Sporting Unveils List of Protected Players for Expansion Draft
November 16, 2019 - Major League Soccer (MLS)
Sporting Kansas City News Release
Major League Soccer announced today that Sporting Kansas City has protected the following 12 players ahead of the 2019 MLS Expansion Draft on Tuesday.
Goalkeepers (2): Tim Melia, Adrian Zendejas
Defenders (4): Matt Besler, Luis Martins, Graham Smith, Graham Zusi
Midfielders (3): Felipe Gutierrez, Roger Espinoza, Ilie Sanchez
Forwards (3): Gerso Fernandes, Erik Hurtado, Johnny Russell
Additionally, Gianluca Busio, Cameron Duke, Tyler Freeman, Felipe Hernandez, Wan Kuzain, Jaylin Lindsey and Daniel Salloi are automatically protected as Homegrown Players.
The following 10 Sporting players will be eligible for selection in the MLS Expansion Draft:
Goalkeepers (1): Eric Dick
Defenders (5): Botond Barath, Andreu Fontas, Nico Hasler, Seth Sinovic, Rodney Wallace
Midfielders (3): Benny Feilhaber, Jimmy Medranda, Gedion Zelalem
Forwards (1): Krisztian Nemeth
The MLS Expansion Draft will stream live on MLSsoccer.com at 4:30 p.m. CT Tuesday. Inter Miami CF and Nashville SC will add up to five players to their rosters in preparation for their inaugural 2020 campaigns. Per MLS Expansion Draft rules , only a single player can be drafted from any one club. Once one player has been claimed from a club's unprotected roster, that club is removed from the Expansion Draft and may not lose any further players.
The following five teams, which had players selected by FC Cincinnati during the 2018 MLS Expansion Draft, are exempt from the 2019 Expansion Draft: D.C. United, Vancouver Whitecaps FC, FC Dallas, Houston Dynamo and New York Red Bulls.
Ten Sporting players have been taken in previous MLS expansion drafts.
YEAR POS PLAYER TEAM
1997 MID Diego Gutierrez Chicago Fire
2004 MID Francisco Gomez Chivas USA
2004 FWD Matt Taylor Chivas USA
2006 GK William Hesmer Toronto FC
2008 DEF Tyson Wahl Seattle Sounders FC
2010 DEF Jonathan Leathers Vancouver Whitecaps FC
2011 DEF Seth Sinovic Montreal Impact
2014 MID Sal Zizzo New York City FC
2016 GK Alec Kann Atlanta United FC
2017 FWD Latif Blessing LAFC
Major League Soccer Stories from November 16, 2019
- Eligible Player List Announced for 2019 MLS Expansion Draft - Inter Miami CF
- Eligible Player List Announced for 2019 Major League Soccer Expansion Draft - Nashville SC
- Philadelphia Union Announce Protected List for 2019 MLS Expansion Draft - Philadelphia Union
- Real Salt Lake Announces 24 Players Protected in 2019 MLS Expansion Draft - Real Salt Lake
- FC Cincinnati Announce Protected List for 2019 MLS Expansion Draft - FC Cincinnati
- Sporting Unveils List of Protected Players for Expansion Draft - Sporting Kansas City
- New York City FC Submit Protected List for 2019 MLS Expansion Draft - New York City FC
- List of Protected Players by Impact Ahead of MLS Expansion Draft - Club de Foot Montreal
- Orlando City SC Announces 2019 MLS Expansion Draft Protected List - Orlando City SC
- Revolution Announced Protected Player List Ahead of 2019 MLS Expansion Draft - New England Revolution
- Chicago Fire Announces Protected Players in Advance of 2019 MLS Expansion Draft - Chicago Fire FC
- Eligible Player List Announced for 2019 MLS Expansion Draft - MLS
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.
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