UCLA midfielder Frankie Amaya is the marquee name in the 2019 Generation adidas class. MLS announced him and six other players in the group on Friday.
As initially reported on Tuesday, Amaya will be joined Syracuse winger Tajon Buchanan, Indiana winger Griffin Dorsey, Virginia Commonwealth winger Siad Haji, North Carolina defender John Nelson, Maryland goalkeeper Dayne St. Clair and Kentucky forward J.J. Williams.
Those seven have been signed to MLS contracts and will not count against a team’s salary cap charge after they are drafted. They’ve been added to the list of players to take part in the MLS Combine in Orlando next week.
Amaya played for the U.S. U-20 National Team during their run to the Concacaf Championship title. He started in the final against Mexico and enters the draft as one of the top prospects available.
Several other members of the class have experience with U.S. Youth National Teams. Dorsey was one of Amaya’s teammates on the U-20 team. Haji recently received a U-20 call up after his experiences with the U-17 and U-19 teams. Finally, Nelson has experience playing in the FIFA U-17 World Cup.
The MLS Draft will take place in Chicago on January 11.