MLS Major League Soccer

Inter Miami CF Uses No. 1 Overall Pick to Select Robbie Robinson of Clemson Univ. in 2020 MLS SuperDraft

Published on January 9, 2020 under Major League Soccer (MLS) News Release


NEW YORK - Expansion clubs Inter Miami CF and Nashville SC made major moves in building their teams for their inaugural seasons in Major League Soccer on Thursday, each club making a number of selections in 2020 MLS SuperDraft presented by adidas.

Inter Miami CF came into the SuperDraft holding two of the first three selections. They used the No. 1 overall pick to select Generation adidas forward Robbie Robinson of Clemson Univ., Inter Miami CF owner David Beckham calling his new charge via Skype to inform him. Robinson was the winner this year of the MAC Hermann Trophy, awarded to the top male and female college soccer players in the USA, and became the first player ever from Clemson to be selected No. 1 overall in the MLS draft.

Inter Miami then used their third selection overall to select defender Dylan Nealis of Georgetown University, which this year won the NCAA Division I College Cup in men's soccer for the first time in school history.

Nashville SC held the second selection overall, which they used to select Generation adidas defender Jack Maher of Indiana University. Nashville then bolstered its squad even further in the club's inaugural draft, making trades to garner a pair of additional selections, obtaining the 11th selection overall from the Colorado Rapids (which they used to select defender Alistair Johnston of Wake Forest Univ.), and the 13th selection overall from the New England Revolution (which they used for goalkeeper Elliot Panicco of the Univ. of North Carolina Charlotte).

Vancouver Whitecaps FC held the fourth selection overall, and they chose Generation adidas defender Ryan Raposo of Syracuse University, one of four players from Canada selected in Friday's first round. A pair of Generation adidas players both from the Univ. of Virginia went with the next two picks, Daryl Dike going to Orlando City SC with the fifth selection, and Henry Kessler to the New England Revolution with the sixth pick. All five members of the Generation adidas class of 2020 went in the first six selections overall.

Columbus Crew SC made the seventh pick, selecting defender Miguel Berry of the Univ. of San Diego, and with the eighth pick, the Houston Dynamo chose forward Garrett McLaughlin of Southern Methodist Univ. The Montréal Impact used the ninth selection overall to select defender Jeremy Kelly of the Univ. of North Carolina, whose rights the club then traded to the Colorado Rapids. The New York Red Bulls completed the top 10 selections with defender Patrick Seagrist of Marquette Univ.

Two schools had two players selected in the first round: Georgetown Univ. and the Univ. of Virginia, who met for the NCAA Division I College Cup championship in December.

Players from 39 colleges and universities were represented in the 52 selections overall, led by Clemson and Virginia, both with three. There were also players selected from 13 different countries: USA, Canada, Brazil, Denmark, England, France, Germany, Ireland, Mexico, New Zealand, Nigeria, Senegal and Spain.

Rounds 3 and 4 of the 2020 SuperDraft presented by adidas will be held via conference call on Monday, Jan. 13, beginning at 3 p.m. ET.

For a complete recap of the 2020 MLS SuperDraft, please visit: www.MLSsoccer.com.

A round-by-round summary of the 2020 SuperDraft follows:

ROUND 1

# TEAM PLAYER POS. HT WT DOB HOMETOWN CLUB/COLLEGE

1 MIA Robbie Robinson * FW 6-2 170 12/17/98 Camden, S.C. Clemson Univ.

2 NSH Jack Maher * DF 6-3 175 10/28/99 Caseyville, Ill. Indiana Univ.

3 MIA Dylan Nealis DF 5-11 175 07/30/98 Massapequa, N.Y. Georgetown Univ.

4 VAN Ryan Raposo * FW 5-7 142 03/05/99 Hamilton, Ont., Canada Syracuse Univ.

5 ORL Daryl Dike * FW 6-2 220 06/03/00 Edmond, Okla. Univ. of Virginia

6 NE Henry Kessler * DF 6-4 185 06/25/98 New York, N.Y. Univ. of Virginia

7 CLB Miguel Berry FW 6-3 180 09/16/97 Poway, Calif. Univ. of San Diego

8 HOU Garrett McLaughlin FW 6-0 175 11/10/97 Oklahoma City, Okla. Southern Methodist Univ.

9 MTL Jeremy Kelly DF 5-10 145 10/21/97 Chapel Hill, N.C. Univ. of North Carolina

10 NYR % Patrick Seagrist DF 6-0 170 02/21/98 Streamwood, Ill. Marquette Univ.

11 NSH & Alistair Johnston DF 5-11 170 10/08/98 Aurora, Ont., Canada Wake Forest Univ.

12 SJ Tanner Beason DF 6-1 175 03/23/97 Winston-Salem, N.C. Stanford Univ.

13 NSH # Elliot Panicco GK 6-5 205 11/18/96 Huntersville, N.C. Univ. of North Carolina Charlotte

14 DAL Nkosi Burgess DF 6-4 185 03/23/97 Manhattan, N.Y. Seattle Univ.

15 NYR Cherif Dieye MF 5-9 150 11/11/97 Dakar, Senegal Univ. of Louisville

16 POR Aaron Molloy MF 5-11 165 01/11/97 Dublin, Ireland Pennsylvania State Univ.

17 DAL Cal Jennings FW 5-11 163 05/17/97 Roswell, Ga. Univ. of Central Florida

18 MIN Noah Billingsley DF 6-2 185 08/06/97 Wellington, New Zealand Univ. of California, Santa Barbara

19 TOR Nyal Higgins DF 6-2 173 01/19/98 Ajax, Ont., Canada Syracuse Univ.

20 RSL Dayonn Harris FW 5-7 155 08/29/97 Milton, Ont, Canada Univ. of Connecticut

21 DC @ Simon Lefebvre GK 6-9 210 05/06/97 Ossun, France Temple Univ.

22 NYC Jesús Perez MF 5-10 145 10/01/97 Waukegan, Ill. Univ. of Illinois at Chicago

23 ATL Patrick Nielsen DF 6-4 187 09/18/96 Copenhagen, Denmark Michigan State Univ.

24 LFC Paulo Pita GK 6-3 06/03/94 Santos, Sao Paulo, Brazil Marshall Univ.

25 TOR Ifunanyachi Achara FW 5-10 161 09/28/97 Enugu, Nigeria Georgetown Univ.

26 CHI Jonathan Jimenez FW 5-11 12/17/97 Cape Coral, Fla. Univ. of the Pacific

* Generation adidas

% CHI trade No. 10 overall selection in 2020 to NYR for $100,000 general allocation money

& COL trade No. 11 overall selection in 2020 to NSH for $75,000 general allocation money

# NE trade No. 13 overall selection in 2020 to NSH for $50,000 general allocation money, $50,000 conditional allocation money

@ PHI trade No. 21 overall selection in 2020, No. 21 selection in 2020 Allocation Ranking to DC for No. 17 selection in 2020 Allocation Ranking, potential $50,000 in General Allocation Money

ROUND 2

# TEAM PLAYER POS. HT WT DOB HOMETOWN CLUB/COLLEGE

27 SJ Jack Skahan MF 5-10 165 02/07/98 Memphis, Tenn. Univ. of North Carolina

28 NSH Tanner Dieterich MF 6-0 170 05/04/98 Nashville, Tenn. Clemson Univ.

29 CIN Rey Ortiz FW 5-5 135 01/07/97 Acapulco, Mexico Univ. of Portland

30 NE Simon Lekressner DF 5-8 155 09/01/98 Bellevue, Wash. Univ. of California

31 ORL Joey DeZart MF 6-1 195 06/09/98 Jackson, N.J. Wake Forest Univ.

32 VAN Daniel Gagliardi GK 6-3 195 01/21/97 Plantation, Fla. Florida International Univ.

33 TOR Malick Mbaye DF 6-0 168 11/24/96 Dakar, Senegal Clemson Univ.

34 HOU Luka Prpa MF 5-10 165 07/27/98 Wind Lake, Wis. Marquette Univ.

35 SEA Danny Reynolds DF 6-1 183 06/27/97 Shilton, England Univ. of North Carolina Wilmington

36 NYR Wallis Lapsley GK 6-5 04/14/97 Seattle, Wash. Univ. of California, Davis

37 COL Robin Afamefuna DF 5-11 180 03/02/97 Wuerselen, Germany Univ. of Virginia

38 SJ Jon Bell DF 6-1 175 08/26/97 Silver Spring, Md. Univ. of Maryland, Baltimore County

39 ORL Jonathan Dean DF 5-8 163 05/15/97 Macon, Ga. Univ. of Central Florida

40 DAL Manuel Ferriol MF 5-11 150 08/13/98 Valencia, Spain James Madison Univ.

41 NYR Deri Corfe FW 6-0 178 03/03/98 Chester, England Wright State Univ.

42 DC Josh Fawole FW 6-1 175 Columbia, Md. Loyola Univ. Maryland

43 NE Keegan Meyer GK 6-3 195 03/10/97 Silver Spring, Md. High Point Univ.

44 ORL Austin Aviza GK 6-3 195 02/17/97 Medway, Mass. Providence College

45 LA Tom Smart DF 5-11 12/05/95 Birmingham, England Univ. of Akron

46 RSL Michael Wetungu DF 6-3 198 04/25/98 Rochester Hills, Mich. Michigan State Univ.

47 CLB Remi Prieur GK 6-2 04/17/97 San Ramon, Calif. Saint Mary's College

48 NYC Felicien Dumas DF 6-0 171 12/29/96 Paris, France Univ. of Notre Dame

49 CLB Danny Griffin MF 5-9 165 07/14/98 Wethersfield, Conn. Providence College

50 LFC Jack Hallahan FW 6-0 175 11/17/96 Redditch, England Univ. of Michigan

51 TOR Simon Waever DF 5-11 155 01/21/96 Holte, Denmark Indiana Univ.

52 SEA Timo Mehlich MF 6-0 08/12/97 Monchengladbach, Germany Univ. of Nevada Las Vegas

TEAM-BY-TEAM SELECTIONS:

Atlanta United (1): Patrick Nielsen (23)

Chicago Fire FC (1): Jonathan Jimenez (26)

FC Cincinnati (1): Rey Ortiz (29)

Colorado Rapids (1): Robin Afamefuna (37)

Columbus Crew SC (3): Miguel Berry (7); Remi Prieur (47); Danny Griffin (49)

D.C. United (2): Simon Lefebvre (21); Josh Fawole (42)

FC Dallas (3): Nkosi Burgess (14); Cal Jennings (17); Manuel Ferriol (40)

Houston Dynamo (2): Garrett McLaughlin (8); Luka Prpa (34)

Sporting Kansas City (0)

LA Galaxy (1): Tom Smart (45)

Los Angeles Football Club (2): Paulo Pita (24); Jack Hallahan (50)

Inter Miami CF (2): Robbie Robinson (1); Dylan Nealis (3)

Minnesota United FC (1): Noah Billingsley (18)

Montréal Impact (1): Jeremy Kelly (9)

Nashville SC (4): Jack Maher (2); Alistair Johnston (11); Elliot Panicco (13); Tanner Dieterich (28)

New England Revolution (3): Henry Kessler (6); Simon Lekressner (30); Keegan Meyer (43)

New York Red Bulls (4): Patrick Seagrist (10); Cherif Diaye (15); Wallis Lapsley (36); Deri Corfe (41)

New York City FC (2): Jesús Perez (22); Felicien Dumas (48)

Orlando City SC (4): Daryl Dike (5); Joey DeZart (31); Jonathan Dean (39); Austin Aviza (44)

Philadelphia Union (0)

Portland Timbers (1): Aaron Molloy (16)

Real Salt Lake (2): Dayonn Harris (20); Michael Wetungu (46)

San Jose Earthquakes (3): Tanner Beason (12); Jack Skahan (27); Jon Bell (38)

Seattle Sounders FC (2): Danny Reynolds (35); Timo Mehlich (52)

Toronto FC (4): Nyal Higgins (19); Ifunanyachi Achara (25); Malick Mbaye (33); Simon Waever (51)

Vancouver Whitecaps FC (2): Ryan Raposo (4), Daniel Gagliardi (32)

COLLEGE-BY-COLLEGE SELECTIONS:

Univ. of Akron (1): Tom Smart

Univ. of California (1): Simon Lekressner

Univ. of California, Davis (1): Wallis Lapsley

Univ. of California, Santa Barbara (1): Noah Billingsley

Univ. of Central Florida (2): Jonathan Dean; Cal Jennings

Clemson Univ. (3): Tanner Dieterich; Malick Mbaye; Robbie Robinson

Univ. of Connecticut (1): Dayonn Harris

Florida International Univ. (1): Daniel Gagliardi

Georgetown Univ. (2): Ifunanyachi Achara; Dylan Nealis

High Point Univ. (1): Keegan Meyer

Univ. of Illinois at Chicago (1): Jesús Perez

Indiana Univ. (2): Jack Maher; Simon Waever

James Madison Univ. (1): Manuel Ferriol

Univ. of Louisville (1): Cherif Diaye

Loyola Univ. Maryland (1): Josh Fawole

Univ. of Maryland, Baltimore County (1): Jon Bell

Marquette Univ. (2): Luka Prpa; Patrick Seagrist

Marshall Univ. (1): Paulo Pita

Univ. of Michigan (1): Jack Hallahan

Michigan State Univ. (2): Patrick Nielsen; Michael Wetungu

University of Nevada Las Vegas (1): Timo Mehlich

Univ. of North Carolina (2): Jeremy Kelly; Jack Skahan

Univ. of North Carolina at Charlotte (1): Elliot Panicco

Univ. of North Carolina Wilmington (1): Danny Reynolds

Univ. of Notre Dame (1): Felicien Dumas

Univ. of the Pacific (1): Jonathan Jimenez

Penn State Univ. (1): Aaron Molloy

Univ. of Portland (1); Rey Ortiz

Providence College (2): Austin Aviza; Danny Griffin

Saint Mary's College (1): Remi Prieur

Univ. of San Diego (1): Miguel Berry

Seattle Univ. (1): Nkosi Burgess

Southern Methodist Univ. (1): Garrett McLaughlin

Stanford Univ. (1): Tanner Beason

Syracuse Univ. (2): Nyal Higgins; Ryan Raposo

Temple Univ. (1): Simon Lefebvre

Univ. of Virginia (3): Robin Afamefuna, Daryl Dike, Henry Kessler

Wake Forest Univ. (2): Joey DeZart, Alistair Johnston

Wright State Univ. (1): Deri Corfe

Check out the Major League Soccer Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



Major League Soccer Stories from January 9, 2020


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.


Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central