# 2011 MLS SuperDraft

The 2011 MLS SuperDraft was the twelfth annual SuperDraft presented by Major League Soccer. It was held on January 13, 2011 in Baltimore, Maryland, during the 2011 NSCAA Convention at the Baltimore Convention Center. The 2011 SuperDraft consisted of three rounds with eighteen selections each, for a total of 54 players selected during the draft. The draft preceded the 2011 MLS season.

## Changes from 2010

* As expansion clubs, Vancouver and Portland received the first and second picks in the SuperDraft.
* The SuperDraft has contracted in number of rounds, from four to three, making it the shortest SuperDraft in terms of rounds.

## Player selection

54 players were selected during the 3 rounds. Vancouver Whitecaps FC had the first overall selection in the 2011 SuperDraft, followed by Portland Timbers. The following eight selections were from teams that failed to qualify for the 2010 MLS Cup Playoffs, starting with the team holding the lowest amount of 2010 regular season points (3 points per win, one point per draw). The subsequent eight selection positions of clubs were sorted by fewest regular season points, from among teams that went out in the same round of the MLS Cup Playoffs. As similar in other drafts, teams were allowed to trade these rights away to other teams for other rights such as players, special roster spots, or other rights of interest. Participating players in the 2011 draw were confirmed in December 2010.
On January 5, 2011, MLS announced that it was eliminating the previously planned fourth-round of the 2011 SuperDraft and re-introducing a three-round Supplemental Draft. Previously traded fourth-round 2011 SuperDraft selections became traded first-round 2011 MLS Supplemental Draft selections.
The selection order was released by the league on January 7, 2011.
Any player marked with an * is part of the Generation Adidas program.
| * | Denotes player who has been selected for an MLS Best XI team |

### Round One

| Pick # | MLS team | Player | Position | Affiliation |
| 1 | Vancouver Whitecaps FC | *Omar Salgado | Forward | United States U-20 |
| 2 | Portland Timbers | *Darlington Nagbe | Forward | University of Akron Cleveland Internationals |
| 3 | D.C. United | *Perry Kitchen | Midfielder | University of Akron Chicago Fire Premier |
| 4 | Chivas USA | *Zarek Valentin | Defender | University of Akron Reading United Michigan Bucks |
| 5 | Philadelphia Union | *Zac MacMath | Goalkeeper | University of Maryland |
| 6 | New England Revolution | A. J. Soares | Defender | University of California, Berkeley Orange County Blue Star |
| 7 | Houston Dynamo | *Kofi Sarkodie | Defender | University of Akron Michigan Bucks |
| 8 | Vancouver Whitecaps FC | *Michael Nanchoff | Midfielder | University of Akron Cleveland Internationals |
| 9 | Chicago Fire | Jalil Anibaba | Defender | University of North Carolina Carolina Dynamo |
| 10 | Sporting Kansas City | C. J. Sapong | Forward | James Madison University Reading United |
| 11 | Houston Dynamo | * Will Bruin | Forward | Indiana University |
| 12 | Columbus Crew | Rich Balchan | Defender | Indiana University Chicago Fire Premier |
| 13 | New York Red Bulls | *Corey Hertzog | Forward | Pennsylvania State University Reading United |
| 14 | Chivas USA | Víctor Estupiñán | Forward | LDU Quito |
| 15 | Columbus Crew | Justin Meram | Forward | University of Michigan |
| 16 | Los Angeles Galaxy | Paolo Cardozo | Midfielder | Quilmes |
| 17 | FC Dallas | Bobby Warshaw | Defender | Stanford University |
| 18 | Colorado Rapids | Eddie Ababio | Defender | University of North Carolina |

