List of first overall MLS draft picks

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Cyle Larin, drafted out of the University of Connecticut, won the Rookie of the Year award as a first overall draft pick. Cyle Larin 2015 Gold Cup.jpg
Cyle Larin, drafted out of the University of Connecticut, won the Rookie of the Year award as a first overall draft pick.
Freddy Adu, was the first overall draft pick in 2004. Freddy Adu 20110622.jpg
Freddy Adu, was the first overall draft pick in 2004.
Steve Zakuani, was the first overall draft pick in 2009. Zakuani vs Dallas 2.jpg
Steve Zakuani, was the first overall draft pick in 2009.
Andrew Wenger, was the first overall draft pick in 2012. Andrew Wenger 2013-06-19.jpg
Andrew Wenger, was the first overall draft pick in 2012.
Abu Danladi, drafted out of UCLA, was the first overall draft pick in 2017. Abu Danladi 2017-07-04 (34918151103).jpg
Abu Danladi, drafted out of UCLA, was the first overall draft pick in 2017.

The Major League Soccer SuperDraft's first overall pick is the player who is selected first among all eligible draftees by a team during the annual Major League Soccer (MLS) SuperDraft. The first pick is awarded to the club with the poorest regular season record during the previous MLS campaign. Exceptions are when there is an expansion franchise, where the expansion side has the opportunity to select the first overall draft pick.

Contents

Two first picks have won the MLS Rookie of the Year award in their maiden season: Maurice Edu and Cyle Larin.

No first pick has ever won the Landon Donovan MVP Award, although Alecko Eskandarian is the only first draft pick to win the MLS Cup Most Valuable Player Award.

Note that between 1996 and 1999, the MLS draft was known as the MLS College Draft. Official MLS publications include the College Draft as part of MLS's draft history.

Key

^Denotes players who have been selected to the All-Star Game or MLS Best XI
*Elected to the National Soccer Hall of Fame
^*Denotes Hall of Famers who have been selected to the All-Star Game
Player
(in italic text)		 Young Player of the Year
App.MLS appearances
GoalsMLS goals
Asst.MLS assists

List of first overall picks

DraftSelected by [1] Player [1] NationalityPosition [1] College/high school/former club [1] MLS rookie statisticsRef.
App.GoalsAsst.
1996 Kansas City Wiz Matt McKeon Flag of the United States.svg  USA DF Saint Louis 1201 [2]
1997 Colorado Rapids Tahj Jakins Flag of the United States.svg  USA DF UCLA 1901
1998 Miami Fusion Leo Cullen Flag of the United States.svg  USA DF Maryland 3114
1999 D.C. United Jason Moore Flag of the United States.svg  USA MF Virginia 1602
2000 MetroStars Steve Shak Flag of the United States.svg  USA MF UCLA 2311
2001 San Jose Earthquakes Chris Carrieri Flag of the United States.svg  USA FW North Carolina 500
2002 Dallas Burn Chris Gbandi Flag of Liberia.svg  LBR DF Connecticut 2212
2003 D.C. United Alecko Eskandarian Flag of the United States.svg  USA FW Virginia 2332
2004 D.C. United Freddy Adu Flag of the United States.svg  USA FW IMG Academy [a] 3053
2005 Real Salt Lake Nikolas Besagno Flag of the United States.svg  USA MF IMG Academy 200
2006 New York Red Bulls Marvell Wynne Flag of the United States.svg  USA DF UCLA 2803
2007 Toronto FC Maurice Edu ^Flag of the United States.svg  USA DF Maryland 2541
2008 Kansas City Wizards Chance Myers Flag of the United States.svg  USA DF UCLA 1000
2009 Seattle Sounders FC Steve Zakuani ^Flag of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.svg  COD FW Akron 2944 [4]
2010 Philadelphia Union Danny Mwanga Flag of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.svg  COD FW Oregon State 2474 [5]
2011 Vancouver Whitecaps FC Omar Salgado Flag of the United States.svg  USA FW Guadalajara Academy [b] 1411 [7]
2012 Montreal Impact Andrew Wenger Flag of the United States.svg  USA FW Duke 2340 [8]
2013 New England Revolution Andrew Farrell ^Flag of the United States.svg  USA DF Louisville 3201
2014 Philadelphia Union Andre Blake ^Flag of Jamaica.svg  JAM GK UConn 100
2015 Orlando City SC Cyle Larin ^Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  CAN FW UConn 27170 [9]
2016 Chicago Fire Jack Harrison [c] Flag of England.svg  ENG MF Wake Forest 2148 [10]
2017 Minnesota United FC Abu Danladi Flag of Ghana.svg  GHA FW UCLA 2783 [11]
2018 Los Angeles FC João Moutinho Flag of Portugal (official).svg  POR DF Akron 1410 [12]
2019 FC Cincinnati Frankie Amaya Flag of the United States.svg  USA MF UCLA 1900 [13]
2020 Inter Miami CF Robbie Robinson Flag of the United States.svg  USA FW Clemson 1201 [14]
2021 Austin FC Daniel Pereira Flag of Venezuela.svg  VEN MF Virginia Tech 2500 [15]
2022 Charlotte FC Ben Bender Flag of the United States.svg  USA MF Maryland 2736 [16]
2023 Charlotte FC Hamady Diop Flag of Senegal.svg  SEN DF Clemson 300 [17]
2024 Toronto FC Tyrese Spicer Flag of Trinidad and Tobago.svg  TRI FW Lipscomb 1920 [18]
2025 San Diego FC Manu Duah Flag of Ghana.svg  GHA MF UC Santa Barbara 1400 [19]
2026 D.C. United

