# 1998 MLS College Draft

The 1998 Major League Soccer College Draft was held in Fort Lauderdale, Florida on January 31 and February 1, 1998. The College Draft was followed by the 1998 MLS Supplemental Draft.

## Format

On Saturday, January 31, 1998, Major League Soccer held the first round of its 1998 college draft during the halftime of the Umbro Select All-Star Classic at Lockhart Stadium. The second and third rounds took place Sunday morning at the Airport Hilton in Fort Lauderdale. The 1998 MLS Supplemental Draft took place that afternoon at the same location.

## Changes from 1997

* 1998 expansion teams Miami Fusion and Chicago Fire were awarded the first and second selections in each round.
| * | Denotes player who has been selected for an MLS Best XI team |

## Round 1

| Pick # | MLS team | Player | Position | Affiliation |
| 1 | Miami Fusion | Leo Cullen | D | University of Maryland |
| 2 | Chicago Fire | Ritchie Kotschau | D | George Mason |
| 3 | San Jose Clash | Ben Parry | D | UNC-Charlotte |
| 4 | Kansas City Wizards | Chris Klein | M | Indiana University |
| 5 | New England Revolution | Johnny Torres | M | Creighton University |
| 6 | Los Angeles Galaxy | Clint Mathis | M | University of South Carolina |
| 7 | Tampa Bay Mutiny | Josh Keller | M | UCLA |
| 8 | MetroStars | Mike Petke | D | Southern Connecticut State |
| 9 | Columbus Crew | Jeff Cunningham | F | University of South Florida |
| 10 | Dallas Burn | Matt Jordan | GK | Clemson University |
| 11 | Colorado Rapids | Tyrone Marshall | F | Florida International University |
| 12 | San Jose Clash | Wade Barrett | M | William & Mary College |

### Round 1 trades

* ↑ #4: MetroStars → Kansas City Wizards. 3 February 1997: Kansas City Wizards acquired this first-round pick and midfielder Damian Silvera from MetroStars in exchange for midfielder Mike Sorber.
* ↑ #8: Kansas City Wizards → MetroStars. 31 January 1998: MetroStars acquired this first-round selection from Kansas City Wizards in exchange for defender Brian Bliss.
* ↑ #12: D.C. United → San Jose Clash. 15 May 1997: San Jose Clash acquired this first-round pick and defender Arnold Cruz from D.C. United in exchange for defender Benedict Iroha.

## Round 2

| Pick # | MLS team | Player | Position | Affiliation |
| 13 | Miami Fusion | Pablo Mastroeni | M | North Carolina State University |
| 14 | D.C. United | Carey Talley | M | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill |
| 15 | MetroStars | Joe Munoz | F | Cal State-Bakersfield |
| 16 | MetroStars | Billy Walsh | M | Rutgers University |
| 17 | New England Revolution | Jesse Van Saun | F | St. John's University |
| 18 | Los Angeles Galaxy | Daniel Hernandez | M | Southern Methodist University |
| 19 | Tampa Bay Mutiny | Chris Houser | D | Southern Connecticut State |
| 20 | Kansas City Wizards | Tom Hardy | D | Seattle University |
| 21 | Columbus Crew | Andrew Gregor | M | University of Portland |
| 22 | Dallas Burn | Hans Wittusen | D | Brown University |
| 23 | Colorado Rapids | Jason Boyce | F | University of Washington |
| 24 | Columbus Crew | Henrik Nebrelius | F | University of Tampa |

### Round 2 trades

* ↑ #14: Chicago Fire → D.C. United. 6 January 1998: D.C. United acquired this second-round selection and forward A.J. Wood from Chicago Fire in exchange for a first-round pick (#11) in the 1999 MLS College Draft, a second-round pick (#23) in the 1999 College Draft (both picks originally "future considerations"), and midfielder Jesse Marsch.
* ↑ #15: San Jose Clash → MetroStars. 31 January 1998: MetroStars acquired this second-round pick from San Jose Clash in exchange for midfielder Braeden Cloutier.
* ↑ #24: D.C. United → Columbus Crew. Date Needed: Columbus Crew acquired this second-round selection from D.C. United in exchange for a second-round pick (#21) in the 1999 MLS College Draft. More information needed.

## Round 3

| Pick # | MLS team | Player | Position | Affiliation |
| 25 | Dallas Burn | Matt Caution | F | Southwest Missouri State University |
| 26 | Los Angeles Galaxy | Matt Reis | GK | UCLA |
| 27 | San Jose Clash | Caleb Porter | M | Indiana University |
| 28 | MetroStars | Cesidio Colasante | F | La Salle University |
| 29 | New England Revolution | Kevin Coye | D | UCLA |
| 30 | Los Angeles Galaxy | Joe Franchino | D | University of Washington |
| 31 | Tampa Bay Mutiny | Bill May | GK | University of Washington |
| 32 | Kansas City Wizards | Mario Sanchez | M | Fresno State |
| 33 | Columbus Crew | Nick Theslof | M | UCLA |
| 34 | Tampa Bay Mutiny | R.T. Moore | D | University of Maryland |
| 35 | Colorado Rapids | P.J. Brown | D | Azusa Pacific |
| 36 | New England Revolution | Tom McLaughlin | F | Harvard University |

### Round 3 trades

* ↑ #25: Miami Fusion → Dallas Burn. Date Needed: Dallas Burn acquired this third-round selection from Miami Fusion in exchange for a second-round pick (#18) in the 1999 MLS College Draft. More information needed.
* ↑ #26: Chicago Fire → Los Angeles Galaxy. Date Needed: Los Angeles Galaxy acquired this third-round selection from Chicago Fire in exchange for a second-round pick (#16) in the 1998 MLS Supplemental Draft. More information needed.
* ↑ #34: Dallas Burn → Tampa Bay Mutiny. 31 January 1997: Tampa Bay Mutiny acquired this third-round selection and a first-round pick (#6) in the 1997 MLS Supplemental Draft from Dallas Burn in exchange for forward Peter Hattrup.
* ↑ #36: D.C. United. → New England Revolution. Date Needed: New England Revolution acquired this third-round selection from D.C. United in exchange for a first-round selection in the 1998 MLS Supplemental Draft. More information needed.

## Notable undrafted players

* Joe Cannon (GK, UC Santa Barbara) — 86 career MLS shutouts; MLS Goalkeeper of the Year (2002, 2004)
* Jimmy Conrad (DF, UCLA) — 288 MLS appearances, MLS Best XI (2004, 2005, 2006, 2008)