#### Round One Trades

* ↑ #8: Toronto FC → Vancouver Whitecaps. 25 November 2010: Vancouver acquired this first-round 2011 selection from Toronto FC in exchange for midfielder Nathan Sturgis.
* ↑ 11: Seattle Sounders FC → Portland Timbers → Houston Dynamo. 13 January 2011: Houston acquired this pick from Portland in exchange for allocation money. Earlier in the same day, Portland had acquired this pick and use of an international roster spot for the 2011 season from Seattle in exchange for pick #20 and allocation money.
* ↑ 14: Real Salt Lake → Chivas USA. 13 January 2011: Chivas USA acquired this pick from Real Salt Lake in exchange for allocation money.
* ↑ 15: San Jose Earthquakes → Columbus Crew. 13 January 2011: Columbus acquired this pick and allocation money from San Jose in exchange for forward Steven Lenhart.

### Round Two

| Pick # | MLS team | Player | Position | Affiliation |
| 19 | Vancouver Whitecaps FC | Jeb Brovsky | Midfielder | University of Notre Dame |
| 20 | Seattle Sounders FC | *Michael Tetteh | Defender | UC Santa Barbara |
| 21 | Seattle Sounders FC | Leone Cruz | Defender | Southern Methodist University Austin Aztex U23 |
| 22 | Portland Timbers | Chris Taylor | Defender | University of Tulsa |
| 23 | Philadelphia Union | Michael Farfan | Midfielder | University of North Carolina Ogden Outlaws |
| 24 | New England Revolution | Stephen McCarthy | Midfielder | University of North Carolina Carolina Dynamo |
| 25 | New York Red Bulls | John Rooney | Midfielder | Macclesfield Town |
| 26 | Toronto FC | Demitrius Omphroy | Defender | University of California, Berkeley Bay Area Ambassadors |
| 27 | Seattle Sounders FC | Servando Carrasco | Midfielder | University of California, Berkeley |
| 28 | Columbus Crew | Cole Grossman | Midfielder | Duke University Cary Clarets |
| 29 | Seattle Sounders FC | Bryan Meredith | Goalkeeper | Monmouth University Central Jersey Spartans |
| 30 | New York Red Bulls | Tyler Lassiter | Defender | North Carolina State University |
| 31 | D.C. United | Chris Korb | Defender | University of Akron Cleveland Internationals |
| 32 | Sporting Kansas City | J. T. Murray | Defender | University of Louisville Chicago Fire Premier |
| 33 | San Jose Earthquakes | Anthony Ampaipitakwong | Midfielder | University of Akron Bradenton Academics |
| 34 | Los Angeles Galaxy | Héctor Jiménez | Midfielder | University of California, Berkeley Bay Area Ambassadors |
| 35 | FC Dallas | Charlie Campbell | Midfielder | University of Louisville |
| 36 | Colorado Rapids | Colin Givens | Defender | Michigan State University Michigan Bucks |

#### Round Two Trades

* ↑ #20: Portland Timbers → Seattle Sounders FC. 13 January 2011: Seattle acquired this pick and allocation money from Portland in exchange for pick #11 and use of an international roster spot for the 2011 season.
* ↑ #21: D.C. United → Seattle Sounders FC. 30 April 2010: Seattle acquired this second-round 2011 selection from D.C. United in exchange for midfielder Stephen King.
* ↑ #22: Chivas USA → Real Salt Lake → Portland. 24 November 2010: Portland acquired this second-round 2011 selection from Real Salt Lake in exchange for forward Arturo Alvarez. Real Salt Lake had acquired a conditional second-round selection in 2010 or 2011 from Chivas USA in exchange for defender Carey Talley on 9 May 2008. Chivas kept its 2010 selection so RSL received this 2011 selection to complete the trade.
* ↑ #25: Houston → New York Red Bulls. 27 May 2009: New York acquired this second-round 2011 selection and a first-round 2010 MLS SuperDraft selection (pick #14) from Houston in exchange for forward Dominic Oduro.
* ↑ #27: Chicago → Seattle. 30 July 2010: Seattle acquired this second-round 2011 selection, originally a conditional pick, from Chicago in exchange for midfielder Freddie Ljungberg.
* ↑ #28: Sporting Kansas City → Philadelphia → Columbus Crew. 22 November 2010: Columbus acquired this second-round 2011 selection from Philadelphia in exchange for midfielder Brian Carroll. Philadelphia had acquired this pick, a second-round 2012 MLS SuperDraft selection, and allocation money from Kansas City in exchange for defender Shavar Thomas on 30 June 2010.
* ↑ #30: Columbus → New York. 18 March 2009: New York acquired a conditional selection in the 2011 SuperDraft from Columbus in exchange for defender Eric Brunner. The conditional selection became this pick.
* ↑ #31: New York → D.C. United. 16 September 2010: D.C. United acquired a conditional 2011 second-round selection, which became this pick, from New York in exchange for defender Carey Talley.
* ↑ #32: Real Salt Lake → Sporting Kansas City. 23 February 2010: Kansas City acquired this second-round 2011 selection and an international roster spot from Real Salt Lake in exchange for midfielder Luis Gil. Kansas City will also receive 25 percent of any future transfer fee received for Gil.

