Hope and the MLS SuperDraft: RSL adds pair of GA players among first-round trio
Hope and the MLS SuperDraft: RSL adds pair of GA players among first-round trio
Hope sprung eternal Wednesday night, and no, this isn't another posted related to the NCAA's Early Signing Period.
Hope sprung eternal Wednesday night, and no, this isn't another posted related to the NCAA's Early Signing Period.
Major League Soccer held its annual SuperDraft late Wednesday night, a primetime event carried via streaming on the league’s official social channels (you can watch the whole replay here on YouTube).
The fact that the next level of dozens of college players’ careers came on the same day as the first day of the NCAA early signing period (it’s a thing, really) in college football was not lost on a certain college sports reporter by day who moonlights with this newsletter on local soccer.
But it was hope, nonetheless, that drove the hour-long show that introduced several future MLS names and faces to fans of the league.
For Real Salt Lake, the draft has been a mixed bag of additions, with several breakout newcomers to the team (Hi Jasper Löffelsend! What’s up, Devon Sandoval?) and a handful of players who never did much with the first team (Kyle Coffee? Renee White? Just look at this list from RSL Soapbox).
So when RSL traded $175,000 in general allocation money to slide into Atlanta United’s spot at No. 7 in the first round, it had to be for a good reason, right? The club is well known for its reliance on its academy, youth and lower division structure for mining talent — so why would they try to move so far up into the draft for a college player?
As it turns out, they were looking for the #brand.
With that first-round pick, Real Salt Lake drafted University of Washington forward Ilijah Paul. The 6-foot goal scorer spent a year at San Francisco before moving on to U-dub, where he was a MAC Hermann Trophy semifinalist and Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Year.
Paul led the conference with 11 goals, including a hat trick Sept. 2 against Kyle Beckerman’s Utah Valley side that earned him TopDrawerSoccer National Player of the Week honors. He also helped the Huskies to 15-2-3 record and the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
So he’s good, right? But why did RSL have to use a draft pick — and trade up for that pick, no less — to select him over finding an academy player who can transition into a goal scorer as a homegrown player?
Turns out, he’s one of those, too.
A native of Gilbert, Arizona, Paul was a member of RSL’s academy setup for a brief time. He played club soccer with Salt Lake Academy, Valparaiso United, Barca Academy and Phoenix Academy before he became the youngest player to ever sign with USL Championship club Phoenix Rising FC in 2019.
“I’m familiar with the place, and I’m so glad I get to go there. I’m just feeling unbelievably blessed,” Paul told MLS in an interview.
“It really got me to where I am today. It really challenged me and pushed me to where I am. I think it will get me ready to play pro, as well.”
Paul, who also won a U.S. Youth Soccer national championship with Valpo United, scored 10 goals in 16 appearances with RSL’s U-16/U-17 development academy team. But because he didn’t play with the academy club for 12 consecutive months prior to his 18th birthday, he was unable to sign a homegrown contract with Real Salt Lake.
Enter RSL’s recent trade with CF Montreal for longtime defender Aaron Herrera. The Salt Lake standout netted $500,000 in allocation money, an international roster spot, and a first-round pick in the SuperDraft (more on that in a moment).
RSL collected $350,000 in GAM for the upcoming season, with the remaining $150,000 coming in 2024, according to a club release, for the 25-year-old Herrera. So a chunk of that was used to move up for the Generation adidas player from Campo Verde High School by way of Washington and the University of San Francisco.
As one of 11 GA contracts awarded to the top collegiate underclassmen and youth national team players in the draft, Paul’s salary will not be charged against the team’s annual salary budget. Those contracts are essentially “free” against the salary cap until they graduate from Generation adidas and into a senior player contract and salary.
RSL used the same mechanism with its natural pick at No. 16 overall by picking Pittsburgh winger Bertin Jacquesson. The junior from Lorrez-Le-Bocage, France was a two-time All-ACC second-team selection and 2020 conference Freshman of the Year who finished as one of the nation’s top passers, ranking fifth in the NCAA with 11 assists and 12th overall with 0.55 assists per game, and finishing his Panther career with 19 goals and 12 assists in 57 appearances, including 50 starts.
Jacquesson is a depth signing, but could be slot into a role behind Venezuelan winger Jefferson Savarino (and possible eventual replacement when/if the Designated Player opts to move on — against — from RSL).
With the No. 25 overall pick obtained from Montreal, Real Salt Lake added All-Ivy League forward Emeka Eneli, a fifth-year senior from Cornell who finished second on the team last year in goals (7), assists (7), points (21), shots (40), and shots on goal (23) across 15 appearances.
Eneli scored four goals for Flint City Bucks in USL League Two play last season.
RSL used the draft to supplement its academy setup. It used the draft to supplement what it is building in the homegrown roots.
“There’s talent in the draft,” MLS analyst Matt Doyle said during the broadcast. “We say it every year … there’s talent in the draft.”
Does that mean none of the three players selected in Wednesday’s first round won’t see playing time in 2023? Far from it. There are spots to be filled, minutes to be had.
The begins now. While Wednesday marked a significant step forward in the lives of 29 now-professional soccer players, it’s not the end of a lifelong goal.
It’s only the beginning. Hope continues.