# 2016 MLS SuperDraft

The 2016 MLS SuperDraft was the seventeenth SuperDraft conducted by Major League Soccer. The SuperDraft is held each year in conjunction with the annual National Soccer Coaches Association of America convention. The 2016 convention was held in Baltimore, Maryland. The first two rounds of the 2016 SuperDraft were held on January 14, 2016. Rounds three and four were held via conference call on January 19, 2016.

## Format

The SuperDraft format has remained constant throughout its history and closely resembles that of the NFL Draft:
* Any expansion teams receive the first picks.
* Non-playoff clubs receive the next picks in reverse order of prior season finish.
* Teams that made the MLS Cup Playoffs are then ordered by which round of the playoffs they are eliminated.
* The winners of the MLS Cup are given the last selection, and the losers the penultimate selection.

## Player selection

| * | Denotes player who has been selected for an MLS Best XI team |

### Round 1

Any player marked with a * is part of the Generation Adidas program.
| Pick # | MLS team | Player | Position | College | Other |
| 1 | Chicago Fire | Jack Harrison* | Midfielder | Wake Forest | |
| 2 | Philadelphia Union | Joshua Yaro* | Defender | Georgetown | Baltimore Bohemians |
| 3 | Philadelphia Union | Keegan Rosenberry | Defender | Georgetown | Reading United AC |
| 4 | Chicago Fire | Brandon Vincent | Defender | Stanford | Portland Timbers U23s |
| 5 | Real Salt Lake | Omar Holness* | Midfielder | North Carolina | Portland Timbers U23s |
| 6 | Philadelphia Union | Fabian Herbers* | Midfielder | Creighton | |
| 7 | Orlando City SC | Richie Laryea* | Midfielder | Akron | |
| 8 | San Jose Earthquakes | Andrew Tarbell* | Goalkeeper | Clemson | New Orleans Jesters |
| 9 | Toronto FC | Tsubasa Endoh | Forward | Maryland | |
| 10 | New England Revolution | Jordan McCrary | Defender | North Carolina | Carolina Dynamo |
| 11 | D.C. United | Julian Büscher* | Midfielder | Syracuse | K-W United FC |
| 12 | Chicago Fire | Jonathan Campbell | Defender | North Carolina | Seattle Sounders U-23 |
| 13 | Orlando City SC | Hadji Barry | Forward | UCF | Orlando City U-23 |
| 14 | Montreal Impact | Kyle Fisher | Defender | Clemson | Portland Timbers U23s |
| 15 | Colorado Rapids | Emmanuel Appiah | Midfielder | Cincinnati | GPS Portland Phoenix |
| 16 | Vancouver Whitecaps FC | Cole Seiler | Defender | Georgetown | Baltimore Bohemians |
| 17 | FC Dallas | Ryan Herman | Goalkeeper | Washington | Seattle Sounders U-23 |
| 18 | New York Red Bulls | Justin Bilyeu | Defender | SIU Edwardsville | FC Tucson |
| 19 | Columbus Crew SC | Rodrigo Saravia | Midfielder | Florida Gulf Coast | |
| 20 | Portland Timbers | Ben Polk | Forward | Syracuse | K-W United FC |

