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MLS San Diego FC

San Diego FC Selects Five Players in MLS SuperDraft 2025

December 20, 2024 - Major League Soccer (MLS)
San Diego FC News Release


SAN DIEGO - San Diego FC (SDFC) announced today the Club made a total of five selections in the MLS SuperDraft 2025 including Manu Duah from UC Santa Barbara with the first overall pick. The Club also selected defender Ian Pilcher from University of North Carolina Charlotte with the 24th overall pick (24th pick, first round), defender Harrison Bertos from the University of Washington with the 31st overall pick (first pick, second round), San Diego native Samy Kanaan from University of San Diego with the 56th overall pick (26th pick, second round) and forward Donovan Sessoms from Sacramento State University with the 61th overall pick (first pick, third round).

SDFC also acquired $175,000 in 2025 General Allocation Money (GAM) during the MLS SuperDraft 2025 from trades with Charlotte FC (SDFC received the 17th overall pick and $100K in 2025 GAM from Charlotte FC in exchange for the 9th overall pick) and with New York City FC (SDFC received the 24th overall pick and $75K in 2025 GAM from NYCFC in exchange for the 17th overall pick).

Midfielder Manu Duah

A native of Ghana, Manu Duah started all 14 games he played in for the Gauchos as the side went 8-3-3 during those matches. He produced his first collegiate assist on August 29 against the University of Missouri-Kansas City. Duah previously starred in MLS NEXT for Santa Barbara Soccer Club, helping them reach the MLS NEXT Cup Playoffs in the U19 age group. Duah joins fellow Gauchos Christian Ramírez (Columbus Crew), Michael Boxall (Minnesota United FC), and Emmanuel Boateng (New England Revolution) in MLS.

Manu Duah

Position: Midfielder

Height: 6-4

Weight: 180 lbs.

Date of Birth: June 5, 2005

Place of Birth: Kumasi, Ghana

College: UC Santa Barbara

Defender Ian Pilcher

In 2024, defender Ian Pilcher earned first-team All-AAC honors while helping lead the 49ers to their second straight American Athletic Conference Championship. The Charlotte, North Carolina native started 17 games this season, recording one goal and captaining a back line that finished first in the nation in shutout percentage (.579) and 13th in scoring defense (.832). Pilcher was a two-time AAC Defensive Player of the Week and one-time AAC Honorable Mention of the Week.

Ian Pilcher

Position: Defender

Height: 6-1

Weight: 170 lbs.

Date of Birth: March 21, 2003

Place of Birth: Charlotte, N.C.

College: University of North Carolina Charlotte

Defender Harrison Bertos

The Bedford, Mass. sophomore defender Harrison Bertos played in 21 matches, making 20 starts in the 2024 season, tallying one goal and recording an assist this season. Bertos was awarded TopDrawerSoccer National Team of the Week Honorable Mention in Sept. 2024. During his freshman year in 2023, Bertos played in 12 matches, making two starts, recording one goal and one assist that season. Bertos played club soccer MLSNext with Seacoast United, where he qualified for the 2022 MLS Next Cup Playoffs.

Harrison Bertos

Position: Defender

Height: 6-1

Weight: 170 lbs.

Place of Birth: Bedford, Mass.

College: University of Washington

Forward Samy Kanaan

University of San Diego forward Samy Kanaan was picked as a Third Team All-American following his stellar third season as a Torero where he led his team in both goals and points. Kanaan also helped his team excel in non-conference action by scoring goals in three consecutive matches against Lipscomb, Washington and Grand Canyon. Samy was ranked tied for fourth in the country with five game-winning goals this season which included the conference clinching goal in the first half of USD's 1-0 road victory over LMU to end the regular season. The San Diego native and Rancho Bernardo High School graduate has scored 15 goals through his first three seasons to go along with four assists in 2,700 minutes of game action.

Samy Kanaan

Position: Forward

Height: 5-11

Weight: 155 lbs.

Date of Birth: Nov. 23, 2004

Place of Birth: San Diego, CA

College: University of San Diego

Forward Donovan Sessoms

Forward Donovan Sessoms appeared in all 18 matches for Sacramento State, making 16 starts in his first season with the Hornets. He led the team in scoring with 10 goals, ranking fifth among field players with 1,188 minutes played. Sessoms became only the sixth Hornet to be named to the All-Big West first team in the program's history, while picking up a pair of conference offensive player of the week awards. This season, Sessoms was named to the All-Big West Conference First Team (2024), Top Drawer Soccer National Team of the Week (Oct. 2024) and Big West Conference Offensive Player of the Week twice (Sept. 24, Oct. 24). The Antelope, Calif. native played his freshman year at UNLV in 2022, appearing in 14 matches and scoring his first collegiate goal against Pacific on Sept. 15. Sessoms spent eight years with the Sacramento Republic FC Academy before committing to University of Nevada, Las Vegas in 2022.

Donovan Sessoms

Position: Forward

Height: 5-10

Weight: 170 lbs.

Date of Birth:

Place of Birth: Antelope, Calif.

College: Sacramento State University

MLS SuperDraft 2025 featured an expanded eligible player pool for the second consecutive year, as players who are currently collegiate sophomores, juniors, seniors, and above were eligible for selection. The 2025 SuperDraft featured 48 players selected who were collegiate freshman, sophomores, or juniors. Overall, players from 56 colleges and universities were represented in the 90 selections overall.

SDFC will celebrate their inaugural home match, presented by DIRECTV, by hosting St. Louis CITY SC at Snapdragon Stadium on Saturday, March 1 at 7:30 p.m. PT. Prior to the Club's first-ever home match, SDFC will kick off the Club's inaugural MLS campaign against the LA Galaxy at Dignity Health Sports Park during the opening weekend of 2025 MLS action on Sunday, Feb. 23 (4:00 p.m. PT; MLS Season Pass on Apple TV).

To learn more about SDFC Season Ticket Memberships, fans can visit SanDiegoFC.com/tickets. For the latest news and Club updates, please visit SanDiegoFC.com, follow @SanDiegoFC on social media across all platforms, and use the hashtag #SanDiegoFC #FlowWithUs.

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