The 2022 Major League Soccer Draft is fast approaching, and the league’s announcement of a sizeable Generation adidas class has helped boost the options available when Charlotte FC kicks off the proceedings on Tuesday.
This year’s MLS Draft lacks any immediate impact players, no players expected to be able to step in right away and be a top-tier talent, but there is plenty of potential to be had, and those teams that are still taking the draft seriously could wind up walking away with some real value.
Goalkeeper and centerback are two positions where there is talent in abundance, and teams looking for depth in those areas will be happy with the options available.
For those who are new to SBI, we have been covering the MLS Draft for the past 15 years, and every year we publish a Big Board and Mock Draft, which we update right up until the draft. The Big Board is meant to be a ranking of talent based on how they are being valued around the league.
This initial Big Board will be updated on Monday, as we continue to gather insight and information from sources both around MLS and in college soccer as we look to give you the best ranking of MLS Draft talent you can find anywhere.
Look out for an SBI MLS Mock Draft later on Friday, as we prepare to drop a full MLS Draft Preview package on Monday with final Big Board, Mock Draft and Positional Rankings.
Here is the first SBI 2022 MLS Draft Big Board:
SBI MLS Draft Big Board (Version 1.0)
(* – Generation Adidas
- * KIP KELLER SAINT LOUIS Centerback
- * ROMAN CELENTANO INDIANA Goalkeeper
- * BEN BENDER MARYLAND Midfielder
- * ISAIAH PARKER SAINT LOUIS Left Winger
- * OUSSENI BOUDA STANFORD Winger
- * PATRICK SCHULTE SAINT LOUIS Goalkeeper
- * ERIK CENTENO PACIFIC Midfielder
- KYLE HOLCOMB WAKE FOREST Striker
- IAN MURPHY DUKE Left Centerback
- AHMED LONGMIRE UCLA Centerback
- ANTHONY MARKANICH NORTHERN ILLINOIS Left Back
- SIMON BECHER SAINT LOUIS Striker
- JUSTIN RASMUSSEN GRAND CANYON Left Back/Centerback
- JACK LYNN NOTRE DAME Striker
- JASPER LOEFFELSAND PITTSBURGH Right Back
- *THORLEIFUR ULFARSSON DUKE Forward
- KINGSFORD ADJEI DAYTON Winger
- FARAI MUTATU MICHIGAN STATE Forward
- MATTHEW NOCITA NAVY Centerback
- CHARLIE OSTREM WASHINGTON Left Back
- SOFIANNE DJEFFAL OREGON STATE Attacking Midfielder
- MILO YOSEF MARSHALL Winger
- VITOR DIAS MARSHALL Central Midfielder
- TANI OLUWANSEYI ST. JOHN’S Forward
- ESAI EASLEY GRAND CANYON Centerback
- KENDALL BURKS WASHINGTON Centerback
- OSKAR AGREN CLEMSON Centerback
- ALEC SMIR NORTH CAROLINA Goalkeeper
- PAULO LIMA PROVIDENCE Central Midfielder
- CARLO RITACCIO AKRON Centerback
- MARC YBARRA MICHIGAN Defensive Midfielder
- LUCAS MEEK WASHINGTON Winger
- MOHAMED OMAR NOTRE DAME Central Midfielder
- NATHAN DOS SANTOS MARSHALL Centerback
- JACOB ERLANDSON BOWLING GREEN Centerback
- NICK MARKANICH NORTHERN ILLINOIS Attacking Midfielder
- LUKA GAVRAN ST. JOHN’S Goalkeeper
- RYAN SAILOR WASHINGTON Centerback
- GIANNIS NIKOPOLIDIS GEORGETOWN Goalkeeper
- O’VANTE MULLINGS FLORIDA GULF COAST Forward
- GIOVANNI AGUILAR CAL-NORTHRIDGE Central Midfielder
- PHILLIP QUINTON NOTRE DAME Centerback
- SIVERT HAUGLI VIRGINIA TECH Centerback
- YANIS LEERMAN CENTRAL FLORIDA Centerback
- ANDREW AKINDELE WISCONSIN Central Midfielder
- ACHILLE ROBIN WASHINGTON Centerback
- DANIEL EVANS KENTUCKY Forward
- PEDRO FONSECA LOUISVILLE Attacking Midfielder
- BRETT ST. MARTIN MARYLAND Right Back
- JAN HOFFELNER KENTUCKY Goalkeeper
- SKAGE SIMONSON SMU Central Midfielder
- DAVID GARCIA FLORIDA INTERN. Central Defender
- GEORGE MARKS CLEMSON Goalkeeper
- HAJI ABDIKADIR LOUISVILLE Midfielder
- RESHAUN WALKES RIO GRANDE VALLEY Forward
- CABREL HAPPI-KAMSEU VIRGINIA Forward
- ARTURO ORDONEZ PITTSBURGH Centerback
- TRISTAN TRAGER AIR FORCE Air Force
- LAUKOA SANTOS SAN DIEGO STATE Right Back
- LUIS FELIPE SANDOVAL CLEMSON Central Midfielder