#### Round 1 trades

* ↑ #2: Colorado Rapids → Philadelphia Union. January 14, 2016: Philadelphia Union acquired a first-round selection in the 2016 SuperDraft from Colorado Rapids in exchange for general allocation money and midfielder Zach Pfeffer.
* ↑ #4: New York City FC → Chicago Fire. January 14, 2016: Chicago Fire acquired a first-round selection in the 2016 SuperDraft and general allocation money from New York City FC in exchange for midfielder Jack Harrison. Harrison had been selected by Chicago as the #1 pick in the 2016 SuperDraft minutes earlier.
* ↑ #6: Houston Dynamo → Philadelphia Union. December 7, 2015: Philadelphia Union acquired a first-round selection in the 2016 SuperDraft, general allocation money, and targeted allocation money from Houston Dynamo in exchange for midfielder Cristian Maidana and forward Andrew Wenger.
* ↑ #11: Sporting Kansas City → D.C. United. January 14, 2016: D.C. United acquired a first-round selection in the 2016 SuperDraft from Sporting Kansas City in exchange for targeted allocation money.
* ↑ #12: LA Galaxy → Colorado Rapids → Chicago Fire. January 14, 2016: Chicago Fire acquired this first-round selection in the 2016 SuperDraft, a second-round selection (#22) in the 2016 SuperDraft, and the #2 ranking in the MLS Allocation Order from Colorado Rapids in exchange for a first-round selection (#15) in the 2016 SuperDraft, a second-round selection (#33) in the 2016 SuperDraft, and the #1 ranking in the MLS Allocation Order. Earlier the same day, Colorado had acquired this first-round selection from LA Galaxy in exchange for targeted allocation money.
* ↑ #13: D.C. United → Orlando City. January 14, 2016: Orlando City SC acquired a first-round selection in the 2016 SuperDraft from D.C. United in exchange for a second-round selection (#32) in the 2016 SuperDraft and targeted allocation money.
* ↑ #15: Seattle Sounders FC → Chicago Fire → Colorado Rapids. January 14, 2016: Colorado Rapids acquired this first-round selection in the 2016 SuperDraft, a second-round selection (#33) in the 2016 SuperDraft, and the #1 ranking in the MLS Allocation Order from Chicago Fire in exchange for a first-round selection (#12) in the 2016 SuperDraft, a second-round selection (#22) in the 2016 SuperDraft, and the #2 ranking in the MLS Allocation Order. Earlier the same day, Chicago had acquired this first-round selection and general allocation money from Seattle Sounders FC in exchange for defender Joevin Jones.

### Round 2

| Pick # | MLS team | Player | Position | College | Other |
| 21 | Columbus Crew SC | Chase Minter | Midfielder | Cal Poly | Ventura County Fusion |
| 22 | Chicago Fire | Alex Morrell | Forward | North Florida | |
| 23 | Philadelphia Union | Taylor Washington | Defender | George Mason | D.C. United U-23 |
| 24 | Montreal Impact | Michael Salazar | Forward | UC Riverside | OC Blues U-23 |
| 25 | Real Salt Lake | Max Lachowecki | Defender | Notre Dame | |
| 26 | Houston Dynamo | Ivan Magalhães | Defender | Maryland | |
| 27 | Seattle Sounders FC | Tony Alfaro | Defender | Cal State Dominguez Hills | Ventura County Fusion |
| 28 | San Jose Earthquakes | Patrick Hodan | Midfielder | Notre Dame | |
| 29 | Vancouver Whitecaps FC | Christopher Hellmann | Forward | Lynn | Des Moines Menace |
| 30 | New England Revolution | Michael Gamble | Forward | Wake Forest | Baltimore Bohemians |
| 31 | Columbus Crew SC | Kyle Parker | Forward | Charlotte | |
| 32 | D.C. United | Paul Clowes | Midfielder | Clemson | Orlando City U-23 |
| 33 | FC Dallas | Timo Pitter | Midfielder | Creighton | |
| 34 | Montreal Impact | Eric Verso | Midfielder | Stanford | |
| 35 | Seattle Sounders FC | Zach Mathers | Midfielder | Duke | OC Blues U-23 |
| 36 | Vancouver Whitecaps FC | Thomas Sanner | Forward | Princeton | Reading United AC |
| 37 | Colorado Rapids | Dennis Castillo | Defender | VCU | Portland Timbers U23s |
| 38 | New York Red Bulls | Zach Carroll | Defender | Michigan State | Michigan Bucks |
| 39 | Montreal Impact | Keegan Smith | Forward | San Diego | Temecula FC |
| 40 | Portland Timbers | Neco Brett | Forward | Robert Morris | Reading United AC |
| 41 | Columbus Crew SC | Marshall Hollingsworth | Midfielder | Wheaton | |

