Things that make us question the SuperDraft | Plus, an MLS and CITY SC notebook.

The MLS offseason is officially in full swing following the completion of the vaunted institution that is the MLS SuperDraft. There is always some value to be found in the SuperDraft, but more than any other American sport, it is becoming an archaic roster mechanism. The NWSL has proven that teams can still attract collegiate standouts without a draft in place, and this year’s edition of the SuperDraft featured a few quirks that should prompt thoughts of a better alternative. 

*In today’s newsletter, I’m going to dive into some of the big moments from around MLS this month before recapping the first picks of the Corey Wray era in St. Louis and talking about my takeaways from his joint press conference earlier this week. Sound good?*

Junior Diouf to Anderlicht 

Rumors were swirling around Grand Canyon University’s Junior Diouf after the Freshman MAC Hermann Award Finalist did not sign a Generation Adidas contract ahead of the draft. Diouf would have been the top pick as the most talented attacker in college soccer this year. Still, with the limited outcomes from signing with MLS ahead of the draft, it appears that Diouf opted to test his talent in Europe, signing with Belgium giants Anderlecht. There isn’t a guarantee that an open collegiate market could have enticed Diouf to stay, but if a team in need of a promising young striker like Austin or San Diego were able to negotiate directly, there could have been a different outcome. 

Of course, that’s without knowing the offers on the table and assuming that Diouf would want to stay in the country. Still, the Senegalese striker seems like a can’t miss talent who could have contributed off the bench for a Western Conference playoff club next season. 

Colorado Rapids draft Mamadou Billo Diop from themselves.

Next up on the “we probably need to rethink this” docket. The Colorado Rapids were forced to draft their own Rapids 2 striker, Mamadou Billo Diop, after MLS included him in the draft pool. Billo Diop scored 16 goals in MLSNP last season but was deemed eligible to the draft after an unnamed MLS club submitted his name to the league after discovering that he played high school soccer in Florida and had never been attached to an MLS club’s academy. Billo Diop was already under contract for 2026 with Rapids 2, which would have made things interesting if he had been drafted by another MLS club, but the Rapids were made aware that Billo Diop couldn’t sign in MLS without entering the draft. 

For now, the Rapids simply had to use their #6 pick on a teenage striker who should be MLS-ready sooner rather than later in order to sign him to an MLS contract. It’s an odd quirk that probably shouldn’t exist. 

Adding to the MLS-ness of it all. The Rapids originally acquired the pick as compensation from Toronto FC to hire a video analyst away from the club. 

Michael Bradley unveiled in New Jersey.

Every year, the MLS coaching ranks become younger and younger. That trend bore out in Red Bull New York’s (that’s going to take some getting used to) decision to promote RBNY2 manager Michael Bradley after Bradley delivered an MLSNP title last season. 

It’s an interesting move for a club that ended its playoff streak last season. 

Bradley is very familiar with NJ/NY soccer, starting his career with the MetroStars before making the move to Heerenveen in 2006. Following a World Class – sound off in the comments – playing career, Bradley quickly joined his father’s coaching staff in Stabæk for the 2023-2024 seasons before a pit stop as a guest coach with the Canadian national team led him back to New Jersey, where he took the helm at RBNY2. 

It’s obviously a risk. Bradley doesn’t have top-flight managerial experience, and only retired from playing three seasons ago… but does that matter for a player who grew up learning from one of the US’s most prominent managers while playing for world-class clubs throughout Europe? 

Red Bull fans are about to find out. 

Marc Dos Santos takes on the league’s most dangerous duo.

Earlier this month, LAFC appointed former Vancouver Whitecaps manager and current assistant manager Marc Dos Santos as their next manager.

Dos Santos did not have an encouraging tenure in Vancouver. He won just 1 point per match, finally earning the axe following a 4-3 loss to CPL side Pacific FC in the Canadian Championship preliminary round. 

So, what’s changed?

Dos Santos returned to LAFC following that disastrous stint up north to help usher in a period of success when LAFC won the double in 2022 and the US Open Cup in 2024. 

LAFC GM John Thorrington pointed to the consistency of LAFC’s principles as a deciding factor in the hire.

“Marc understands as well as anyone what the best version of LAFC looks like,” Thorrington said in the club’s press release. “An entertaining, front-foot style of play grounded in ambition, intensity, and a collaborative culture that reflects who we are as a club. He has earned the trust and belief of all of our players.”

It probably helps that LAFC currently possesses the most can’t miss duo in MLS right now, but this is a huge risk for a club that is MLS Cup or Bust at this point. 

Dayne St. Clair to… Miami?!

The 2025 MLS Goalkeeper of the Year gave Minnesota sports fans a fresh round of angst this week as the Canadian international signed with MLS Cup Champions, Inter Miami. The move comes as a surprise. DSC had become a stalwart of Minnesota soccer, but the player opted against signing a larger deal in Minnesota to anchor the next era of Lionel Messi’s IMCF.

It’s great that Miami has this level of pull with Lionel Messi, but it’s no wonder that fans throughout the league are starting to grow resentful. 

Minnesota presented him with an offer that would have made him one of the highest paid keepers in MLS. Instead, he took a lesser deal to sign in Miami. It’s not a move that the MLSPA will love, but it is a stark reminder of the realities of an evolving league. If clubs like Minnesota can’t match the ambition of a club like Miami – taking huge swings and utilizing every MLS Cap mechanism available to them – then players will walk to build their brand next to a global superstar. 

This isn’t sustainable long-term. Miami won’t have this pull after Lionel Messi retires, but for now, they’re doing everything they can to build Miami into THAT club. The good news for MLS is that Miami isn’t becoming PSG. They aren’t the only ambitious club in MLS, but there is a quickly growing list of haves and have-nots. The nots have to adjust or risk an increasingly steep climb to relevance. 