### Round Three

| Pick # | MLS team | Player | Position | Affiliation |
| 37 | Vancouver Whitecaps FC | Bilal Duckett | Defender | University of Notre Dame |
| 38 | New York Red Bulls | Billy Cortes | Defender | University of Maryland |
| 39 | New England Revolution | Steven Perry | Forward | University of Notre Dame Indiana Invaders |
| 40 | Chivas USA | Jon Okafor | Midfielder | Brown University Central Jersey Spartans |
| 41 | Philadelphia Union | Levi Houapeu | Forward | University of Maryland, Baltimore County Reading United |
| 42 | New England Revolution | Ryan Kinne | Midfielder | Monmouth University Central Jersey Spartans |
| 43 | Toronto FC | Matt Gold | Defender | Ohio State University |
| 44 | Toronto FC | Efrain Burgos, Jr. | Midfielder | California Polytechnic State University Chicago Fire Premier |
| 45 | Chicago Fire | Jason Herrick | Forward | University of Maryland |
| 46 | Sporting Kansas City | Konrad Warzycha | Midfielder | Ohio State University |
| 47 | Seattle Sounders FC | Alex Caskey | Midfielder | Davidson College Atlanta Blackhawks |
| 48 | Columbus Crew | Bernardo Anor | Midfielder | University of South Florida Bradenton Academics |
| 49 | Toronto FC | Joao Plata | Midfielder | LDU Quito |
| 50 | D.C. United | Joe Willis | Goalkeeper | University of Denver Real Colorado Foxes |
| 51 | Chicago Fire | Davis Paul | Forward | University of California, Berkeley |
| 52 | Real Salt Lake | Jarad Van Schaik | Midfielder | University of Portland |
| 53 | FC Dallas | Scott Gordon | Defender | Lynn University Baton Rouge Capitals |
| 54 | New England Revolution | Alan Koger | Forward | College of William & Mary |