#### Round 2 trades

* ↑ #21: Chicago Fire → Orlando City → Columbus Crew. August 6, 2015: Columbus Crew acquired a second-round selection in the 2016 SuperDraft from Orlando City SC in exchange for forward Adam Bedell. On December 10, 2014, Orlando City had acquired this second-round selection in the 2016 SuperDraft from Chicago Fire in exchange for defender Eric Gehrig.
* ↑ #22: Colorado Rapids → Chicago Fire. January 14, 2016: Chicago Fire acquired this second-round selection in the 2016 SuperDraft, a first-round selection (#12) in the 2016 SuperDraft, and the #2 ranking in the MLS Allocation Order from Colorado Rapids in exchange for a first-round selection (#15) in the 2016 SuperDraft, a second-round selection (#33) in the 2016 SuperDraft, and the #1 ranking in the MLS Allocation Order.
* ↑ #24: New York City FC → Montreal Impact. June 12, 2014: Montreal Impact acquired a second-round selection in the 2016 SuperDraft from New York City FC in exchange for defender Jeb Brovsky.
* ↑ #27: Orlando City → Philadelphia Union → Toronto FC → Seattle Sounders FC. January 26, 2015: Seattle Sounders FC acquired a second-round selection in the 2016 SuperDraft from Toronto FC in exchange for defender Eriq Zavaleta. The pick acquired by Seattle was Toronto's highest second-round selection. On August 7, 2015, Toronto acquired a second-round selection in the 2016 SuperDraft from Philadelphia Union in exchange for defender Warren Creavalle. On December 8, 2014, Philadelphia had acquired this second-round selection in the 2016 SuperDraft and allocation money from Orlando City SC in exchange for defender Amobi Okugo.
* ↑ #29: Toronto FC → Vancouver Whitecaps FC. December 18, 2015: Vancouver Whitecaps FC acquired a second-round selection in the 2016 SuperDraft from Toronto FC in exchange for defender Steven Beitashour. The pick acquired by Vancouver was Toronto's second highest second-round selection.
* ↑ #31: Sporting Kansas City → Columbus Crew. December 16, 2013: Columbus Crew acquired a second-round selection in the 2016 SuperDraft from Sporting Kansas City in exchange for goalkeeper Andy Gruenebaum.
* ↑ #32: LA Galaxy → Orlando City → D.C. United. January 14, 2016: D.C. United acquired a second-round selection in the 2016 SuperDraft and targeted allocation money from Orlando City SC in exchange for a first-round selection (#13) in the 2016 SuperDraft. On July 30, 2015, Orlando City had acquired this second-round selection in the 2016 SuperDraft from LA Galaxy in exchange for goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts.
* ↑ #33: D.C. United → Chicago Fire → Colorado Rapids → FC Dallas. January 14, 2016: FC Dallas acquired this second-round selection in the 2016 SuperDraft from Colorado Rapids in exchange for second-round (#37) and third-round (#58) selections in the 2016 SuperDraft. Earlier the same day, Colorado had acquired this second-round selection in the 2016 SuperDraft, a first-round selection (#12) in the 2016 SuperDraft, and the #1 ranking in the MLS Allocation Order from Chicago Fire in exchange for a first-round selection (#12) in the 2016 SuperDraft, a second-round selection (#22) in the 2016 SuperDraft, and the #2 ranking in the MLS Allocation Order. On January 6, 2016, Chicago had acquired this second-round selection in the 2016 SuperDraft from D.C. United in exchange for midfielder Patrick Nyarko.
* ↑ #37: FC Dallas → Colorado Rapids. January 14, 2016: Colorado Rapids acquired this second-round selection and a third-round (#58) selection in the 2016 SuperDraft from FC Dallas in exchange for a second-round (#33) selection in the 2016 SuperDraft.
* ↑ #39: Columbus Crew → Montreal Impact. August 4, 2015: Montreal Impact acquired a second-round selection in the 2016 SuperDraft from Columbus Crew in exchange for forward Jack McInerney.
* ↑ #41: Chivas USA → Columbus Crew. May 8, 2014: Columbus Crew acquired a conditional second-round selection in the 2016 SuperDraft from Chivas USA in exchange for forward Ryan Finley. Upon the contraction of the Chivas USA franchise in October 2014, MLS announced that Columbus would receive a bonus pick, inserted as #11 in the second-round of the 2016 SuperDraft, to fulfill this trade. However, MLS later changed this pick to #21 in the second-round. No press release or additional information was provided by MLS regarding this change.

