2022 Major League Soccer SuperDraft results
Major League Soccer held its annual SuperDraft on Tuesday, seeing the country’s top collegiate talent find their club ahead of the 2022 season.
Expansion team Charlotte FC selected Maryland midfielder Ben Bender with the first overall pick. Bender was named a first-team All-American and the 2021 Big Ten Midfielder of the Year after scoring seven goals with five assists over 18 games with the Terrapins as a sophomore.
“I think I’m ready for this next step,” said Bender, who is leaving school early to go pro. “I think my game will take some time to develop into an impact player, but I think that my vision and spatial awareness and work rate will take me to the next level and will help me to be an impact for Charlotte.”
The draft then saw each MLS club on the clock, with the exception of Los Angeles FC, who opted out of the selection process by trading away its allocated spots.
Here are all the first round picks…
2022 Major League Soccer SuperDraft First Round picks
1. Charlotte FC - Ben Bender, midfielder, Maryland
2. FC Cincinnati - Roman Celentano, goalkeeper, Indiana
3. FC Dallas (from Toronto FC) - Isaiah Parker, forward, Saint Louis
4. Houston Dynamo - Thorleifur Ulfarsson, forward, Duke
5. Austin FC - Kipp Keller, defender, Saint Louis
6. FC Dallas - Lucas Bartlett, defender, St. John's
7. New York Red Bulls (from Chicago Fire FC) - Matthew Nocita, defender, Navy
8. San Jose Earthquakes - Ousseni Bouda, forward, Stanford
9. Inter Miami CF - Ryan Sailor, defender, Washington
10. Nashville SC (from Los Angeles FC through Colorado Rapids) - Ahmed Longmire, defender, UCLA
11. Chicago Fire FC - Kendall Burks, defender, Washington
12. Columbus Crew (from CF Montreal through New York Red Bulls) - Patrick Schulte, goalkeeper, Saint Louis
13. San Jose Earthquakes (from DC United) - Oskar Agren, defender, Clemson
14. FC Cincinnati (from Los Angeles Galaxy) - Ian Murphy, defender, Duke
15. CF Montreal (from New York Red Bulls) - Jojea Kwizera, forward, Utah Valley
16. Vancouver Whitecaps - Simon Becher, forward, Saint Louis
17. Minnesota United - Tani Oluwaseyi, forward, St. John's
18. Orlando City SC - Jack Lynn, forward, Notre Dame
19. Atlanta United - Erik Centeno, forward, Pacific
20. New York Red Bulls (from Seattle Sounders) - O'Vonte Mullings, forward, Florida Gulf Coast
21. Los Angeles Galaxy (from Nashville SC) - Farai Mutatu, forward, Michigan State
22. Sporting Kansas City - Esai Easley, defender, Grand Canyon
23. Colorado Rapids - Mohamed Omar, midfielder, Notre Dame
24. New England Revolution - Jacob Jackson, goalkeeper, Loyola Marymount
25. Columbus Crew (from Real Salt Lake) - Philip Quinton, defender, Notre Dame
26. Colorado Rapids (from Philadelphia Union through Nashville SC) - Anthony Markanich, defender, Northern Illinois
27. Portland Timbers - Justin Rasmussen, defender, Grand Canyon
28. FC Dallas (from New York City FC) - Tsiki Ntsabeleng, forward, Oregon State