watch in future years.
As far as the rookies who enjoyed the most impressive seasons, we present the SBI MLS All-Rookie Best XI:
SBI MLS All-Rookie Best XI
————————Darren Mattocks————————-
Tony Cascio—–Luis Silva——Kelyn Rowe—Nick DeLeon
—————————-Andy Rose—————————–
Connor Lade—Austin Berry—-Matt Hedges—-Ray Gaddis
—————————–Ryan Meara—————————
———-
What do you think of the SBI MLS All-Rookie Best XI? Which rookie in the list did you enjoy watching the most? Which rookie surprised you this year?
Share your thoughts below.