Notes

  1. ↑ Freddy Adu had also played middle school soccer for The Heights School in Potomac, Maryland. [3]
  2. ↑ Omar Salgado had left Guadalajara's academy prior to being eligible for the draft. The Guadalajara Academy was the most recent soccer setup he played for prior to being drafted by Vancouver. [6]
  3. ↑ Jack Harrison was immediately traded from Chicago Fire to New York City FC. Harrison's statistics reflect his 2016 season with New York City FC. [10]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Sigal, Jonathan (December 19, 2023). "Every No. 1 overall pick in MLS SuperDraft history". MLSsoccer.com. Retrieved January 8, 2024.
  2. ↑ "Matt McKeon MLS Statistics". MLSsoccer.com. Retrieved October 26, 2017.
  3. ↑ La Confora, Jason (August 25, 2001). "A 12-Year-Old's Amazing Feat" (Print). The Washington Post . Freddy Adu, an incoming freshman at The Heights School who moved to the United States from Ghana with his family four years ago, is considered such a dynamic talent that Inter Milan, and other European clubs, have begun courting him and his family.
  4. ↑ "Steve Zakuani MLS Statistics". MLSsoccer.com. Retrieved October 26, 2017.
  5. ↑ "Danny Mwanga MLS Statistics". MLSsoccer.com. Retrieved October 26, 2017.
  6. ↑ Dure, Beau (January 13, 2011). "MLS draft: Omar Salgado goes No. 1, Akron players dot top 8". USA Today . USAToday.com. Retrieved January 15, 2017.
  7. ↑ "Omar Salgado MLS Statistics". MLSsoccer.com. Retrieved October 27, 2017.
  8. ↑ "Andrew Wenger MLS Statistics". MLSsoccer.com. Retrieved October 26, 2017.
  9. ↑ "Orlando City forward Cyle Larin named 2015 AT&T Rookie of the Year". November 10, 2015.
  10. 1 2 "Jack Harrison MLS Statistics". MLSsoccer.com. Retrieved January 15, 2017.
  11. ↑ "Abu Danladi MLS Statistics". MLSsoccer.com. Retrieved October 26, 2017.
  12. ↑ "Joao Moutinho MLS Statistics". MLSsoccer.com. Retrieved December 19, 2023.
  13. ↑ Brennan, Pat (January 11, 2019). "Analysis: Meet FC Cincinnati's first-ever MLS SuperDraft pick, Frankie Amaya". The Cincinnati Enquirer . Retrieved January 11, 2019.
  14. ↑ "Inter Miami, Beckham picked Robbie Robinson No.1 in MLS SuperDraft. Then things got weird". ESPN. January 10, 2020. Retrieved January 10, 2020.
  15. ↑ Winters, Scott (January 21, 2021). "Austin FC selects Daniel Pereira with the No. 1 pick in the SuperDraft". The Athletic . Retrieved January 21, 2021.
  16. ↑ Carlisle, Jeff (January 11, 2022). "Charlotte FC Picks Maryland's Ben Bender as top MLS draft selection". ESPN . Retrieved January 11, 2022.
  17. ↑ "Charlotte FC picks Clemson's Hamady Diop No. 1 in MLS SuperDraft". ESPN . December 21, 2022. Retrieved December 21, 2022.
  18. ↑ Rueter, Jeff; Bogert, Tom (December 19, 2023). "MLS SuperDraft: Toronto FC selects Tyrese Spicer No. 1, teams uncertain on potential picks" . The Athletic . Retrieved December 19, 2023.
  19. ↑ "Manu Duah | MLS Regular Season Statistics". mlssoccer.com. Retrieved October 29, 2025.
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