FC Dallas Selects Six Players in 2026 MLS SuperDraft
MLS FC Dallas

FC Dallas Selects Six Players in 2026 MLS SuperDraft

Published on December 18, 2025 under Major League Soccer (MLS)
FC Dallas News Release


FRISCO, Texas - FC Dallas selected six collegiate players in the 2026 MLS SuperDraft. The club chose Generation adidas forward Ricardo "Ricky" Louis with the No. 2 overall pick, Generation adidas forward Nicholas "Nick" Simmonds with the No. 3 pick, and goalkeeper Niklas Herceg with the No. 16 pick. Dallas added Edouard Nys and Umberto Pelà in the second round and drafted defender Olayinka "Ola" Ogunleye in the third round.

"We were aggressive (in the draft) for a couple reasons," said FC Dallas President Dan Hunt. "We have some open roster spots on our supplemental roster, which makes sense to fill with good college draft picks, especially when you can get top talent. This is a really talented group of players, and we listened to the staff talk about them over the last couple of weeks so I think we filled a lot of needs here."

In 2025, Louis led Georgia Southern with nine goals and added three assists for 19 points. He recorded two braces, scoring against Presbyterian and No. 4 Marshall to fuel an upset of the nationally ranked Thundering Herd. Louis ranked among 22 Division I players with four or more game-winning goals this season. He earned national and Sun Belt Player of the Week honors and was named to the Hermann Trophy Midseason Watch List. Louis became the first player in program history to earn Third Team All-American honors.

As a freshman at Virginia, Simmonds earned First Team All American honors after scoring 10 goals and adding five assists. His 10 goals led all freshmen from Power Four programs and earned him ACC Freshman of the Year honors. A Midlothian, Virginia, native, Simmonds scored his first professional goal in his debut for USL League One side Richmond Kickers on Aug. 30, 2023, becoming the youngest goal scorer in club history. He appeared in 14 matches and logged 311 minutes for the Kickers.

In two seasons with the Vermont Catamounts, Herceg appeared in 36 matches, logged 3,295 minutes, made 118 saves and recorded 16 shutouts. He earned America East Goalkeeper of the Year, ECAC Defensive Player of the Year, All-ECAC First Team, America East All-Conference First Team and United Soccer Coaches All-Northeast Region First Team honors in 2025. Herceg led Vermont to its first NCAA College Cup national championship in 2024 as a freshman. During the championship season, he earned NCAA Tournament Defensive Most Outstanding Player honors and was named to the NCAA All-Tournament Team, America East All-Conference Second Team, America East All-Championship Team and America East All-Rookie Team. He began his career with VfL Vichttal in Germany before moving to Vermont and graduated from the University of Cologne.

"The three players we got in the first round were the exact players that we wanted going into this draft," said FC Dallas Chief Soccer Officer/Sporting Director André Zanotta. "Ricky (Louis) really impressed us, especially at the combine. I think he was the best player in the combine so we're so excited to see him with us now. (Nicholas) Simmonds, he's a natural goal scorer, so bringing a domestic No. nine with his size, his athleticism, I see a bright, bright future for him. And Niklas Herceg is the best college goalkeeper, and he's from a very good school of goalkeepers in Germany. We can't wait to have all three of them with us in preseason and moving forward in 2026."

In his one season at UIC, Nys earned Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year, MVC Forward of the Year, United Soccer Coaches All-West Region First Team and MVC Offensive Player of the Week four times in 2025. He led the team in goals, shots and game-winning goals in 18 matches. Prior to UIC, the Dottignies, Belgium, native appeared in 49 matches at Northeast Community College recording 48 goals and 49 assists.

University of Virginia captain Umberto Pelà became the second Cavalier selected by Dallas in the 2026 MLS SuperDraft. A four-year contributor at Virginia, Pelà appeared in 57 matches, scored five goals and added eight assists. He earned United Soccer Coaches Second Team All-American honors in 2025. A Milan, Italy, native, Pelà played club soccer for Serie A side Como 1907 and received his first first-team call-up at age 17.

With its final selection, Dallas chose Ogunleye with the No. 66 overall pick. A two-year starter at the University of Louisville, he appeared in 29 matches, made 28 starts, scored two goals and added one assist. Ogunleye previously played for Sockers FC in MLS Next before joining Louisville.

Dallas was active on SuperDraft Day, the club acquired Red Bull New York's 12th overall pick in exchange for $100,000 in General Allocation Money ($50,000 in 2026 GAM, $50,000 in 2027 GAM) and the 21st overall pick.

FC Dallas then traded the 12th overall pick alongside $400,000 GAM ($350,000 in 2026 GAM; $50,000 in 2027 GAM) with Atlanta United FC to move up to the second overall pick and selected Georgia Southern University standout Ricardo Louis.

In the second round, FC Dallas traded $75,000 2027 GAM with the Colorado Rapids for the 40th and 44th overall picks, which Dallas used to select Edouard Nys and Umberto Pelà.

FC Dallas 2026 MLS SuperDraft

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NAME ROUND PICK POSITION SCHOOL

Ricardo Louis 1 2 F Georgia Southern

Nicholas Simmonds 1 3 F Virginia

Niklas Herceg 1 16 GK Vermont

Edouard Nys 2 40 M UIC

Umberto Pelà 2 44 M Virginia

Olayinka Ogunleye 3 66 D Louisville

VITALS

Ricardo "Ricky"Louis

Position: Forward

Height: 6'2'

Weight: 175 lbs.

College: Georgia Southern University

Hometown: Fort Myers, Florida

Citizenship: U.S., Haiti

Nicholas "Nick" Simmonds

Position: Forward/Midfielder

Height: 6'4'

Weight: 195 lbs.

College: University of Virginia

Hometown: Midlothian, Virginia

Citizenship: U.S., Jamaica

Niklas Herceg

Position: Goalkeeper

Height: 6'6'

Weight: 213 lbs.

College: University of Vermont

Hometown: Alsdorf, Germany

Citizenship: Germany

Edouard Nys

Position: Midfielder

Height: 5'8'

Weight: 145 lbs.

College: UIC

Hometown: Dottignies, Belgium

Citizenship: Belgium

Umberto Pelà

Position: Midfielder

Height: 5'11'

Weight: 165 lbs.

College: University of Virginia

Hometown: Milan, Italy

Citizenship: Italy

Olayinka "Ola" Ogunleye

Position: Defender

Height: 6'4'

Weight: 190 lbs.

College: Louisville University

Hometown: Bolingbrook, Illinois

Citizenship: U.S.

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Major League Soccer Stories from December 18, 2025


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