### Round 3

| Pick # | MLS team | Player | Position | College | Other |
| 42 | LA Galaxy | Josh Turnley | Defender | Georgetown | D.C. United U-23 |
| 43 | Colorado Rapids | Chris Froschauer | Goalkeeper | Ohio State | Dayton Dutch Lions |
| 44 | Philadelphia Union | Mitchell Lurie | Defender | Rutgers | Ocean City Nor'easters |
| 45 | FC Dallas | Colin Bonner | Forward | UNCW | D.C. United U-23 |
| 46 | Real Salt Lake | Amass Amankona | Midfielder | Dayton | Charlotte Eagles |
| 47 | Houston Dynamo | T. J. Casner | Forward | Clemson | |
| 48 | Orlando City SC | Antonio Matarazzo | Midfielder | Columbia | New York Red Bulls U-23 |
| 49 | San Jose Earthquakes | Kip Colvey | Defender | Cal Poly | Ventura County Fusion |
| 50 | Vancouver Whitecaps FC | James Moberg | Midfielder | Washington | Portland Timbers U23s |
| 51 | New England Revolution | Femi Hollinger-Janzen | Forward | Indiana | |
| 52 | Sporting Kansas City | Ryan James | Midfielder | Bowling Green | TFC Academy |
| 53 | LA Galaxy | PASS | | | |
| 54 | Seattle Sounders FC | Emir Alihodžić | Midfielder | Nebraska-Omaha | Mississippi Brilla |
| 55 | Montreal Impact | Brendan Hines-Ike | Defender | South Florida | Ocean City Nor'easters |
| 56 | Colorado Rapids | Javan Torre | Defender | UCLA | Ventura County Fusion |
| 57 | Chicago Fire | Vincent Keller | Defender | Creighton | |
| 58 | Colorado Rapids | Bradley Kamdem | Defender | UNLV | Calgary Foothills FC |
| 59 | Toronto FC | Mitchell Taintor | Midfielder | Rutgers | Real Boston Rams |
| 60 | Columbus Crew SC | Vince Cicciarelli | Forward | Saint Louis | Des Moines Menace |
| 61 | Portland Timbers | Wade Hamilton | Goalkeeper | Cal Poly | Lane United FC |

