2026 MLS SuperDraft

2026 MLS SuperDraft
General information
Sport	Soccer
Date	December 18, 2025
Network	MLS Season Pass
Overview
90 total selections in 3 rounds
League	Major League Soccer
Teams	30
←  2025 2027  →

The 2026 MLS SuperDraft will be the 26th edition of the MLS SuperDraft, a sports draft to select amateur, usually collegiate, soccer players that are not affiliated with an MLS club, or college soccer players that had their homegrown player rights relinquished by their parent MLS club. The draft will be held on December 18, 2025, marking the fourth year in a row that the draft was held in December. Despite the draft being held in 2025, the draft retained the 2026 branding. ^[1]

Format

Historically, the MLS SuperDraft has closely resembled that of the NFL draft:

1. Any expansion teams receive the first picks. There are no expansion teams this year, so the last-place MLS team will receive the first pick
2. Non-playoff clubs receive the next picks in reverse order of prior season finish.
3. Teams that made the MLS Cup playoffs are then ordered by which round of the playoffs they are eliminated.
4. The winners of the MLS Cup are given the last selection, and the losers the penultimate selection.

Player selection

Player key
*	Denotes player who has been selected for an MLS Best XI team
^	Member of 2026 Generation Adidas class
†	Player who was named to an MLS Best XI and Generation Adidas
Signed key
22	Denotes player who signed for a MLS team (Division I)
1	Denotes player who signed for a USL Championship team (Division II)
30	Denotes player who signed for a MLS Next Pro, USL League One or NISA team (Division III)
	Denotes player who signed for a team outside the United States soccer league system
27	Denotes player who returned to college team
Positions key
GK	Goalkeeper		DF	Defender		MF	Midfielder		FW	Forward

First round

P	MLS team	Player	Year	Pos.	College	Conference	Academy team(s)	Other team(s)	Signed
1	D.C. United
2	Atlanta United
3	CF Montréal
4	Sporting Kansas City
5	LA Galaxy
6	Toronto FC
7	St. Louis City
8	New England Revolution
9	Orlando City [R1 trade 1]
10	Colorado Rapids
11	San Jose Earthquakes
12	New York Red Bulls
13	Real Salt Lake
14	Orlando City

Trades involving draft picks

First round

1. Houston Dynamo → Orlando City. Orlando City acquired the natural first round pick in the 2026 MLS SuperDraft from Houston Dynamo in exchange for Michael Halliday. ^[2]

• FC Cincinnati → Real Salt Lake. Real Salt Lake acquired the natural first round pick in the 2026 MLS SuperDraft from FC Cincinnati in exchange for a loan of Dominik Marczuk and a 2025 International Roster Spot. ^[3]
• Philadelphia Union → Colorado Rapids. Colorado Rapids acquired the natural first and third round picks in the 2025 MLS SuperDraft and the natural first, second and third round in the 2026 and 2027 MLS SuperDrafts from Philadelphia Union in exchange for $125,000 in 2025 GAM, $125,000 in 2026 GAM, $100,000 in 2027 GAM and $250,000 in conditional GAM. ^[4]
• Seattle Sounders → FC Dallas. FC Dallas acquired the natural first round pick in the 2026 MLS SuperDraft and up to $300,000 in conditional GAM from Seattle Sounders in exchange for Paul Arriola. ^[5]

Second round

• CF Montréal → Real Salt Lake. Real Salt Lake acquired the natural second round pick in the 2026 MLS SuperDraft and $200,000 in 2025 GAM from CF Montréal in exchange for Bode Hidalgo. ^[6]
• Inter Miami → Los Angeles FC. Los Angeles FC acquired the natural first round pick in the 2025 MLS SuperDraft from Inter Miami in exchange for $50,000 in 2025 GAM and their own natural second-round pick in the 2026 MLS SuperDraft. ^[7]
• New York Red Bulls → Real Salt Lake. Real Salt Lake acquired Elias Manoel, all three natural picks in the 2025 MLS SuperDraft and the 2026 MLS SuperDraft natural second round pick from New York Red Bulls in exchange for $550,000 in 2025 GAM and $150,000 in 2026 GAM. ^[8]
• Philadelphia Union → Colorado Rapids. See Round 1. Philadelphia Union → Colorado Rapids.
• Real Salt Lake → Orlando City. Orlando City acquired the natural second round pick in the 2026 MLS SuperDraft, $50,000 in 2025 GAM and up to $150,000 in conditional GAM from Real Salt Lake in exchange for Mason Stajduhar. ^[9]