#### Round Three Trades

* ↑ #38: Portland Timbers → New York Red Bulls. 22 November 2010: New York acquired this third-round 2011 selection from Portland in exchange for midfielder Jeremy Hall.
* ↑ #39: D.C. United → New England Revolution. 23 April 2009: New England acquired a conditional SuperDraft pick in 2010 or 2011, which became this pick, from D.C. United in exchange for defender Avery John. New England did not receive a pick from D.C. in the 2010 MLS SuperDraft.
* ↑ #43: Houston → Toronto FC. 12 March 2010: Toronto FC acquired this third-round 2011 selection from Houston in exchange for defender Adrian Serioux.
* ↑ #44: Toronto FC → Colorado Rapids → Toronto FC. 25 March 2010: Toronto FC acquired this third-round 2011 selection and midfielder Nick LaBrocca from Colorado in exchange for defender Marvell Wynne. Colorado had acquired this pick from Toronto FC in exchange for defender Ty Harden on 10 February 2010.
* ↑ #49: New York Red Bulls → Chicago Fire → Toronto FC. 13 January 2011: Toronto FC acquired this pick from Chicago Fire in exchange for goalkeeper Jon Conway. Chicago had acquired this pick, a first-round 2008 MLS SuperDraft selection (#7), and cash from New York in exchange for Master Tactician Juan Carlos Osorio on 18 December 2007.
* ↑ #50: Real Salt Lake → Los Angeles → Real Salt Lake → Los Angeles → D.C. United. 13 January 2011: D.C. United acquired this pick from Los Angeles in exchange for two first-round selections in the 2011 MLS Supplemental Draft. Los Angeles had acquired this third-round 2011 selection from Real Salt Lake in exchange for a third-round selection (#39) in the 2010 MLS SuperDraft on 14 January 2010. Earlier the same day, Real Salt Lake had re-acquired this pick and pick #15 in the 2010 SuperDraft from Los Angeles in exchange for forward Clint Mathis and pick #16 in the 2010 SuperDraft. Los Angeles had previously acquired the pick from Real Salt Lake in exchange for the rights to forward Clint Mathis on 14 August 2008. The original trade reported that the draft pick acquired by LA was a conditional fourth-round selection in the 2010 SuperDraft. However, RSL kept its 2010 fourth-round pick and instead sent this pick, its 2011 third-round selection, to LA to complete the 14 August 2008 trade for Mathis.
* ↑ #51: San Jose → Chicago. 6 August 2010: Chicago acquired a conditional draft pick in 2011, which became this selection, from San Jose in exchange for defender Tim Ward.
* ↑ #52: Los Angeles → Real Salt Lake. 22 January 2009: Real Salt Lake acquired a conditional draft pick in 2011, which became this selection, and allocation money from Los Angeles in exchange for midfielder Dema Kovalenko.
* ↑ #54: Colorado → New England. 22 January 2010: New England acquired this third-round 2011 selection, goalkeeper Preston Burpo, defender Cory Gibbs, and allocation money from Colorado in exchange for midfielder Jeff Larentowicz and midfielder Wells Thompson.

## Selections by position

| Round | Forwards | Midfielders | Defenders | Goalkeepers |
| 1st | 6 | 4 | 7 | 1 |
| 2nd | 0 | 9 | 8 | 1 |
| 3rd | 5 | 10 | 2 | 1 |
| Totals | 11 | 23 | 17 | 3 |

## Other Draft Day Trades

* Los Angeles Galaxy acquired forward Chad Barrett from Toronto FC in exchange for future considerations. Ives Galarcep reported that the future considerations consisted of $125,000 in allocation money and TFC assuming a portion of Barrett's salary.

## Trade notes

* Real Salt Lake acquired midfielder Will Johnson from Chicago Fire in a trade on 22 August 2008. In return, Chicago was to receive a natural fourth-round 2009 MLS SuperDraft selection and a second-round 2011 SuperDraft selection from RSL. However, the trade also contained a clause that allowed Chicago to receive allocation money in lieu of the draft picks. Chicago chose the allocation money.
* San Jose Earthquakes acquired a conditional 2011 SuperDraft selection and a second-round 2010 MLS SuperDraft selection (#28) from Real Salt Lake in exchange for forward Pablo Campos on July 15, 2009. The conditional 2011 selection was contingent on Campos starting 8 games for Real Salt Lake in 2009. Campos started only 5 games so San Jose did not receive the conditional 2011 draft pick.

## Notable undrafted players
### Homegrown players

| Original MLS team | Player | Position | College | Conference | Notes |
| New York Red Bulls | Connor Lade | Defender | St. John's | Big East | |
| Sporting Kansas City | Kevin Ellis | Defender | Barton (KS) | KJCCC | |