
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla.— After two days of the 2016 MLS combine, teams have begun to formulate opinions on the players here, and as usual, there are players who are seeing their stock skyrocket, while some others see their names drop lower on the boards of the 20 teams in attendance.
Many of the players expected to go in the first round of Thursday’s MLS Draft are still the same, even after some combine performances that may have fallen below expectations. Players such as Jonathan Campbell and Kyle Fisher haven’t lived up to the billing, but the consensus is that they have strong enough bodies of work at the top college level to avoid tumbling too far on draft boards, if at all.
The players benefiting the most from showing we at the combine, as usual, are small-school players who most teams haven’t seen much of. North Florida’s Alex Morrell, SIU-Edwardsville’s Justin Bilyeu and CSU-Dominguez Hills’ Tony Alfaro are three who have seen their stock jump during this week.
It should be noted that Thursday’s draft will not consist strictly of players taking part in the MLS combine. A handful of teams have held their own private combines, and could very well grab players who impressed in those, even though they may not be on the radar. We saw it last year when Toronto FC drafted Clemont Simonin.
One player included in the Big Board, though he has yet to sign with MLS, is Abu Danladi, who is still in play as a potential Generation adidas signing.
With all that in mind, here is a look at how we see the talent pool in the 2016 MLS Draft stacking up, based on past rankings, combine performances and with input provided by multiple MLS coaches, general managers and scouts, as well as input from me (Keep in mind, these rankings do not correspond with those specific draft positions. This isn’t a Mock Draft.). Look for our final Big Board, a more detailed one, to drop on Wednesday:
2016 MLS DRAFT BIG BOARD
$-Generation adidas signing, #- Could sign GA deal, YI- Youth International, Bold– Stock rising
1 — Joshua Yaro ($) Georgetown RB/CB
2 — Abu Danladi (#) UCLA F
3 — Jack Harrison ($) Wake Forest RW/AM
4 — Brandon Vincent Stanford LB
5 — Richie Laryea ($) Akron CM
6 — Omar Holness ($) North Carolina RM/F
7 — Keegan Rosenberry Georgetown RB
8 — Jonathan Campbell North Carolina LCB
9 — Jordan McCrary North Carolina LB/RB
10 — Fabian Herbers ($) Creighton F
11 — Ben Polk Syracuse F
12 — Kyle Fisher Clemson CB
13 — Julian Buescher ($) Syracuse CM
14 — Andrew Tarbell ($) Clemson GK
15 — Hadji Barry Central Florida F
16— Eric Verso Stanford RM
17 — Tony Alfaro CSU-Dom. Hills CB/LB
18 — Todd Wharton Virginia DM
19 — Cole Seiler Georgetown CB
20 — Michael Salazar UC-Riverside F/RM
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21 — Taylor Washington George Mason LB
22 — Justin Bilyeu SIU-Edwardsville LB/CB
23 — Zach Carroll Michigan State CB
24 — Alex Morrell North Florida RW/F
25 — Chase Minter Cal Poly CM
26 — T.J. Casner Clemson RM
27 — Michael Gamble Wake Forest F/RM
28 — James Moberg Washington CM/DM
29 — Tsubasa Endoh Maryland AM
30 — Callum Irving Kentucky GK
31 — Liam Doyle Ohio State CB
32 — Colin Bonner UNC-Wilmington F
33 — James Nortey Marquette F/RW
34 — Dennis Castillo VCU CB/RB
35 — Femi. Hollinger-Janzen Indiana F/LW
36 — Thomas Libih Cameroon (YI) CB
37 — Paul Clowes Clemson CM
38 — Patrick Hodan Notre Dame AM
39 — Ben Strong Louisville CM
40 — Jorginho James Jamaica (YI) CM
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41 — Josh Heard Washington RM
42 — Josh Turnley Georgetown LB
43 — Calvin Rezende St. Francis (PA) F
44 — Timo Pitter Creighton F
45 — Cole Missimo Northwestern RW
46 — Zach Mathers Duke DM
47 — Emir Alihodzic Omaha RB/CM
48 — Kevaughn Frater Jamaica (YI) CM
49 — Zach Bennett Michigan State GK
50 — Max Lachowecki Notre Dame LB
51 — Tyler David Saint Louis CB
52 — Emmanuel Appiah Cincinnati CM
53 — Vincent Keller Creighton CB
54 — Neco Brett Robert Morris F
55 — Tyler Thompson Stanford DM
56 — Vincent Mitchell Butler RW
57 — Matt LaGrassa Cal Poly CM
58 — Amass Amankonas Dayton F
59 — Chris Hellman Lynn F
60 — James Luchini Lehigh F
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61 — Ryan Herman Washington GK
62 — Mitchell Lurie Rutgers CB
63 — Kyle Parker Charlotte F
64 — Norberto Ochoa UC Riverside F
65 — Mikhail Doholis Oregon State RM/LM
66 — Darius Madison UMBC F
67 — Ivan Magalhaes Maryland CB
68 — Anthony Matarazzo Columbia CB/DM
69 — Freddy Ruiz UAB F
70 — Thomas Sanner Princeton F
71 — Keegan Smith San Diego F
72 — Elias Gomez Argentina (YI) LB
73 — Connor Sparrow Creighton GK
74 — Mitchell Taintor Rutgers CB
75 — Sean Sheridan Villanova DM
76 — Javan Torre UCLA LB
77 — Wade Hamilton Cal Poly GK
78 — Connor Klekota Notre Dame CM
79 — Miguel Salazar Elon CM
80 — Ryan James Bowling Green LM