#### Round 3 trades

* ↑ #42: Chicago Fire → LA Galaxy. March 3, 2014: LA Galaxy acquired this third-round selection, originally a conditional pick, in the 2016 SuperDraft from Chicago Fire in exchange for defender Greg Cochrane.
* ↑ #45: New York City FC → FC Dallas. July 29, 2014: FC Dallas acquired a third-round selection in the 2016 SuperDraft from New York City FC in exchange for midfielder Andrew Jacobson. The traded pick is New York City's highest third-round selection in 2016.
* ↑ #50: Toronto FC → Vancouver Whitecaps FC. February 28, 2013: Vancouver Whitecaps FC acquired this third-round selection in the 2016 SuperDraft from Toronto FC in exchange for the MLS rights to forward Robert Earnshaw.
* ↑ #54: D.C. United → Seattle Sounders FC. March 4, 2014: Seattle Sounders FC acquired a third-round selection in the 2016 SuperDraft from D.C. United in exchange for midfielder Alex Caskey.
* ↑ #56: Seattle Sounders FC → Toronto FC → Colorado Rapids. January 18, 2016: Colorado Rapids acquired a third-round selection in the 2016 SuperDraft, a conditional first-round selection in the 2017 MLS SuperDraft, and targeted allocation money from Toronto FC in exchange for goalkeeper Clint Irwin. Confirmation needed → It is believed that Toronto FC had earlier acquired this third-round selection in the 2016 SuperDraft from Seattle Sounders FC as part of the trade for defender Eriq Zavaleta. This part of the trade was not announced by either club or MLS.
* ↑ #57: Vancouver Whitecaps FC → New York Red Bulls → Chicago Fire. January 20, 2015: Chicago Fire acquired a third-round selection in the 2016 SuperDraft from New York Red Bulls in exchange for goalkeeper Kyle Reynish. Confirmation needed → Prior to 2015, it is believed that New York Red Bulls had acquired this pick from Vancouver Whitecaps FC as part of a trade involving midfielder Dane Richards. The SuperDraft part of any VAN-NYRB Richards trade was not announced by either club or MLS.
* ↑ #58: FC Dallas → Colorado Rapids. January 14, 2016: Colorado Rapids acquired this third-round selection and a second-round (#37) selection in the 2016 SuperDraft from FC Dallas in exchange for a second-round (#33) selection in the 2016 SuperDraft.
* ↑ #59: New York Red Bulls → Toronto FC. December 13, 2013: Toronto FC acquired a third-round selection in the 2016 SuperDraft, originally a first-round selection in the 2016 MLS Supplemental Draft, and a first-round selection in the 2014 MLS SuperDraft from New York Red Bulls in exchange for midfielder Bobby Convey and a second-round selection in the 2014 SuperDraft. The first-round Supplemental Draft pick became a third-round SuperDraft pick when the Supplemental Draft was eliminated.

### Round 4

| Pick # | MLS team | Player | Position | College | Other |
| 62 | Chicago Fire | Vincent Mitchell | Midfielder | Butler | Des Moines Menace |
| 63 | Colorado Rapids | John Manga | Forward | Cincinnati | Ocean City Nor'easters |
| 64 | Philadelphia Union | Cole Missimo | Midfielder | Northwestern | |
| 65 | Real Salt Lake | Connor Sparrow | Goalkeeper | Creighton | IMG Academy Bradenton |
| 66 | Real Salt Lake | PASS | | | |
| 67 | D.C. United | Liam Doyle | Defender | Ohio State | |
| 68 | Orlando City SC | Tobenna Uzo | Forward | Coastal Carolina | |
| 69 | San Jose Earthquakes | Tyler Thompson | Midfielder | Stanford | Burlingame Dragons FC |
| 70 | Toronto FC | Darius Madison | Forward | UMBC | Reading United AC |
| 71 | Vancouver Whitecaps FC | Josh Heard | Midfielder | Washington | Puget Sound Gunners FC |
| 72 | Sporting Kansas City | Faik Hajderovic | Midfielder | Saint Louis | |
| 73 | LA Galaxy | PASS | | | |
| 74 | D.C. United | PASS | | | |
| 75 | Montreal Impact | PASS | | | |
| 76 | Seattle Sounders FC | Michael Nelson | Defender | Old Dominion | |
| 77 | Vancouver Whitecaps FC | Tyler David | Defender | Saint Louis | |
| 78 | FC Dallas | Jacob Speed | Defender | SMU | Des Moines Menace |
| 79 | D.C. United | PASS | | | |
| 80 | Toronto FC | Brian James | Midfielder | Penn State | |
| 81 | Portland Timbers | Trevor Morley | Defender | CSU Northridge | FC Tucson |

