SB Nation conducted a mock MLS SuperDraft, with Darren Mattocks being the No. 1 overall pick.
Jan 8, 2012 - The real Major League Soccer SuperDraft will be held on Jan. 12. If past form is any indicator, there will be more than a few surprises. Of course, that won't stop just about every outlet with any kind of interest in MLS from doing their own mock draft.
SB Nation's may not be any more accurate than some of those other ones, but we do like to think we have a unique take. Rather than having one expert make a guess at predicting what each team will do, we round up the 19 editors for our team-specific blogs, put them in a chatroom together and let them conduct a live mock draft. In an effort to further differentiate ourselves, we go through two full rounds.
Our thinking is simple: People who focus on one team will have better insight than someone who doesn't. Time will tell how accurate we are, but it is a fun exercise. If nothing else, it's an interesting peek into the world of soccer geekdom.
As it were, our mock draft was held on Sunday. The results are here. On Monday, we'll have full write-ups from each blogger explaining their picks. Follow this StoryStream for the full write-ups or click on the player's name.
1. Montreal Impact - Darren Mattocks (GA)
2. Vancouver Whitecaps - Andrew Wenger (GA)
3. New England Revolution - Chandler Hoffman (GA)
4. Toronto FC - Kelyn Rowe (GA)
5. Chivas USA -Casey Townsend
6. San Jose Earthquakes - Tyler Polak (GA)
7. D.C. United - Nick DeLeon
8. Portland Timbers - Andrew Jean Baptiste (GA)
9. Chicago Fire - Chris Estridge
10. Columbus Crew - Sam Garza (GA)
11. FC Dallas - Matt Hedges
12. Toronto FC - Austin Berry
13. Philadelphia Union - Enzo Martinez (GA)
14. Colorado Rapids - Tony Cascio
15. Seattle Sounders - Dom Dwyer (GA)
16. Sporting Kansas City - Luis Silva
17. Real Salt Lake - Callum Mallace
18. Houston Dynamo - Tony Walls
19. LA Galaxy - Andy Rose
20. Impact - Kirk Urso
21. Vancouver - Colin Rolfe
22. Revolution - Ethan Finlay
23. Fire - Oliver Kupe
24. RSL - Jason Banton
25. Quakes - Tommy Meyer
26. Columbus - Kenny Walker
27. Portland - Aldo Paniagua
28. Chicago - Ray Gaddis
29. Columbus - RJ Allen
30. Sporting KC - Miguel Ibarra
31. New York - Greg Jordan
32. Philly - Aaron Maund
33. Quakes - Brian Ownby
34. Seattle - Jamie Finch
35. Philly - Hunter Jumper
36. RSL - Arthur Ivo
37. Houston - Ryan Meara
38. LA Galaxy - Yuri Gorentzvaig
Participants: Sofiane Benzaza (Mount Royal Soccer-New Impact blog); Benjamin Massey (86 Forever - Whitecaps); Steve Stoehr (The Bent Musket - Revolution); Dave Rowaan (Waking the Red - Toronto FC); Alicia Rodriguez (The Goat Parade - Chivas USA); Nicholas Rosano (CSN Bay Area - Earthquakes); Jason Anerson (Black and Red United - D.C. United); Geoff Gibson (Stumptown Footy - Timbers); Tweed Thornton (Hot Time In Old Town - Fire); Patrick Guldan (Massive Report - Crew); Daniel Robertson (Big D Soccer - FC Dallas); Scott Kessler (Brotherly Game - Union); Chris "UZ" White (Burgundy Wave - Rapids); Dave Clark (Sounder at Heart - Sounders); Justin Mayhugh (The Daily Wiz - Sporting KC); Denzel Eslinger (RSL Soapbox - RSL); Jocelyn Becker (LAG Confidential - Galaxy); Matthew Conroy (Once a Metro - Red Bulls).
7 comments
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2012 SB Nation MLS Mock SuperDraft: Bloggers Play GM For A Day
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Comments
Had fun drafting for Toronto FC and am happy with who I selected but would have really liked to land Jean-Baptiste along with Rowe mainly because of his GA status. TFC is just so close to the salary cap that any chance to get a contributor with no cap hit should be the priority in this draft.
Writer for Toronto FC blog Waking The Red
http://wakingthered.com/
by Dave Rowaan on Jan 8, 2012 7:49 PM EST reply actions
It was a blast
I am happy to have participated in my first mock SuperDraft. I hope that my choices will make sense to the SBNation and all of the Montreal Impact fans.
Tous pour Gagner
by Sofiane Benzaza on Jan 8, 2012 9:08 PM EST reply actions
I’m a Creighton student and of course a Jays soccer fan, but I’m not all that familiar with the MLS or specifics of soccer.
First, what does GA mean?
Second, I’d like to ask about the Creighton prospects.
Tyler Polak is awesome. Glad to see him so high.
How about Ethan Finley? What is it that makes him fall into the second round? Didn’t he just put up a hat trick at the combine?
Also Greg Jordan. He’s a junior, right? Is he going pro early or coming back to Creighton?
Go Suns, Packers, Jays, and Huskers!
Read my thoughts on Creighton University athletics at Creightonian.com
I also edit things at Ridiculous Upside. Check it out.
by Omaha Sun on Jan 9, 2012 12:34 AM EST reply actions
Also, what are Brian Holt's prospects?
Go Suns, Packers, Jays, and Huskers!
Read my thoughts on Creighton University athletics at Creightonian.com
I also edit things at Ridiculous Upside. Check it out.
by Omaha Sun on Jan 9, 2012 12:36 AM EST up reply actions
GA -> Generation Adidas
Wikipedia has a good summary of the Generation Adidas program, which is designed to bring promising high school and college players directly into MLS. From the perspective of the front office of an MLS team, the most notable feature of the program is that players who are part of the GA program and haven’t yet “graduated” to full professional status don’t count against the salary cap or the roster limit on senior players.
by Kenneth Jung on Jan 9, 2012 2:27 AM EST up reply actions
Combine
The mock draft happened before/during Sunday’s Combine games, so the hat trick couldn’t have featured into deliberations here. That said, a couple of things: 1- I’d be surprised if Finlay fell into the second round. He probably won’t go top-5, but he should probably be taken in the first 19. 2- The Combine generally won’t overrule teams’ prior scouting of players through the college season (and off-season PDL scouting for a lot of guys, too); the Combine is to get a closer look at players teams want a better grip on and to fine-tune draft boards. A second round player isn’t going to jump to the top of the list based on one or two strong Combine showings – case in point, John Rooney last year. He managed to work his way to the second round with a really strong Combine, but wasn’t ever a threat to go any higher.
Vamos United; Boiler Up
Support your local club.
Black & Red United
by The AMT on Jan 9, 2012 9:50 AM EST up reply actions
If Finlay falls to the Revs in the second round
And they actually take him, I’ll do an embarrassing dance, on the spot, no matter where I am. I couldn’t believe he fell to round 2 in the mock draft, and his combine hat-trick only proves the point. (For the record, he scored his first goal literally as I made the pick.)
Founder and Editor of The Bent Musket on SBNation.
Twitter: @Stoehrst or @TheBentMusket
by Steve Stoehr on Jan 9, 2012 1:42 PM EST up reply actions
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