Third round

• Chicago Fire → Houston Dynamo. Houston Dynamo acquired the natural third round pick in the 2026 MLS SuperDraft from Chicago Fire in exchange for Chase Gasper. ^[10]
• FC Dallas → San Diego FC. San Diego FC acquired the natural third round pick in the 2026 MLS SuperDraft from FC Dallas in exchange for Jacob Jackson. ^[11]
• New York Red Bulls → LA Galaxy. LA Galaxy acquired the natural third round pick in the 2026 MLS SuperDraft and up to $150,000 in conditional GAM from New York Red Bulls in exchange for John McCarthy. ^[12]
• Philadelphia Union → Colorado Rapids. See Round 1. Philadelphia Union → Colorado Rapids.
• St. Louis City → Minnesota United. Minnesota United acquired the natural third round pick in the 2026 MLS SuperDraft from St. Louis City in exchange for a loan of Devin Padelford. ^[13]
• San Jose Earthquakes → New York City FC. New York City FC acquired the natural third round pick in the 2026 MLS SuperDraft from San Jose Earthquakes in exchange for Alfredo Morales. ^[14]

References

1. "MLS Announces Calendar of 2024-25 Offseason Roster Building Events". MLSsoccer.com. October 2, 2025. Retrieved October 5, 2025.
2. "Houston Dynamo FC acquire defender Michael Halliday in trade with Orlando City SC". Houston Dynamo . February 18, 2025. Retrieved November 2, 2025.
3. Cincinnati, F. C. "FC Cincinnati acquire U22 Initiative winger Dominik Marczuk on loan from Real Salt Lake". FC Cincinnati. Retrieved November 2, 2025.
4. "Colorado Rapids acquire SuperDraft selections from Philadelphia Union". MLSsoccer.com. December 10, 2024.
5. "FC Dallas Trades Midfielder Paul Arriola to Seattle Sounders FC for up to $300k in Conditional General Allocation Money and 2026 First Round MLS SuperDraft Pick". FC Dallas. January 13, 2025. Retrieved November 2, 2025.
6. Staff, TSN ca (August 21, 2025). "CF Montreal acquires defender Bode Hidalgo from Real Salt Lake ahead of MLS transfer deadline". TSN. Retrieved November 2, 2025.
7. @LAFC (December 20, 2024). "📝 #LAFC acquires the 22nd pick in the 2025 @MLS SuperDraft from @InterMiamiCF in exchange for $50K in 2025 GAM and LAFC's natural second-round selection in 2026" (Tweet). Retrieved December 20, 2024– via Twitter.
8. "Real Salt Lake Acquire New York Red Bulls FW Elias Manoel and Four MLS Superdraft Picks in Exchange for $700,000 in General Allocation Money". RSL.com. December 20, 2024. Retrieved December 20, 2024.
9. "Orlando City SC Acquires Up to $200,000 in General Allocation Money from Real Salt Lake". Orlando City . January 15, 2025. Retrieved November 2, 2025.
10. "Chicago Fire FC Acquires Defender Chase Gasper from Houston Dynamo FC". Chicago Fire FC. January 30, 2024. Retrieved November 2, 2025.
11. "FC Dallas Acquires Goalkeeper Jacob Jackson from San Diego FC". FC Dallas . July 30, 2025. Retrieved November 2, 2025.
12. "New York Red Bulls Acquire Goalkeeper John McCarthy via Trade from the Los Angeles Galaxy". New York Red Bulls. August 22, 2025. Retrieved November 2, 2025.
13. "St. Louis CITY SC Adds Devin Padelford on Loan from Minnesota United". St. Louis City SC. Retrieved November 2, 2025.
14. "NEWS: Earthquakes Acquire Midfielder Alfredo Morales from NYCFC". San Jose Earthquakes. January 4, 2024. Retrieved November 2, 2025.