#### Round 4 trades

* ↑ #65: New York City FC → Real Salt Lake. August 11, 2014: Real Salt Lake acquired a fourth-round selection in the 2016 SuperDraft from New York City FC in exchange for defender Kwame Watson-Siriboe. The traded pick is New York City's natural selection.
* ↑ #67: Houston Dynamo → D.C. United. December 8, 2014: D.C. United acquired a fourth-round selection in the 2016 SuperDraft and midfielder Andrew Driver from Houston Dynamo in exchange for goalkeeper Joe Willis and defender Samuel Inkoom.
* ↑ #71: New England Revolution → Vancouver Whitecaps FC. February 26, 2014: Vancouver Whitecaps FC acquired a fourth-round selection in the 2016 SuperDraft from New England Revolution in exchange for midfielder Daigo Kobayashi. The traded pick is New England's natural selection.
* ↑ #79: New York Red Bulls → D.C. United. January 13, 2016: D.C. United acquired this fourth-round selection in the 2016 SuperDraft from New York Red Bulls in exchange for the MLS rights to defender Kemar Lawrence. Although New York signed Lawrence on March 16, 2015 this trade was not announced until January 13, 2016.
* ↑ #80: Columbus Crew → Toronto FC. Confirmation needed. July 2014: It is believed that Toronto FC acquired this fourth-round selection in the 2016 SuperDraft from Columbus Crew in exchange for allocation money. This trade was not announced by either club or MLS.

## Other 2016 SuperDraft Trade Notes

* On June 6, 2013, Vancouver Whitecaps FC acquired a conditional selection in the 2016 SuperDraft and a second-round selection in the 2015 SuperDraft from D.C. United in exchange for defender Alain Rochat. The conditions to trigger the 2016 SuperDraft pick were not met.
* On January 6, 2015, Colorado Rapids received goalkeeper Zac MacMath on loan for the 2015 season from Philadelphia Union. The loan deal included a provision that Philadelphia would acquire a first-round selection in the 2016 SuperDraft from Colorado should Colorado execute a permanent transfer for MacMath at the end of the 2015 season. On November 5, 2015, Colorado announced it would not exercise the transfer option on MacMath.

## Notable undrafted players
### Homegrown players

| Original MLS team | Player | Position | College | Conference | Notes |
| Chicago Fire | Joey Calistri | Forward | Northwestern | Big Ten | |
| Chicago Fire | Drew Conner | Midfielder | Wisconsin | Big Ten | |
| FC Dallas | Aaron Guillen | Defender | Florida Gulf Coast | Atlantic Sun | |
| New York Red Bulls | Alex Muyl | Midfielder | Georgetown | Big East | |
| New York Red Bulls | Derrick Etienne | Midfielder | Virginia | ACC | |
| New York Red Bulls | Brandon Allen | Forward | Georgetown | Big East | |
| Seattle Sounders FC | Jordan Morris | Forward | Stanford | Pac-12 | 2015 Hermann Trophy winner 2016 MLS Rookie of the Year |

### Other notable players

| Player | Pos | Affiliation | Played in MLS | Notes |
| Matt Turner | GK | Fairfield | 2016–2022 | 26 caps with U.S. national team; 2021 MLS All-Star MVP |

## Summary
### Selections by college athletic conference

| Conference | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Round 4 | Total |
| NCAA Division I conferences ||||||
| ACC | 8 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 15 |
| America East | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| The American | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 5 |
| Atlantic 10 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 6 |
| Atlantic Sun | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Big East | 4 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 9 |
| Big Ten | 1 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 9 |
| Big South | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Big West | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 5 |
| Conference USA | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Ivy | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| MAC | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Missouri Valley | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Northeast | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Pac-12 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 7 |
| Summit | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| WAC | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| West Coast | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Non-Division I conferences ||||||
| CCAA | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| CCIW | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Sunshine State | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Other ||||||
| Pass | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 6 |

### Schools with multiple draft selections

| Selections | Schools |
| 4 | Clemson, Creighton, Georgetown, North Carolina, Saint Louis, Washington |
| 3 | Cal Poly, Stanford |
| 2 | Cincinnati, Maryland, Ohio State, Rutgers, Syracuse, Wake Forest |

### Selections by position

| Position | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Round 4 | Total |
| Goalkeeper | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 5 |
| Defender | 8 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 25 |
| Midfielder | 7 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 26 |
| Forward | 3 | 8 | 5 | 3 | 19 |
| Pass | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 6 |