RSL makes a trade, then adds 8 via MLS SuperDraft
Salt Lake's eight players selected are the second-most in MLS, and started with the 19th overall pick in the first round in Missouri State forward Jesus Barea.
Real Salt Lake took advantage of a SuperDraft haul boosted by Friday morning’s trade for New York Red Bull forward Elias Manoel, and claimed more college prospects than almost any team in the league.
RSL’s eight players selected are the second-most in MLS to Colorado’s nine, and started with the 19th overall pick in the first round in Missouri State forward Jesus Barea.
Barea, 22, was a 2024 MAC Hermann Trophy semifinalist and United Soccer Coaches first-team All-American who poured in 15 goals with four assists in eight matches — the fourth-highest scoring output in NCAA Division I — for the 12-4-2 Bears, who lost 2-1 to Kansas City in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
But for RSL chief soccer officer Kurt Schmid, it was Barea’s soccer IQ that stood out the most.
“I think he understands the game, the spaces, he communicates well, and he’s always looking to find gaps in spaces,” Schmid said during a conference call with local media. “He thinks the game, he’s a technical player, and he’s a versatile player who can play a few different spots, potentially.”
Real Salt Lake — 2025 MLS SuperDraft
Round 1: Jesus Barea (No. 19) - F, Missouri State
Round 1: Max Kerkvliet (No. 21) - GK, Connecticut
Round 1: Lineker Rodrigues Dos Santos (No. 29) - F, Marshall
Round 1: Sergi Solans (No. 30) - M, Oregon State
Round 2: Nick Dang (No. 49) - D, Virginia
Round 2: Trace Alphin (No. 59) - GK, Wake Forest
Round 3: Liam O'Gara (No. 79) - M, Wake Forest
Round 3: Aleksandar Vukovic (No. 89) - D, Marshall
The native of Cádiz, Spain, was one of four international prospects picked up by Real Salt Lake in the MLS SuperDraft, which now allows college players to return to school if they have eligibility remaining while MLS clubs retain their professional rights.
The group also includes Marshall forward Lineker Rodrigues Dos Santos, the No. 29 overall pick who had 15 goals and five assists in helping the Thundering Herd to the NCAA title match against Vermont.
Sergi Solans, from Lleida, Spain, went No. 49 overall in the second round, and Marshall defender Aleksander Vukovic of Nova Pazova, Serbia, was selected in the third round at No. 89 overall.
“No matter where you’re picking in the draft, you’re just looking for inefficiencies. But people shy away from international players, and it turned out when we were picking at 19 and 29 that the guys at the top of our lists were not domestic players,” Schmid said. “We expect those guys to come in and do well.”
Salt Lake also selected two goalkeepers in the SuperDraft, a position taken by the club through the draft for the first time since 2017. That credit goes to RSL goalkeeper coach Mirza Harambasic.
“This is Mirza’s draft,” Schmid said cheekily. “We let Tomas (Gomez, backup goalkeeper) go in the offseason, and moved Fernando (Delgado, from Real Monarchs) to Birmingham. We like Will Mackay, but we need to replenish that group and that core. Mirza is a great goalkeeper coach, and he’s got a great eye for talent, so we’re leaning on him to make some assessments.”
RSL also put a claim in on Wake Forest goalkeeper Trace Alphin, a senior who finished his career ranked second in program history in minutes by a keeper (7,050), tied for ninth in career saves (191) and tied for ninth in goals-against average (1.09).
UConn’s Max Kerkvliet, a 6-foot-5 redshirt freshman who started all 18 games for the Huskies en route to a 0.772 goals-against average, was the other goalkeeper selected at No. 21 overall.
Fellow Wake Forest product Liam O’Gara, a sophomore midfielder who was an All-ACC freshman team selection a year ago, went with the No. 9 pick of the third round.
The other domestic draft pick was Virginia defender Nick Dang, the Brentwood, Tennessee, native who started his career at Lipscomb before earning second-team All-ACC honors with the Wahoos after he started all 21 games of the season and scored a career-high six goals.
RSL also acquired two more picks in the first round, sending $75,000 in general allocation money to the Columbus Crew for No. 21, and $50,000 to the LA Galaxy for the final selection of the first round.