Corey Wray’s first day controlling the CITY SC Draft Room.

St. Louis entered the day needing to prove that this was indeed a new era under Sporting Director Corey Wray. St. Louis has largely missed in the draft over their first three seasons, with only Brendan McSorley remaining on the roster. Hosei Kijima was the other notable name to hit the CITY SC draft room floor, but he was dealt to DC after Lutz Pfannenstiel opted to leave him exposed in last season’s expansion draft. 

That analysis is harsh; MLS clubs build championship rosters without minutes from the SuperDraft, but it can be a roster mechanism that yields MLS lifers, especially out of the first seven picks in the draft. 

Wray hinted at that reality during the club’s press conference on Wednesday afternoon, but there was some value to be had in this year’s draft, given some off the board picks by those in front of them. 

Arguably, at least according to the ASA data, St. Louis took the best player available in the top 10 of the draft in Zack Lillington. 

Lillington is positionally flexible, having played just about everywhere for UC Davis last season, but seems to project best as a ball-progressing central midfielder. That’s right in the sweet spot. St. Louis needed a player who could push Chris Durkin as the second midfielder next to Edu Löwen. If Lillington can adapt to MLS play, he also projects to be a player who could take some of the minutes load off of Löwen that previously fell on the shoulders of Alfredo Morales. 

Players aren’t always what they were in college, and data doesn’t always point to success, but this was a good initial swing from Wray, who quickly followed it up with another in the second round. 

CITY SC selected goalkeeper Andrew Samuels from Princeton with the 37th pick. Samuels was the third keeper selected in the draft, and he was undoubtedly the best shot stopper in the NCAA this season. 

It’s an interesting spot as CITY SC’s goalkeeper core seems pretty set with Bürki, Lundt, and Olivares, but it’s never bad to have talented GKs in the org, and Wray snatched at the opportunity to bring in a keeper that allowed 10 goals on 18 expected – the best G/xG ratio by 0.09 last season. 

Lastly, CITY SC traded into a 3rd pick after losing their natural 3rd round pick to Minnesota in the Padelford loan. They gave up $50,000 in allocation to Orlando to select Cooper Forcellini from Xavier. Forcellini is an attacker/midfielder who has some holes in his game defensively, but was very good at progressing the ball and finishing his chances in college. Again, it’s a lottery ticket, but Wray traded up to select him, so there is something in his game that translated for him. 

Overall, CITY SC had a good showing, bringing some talent into the club that will have some opportunities to play meaningful minutes either with the first team or CITY2. I’d expect more college signings to come with CITY2 moving on from most of its veterans this week. 

On CITY 2, it’s important to remember that MLSNP is supposed to be a developmental league. If your veteran signings are 26 and aren’t MLS caliber, then most clubs are going to move on and cycle in a fresh batch of college signings. Coupled with a critical mass of Academy players ready to test themselves playing up a level, the moves make a little more sense. It’s not a top seed inexplicably moving on from its veteran contributors; it’s a development squad creating space to, hopefully, develop players for the first team. 

Wray and Damet talk alignment.

So, how will CITY SC ensure that the players picked up this week will have a route into the first team? According to Wray, it comes with better aligning their player pathways. 

“[We will] add more experts in different areas of the club [...] in all areas of the club, in all departments,” Wray said. “So we have to look at a clear pathway for players from the academy up to the first team. We have to look at methods for recruitment and scouting from the Academy to the First Team.”

It’s been a valid complaint throughout the past two seasons. Miggy Perez’s 2023 won him many local plaudets but his subsequent loan in 2024 led to some regression in Birmingham, resulting in a 2025 where he only suited up for the first team during the club’s friendly with Aston Villa. Mykhi Joyner had to become undeniable to push his way onto the pitch, and while Tyson Pearce waits for his opportunity this season, players like MLS NEXT U15 MVP Eddie Niles are pushing their way up the pathway. 

CITY SC fans should love the talk of aligning those pathways, especially as the club needs to find more effective play from their supplemental roster. 

To that end, Yoann Damet sees opportunity with a squad that is yearning to end its two-season playoff draught. 

“I learned a lot from what we could have done differently or what we could have done better over the past three seasons [in Columbus], and I think there has been a lot of learning at this club over the past three years,” Damet said. “Today, I see an opportunity to turn the page on those three years and to learn from it and to start a new phase, a new chapter.”

So, how will Damet look to kick off that chapter?

Damet’s game model will, obviously, play a large role, but there shouldn’t be an expectation that CITY SC will suddenly look like Wilfried Nancy’s Columbus Crew. Surprisingly, Damet defined his style of play as “a proactive approach both with and without the ball,” defining his philosophy as, “I want us to be a high pressing team, on the front foot as well, controlling more of the game, but I want these two things to be rooted in clarity and process.”

After Olof Mellberg’s process last offseason, the players will love hearing the word clarity. In the aftermath of David Critchley taking the reins, his straightforward communication was the top compliment from players in the press room. Now, Damet will have to follow up on his predecessor while turning CITY SC into a club that is harder to play through in 2026. 

On David Critchley, Wray admitted that he has not yet returned to a role in the organization but that they are in talks about where he would be best suited to return next season. Saying, “We hold him in the highest regard.”

In an ideal world, Critchley would return as a member of Damet’s staff to bring another layer of continuity into a new setup, but Damet may also want to define his own staff in the coming months. 

Regardless, it’s definitely a new era in St. Louis.

Thank you as always for reading, even when the stories that interest me take me away from St. Louis soccer and the NWSL which is why many of you follow my work. If you like what I do and want to support independent journalism consider becoming a paid subscriber. I hope you are enjoying this holiday season, I just wish we lived in precedented times.