#BEfútbol MLS SuperDraft Roundup: Six Players Selected In First Day
NEW YORK -- For the fourth time in seven years, the BIG EAST had at two or more players drafted in the first round of the Major League Soccer SuperDraft presented by adidas. This year the BIG EAST had six players selected over the first day of the draft, three in the first round led by Georgetown’s Dylan Nealis, two time BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year and reigning NCAA College Cup Defensive Most Outstanding Player. Nealis was picked third overall by Inter Miami.
Marquette’s Patrick Seagrist and Georgetown’s Achara were also selected in the first round.
Since 2014, the BIG EAST has had 48 players selected in the MLS SuperDraft in addition to homegrown contracts signed. Of the 48, 17 have been first round picks. Seven of the BIG EAST’s 10 schools have had at least one player selected in the first round in the past six drafts.
Three additional players, Creighton's Luke Haakenson and Younes Boudadi and St. John's Niko Petridis were drafted in the fourth and final round.
Georgetown’s Nealis and Achara led the Hoyas to the program’s first NCAA Championship in a thrilling 3-3 double overtime victory as Georgetown prevailed 7-6 in penalty kicks.
After graduating from Georgetown in December with a degree in management from the McDonough School of Business, Nealis became the first senior in program history to pre-sign with MLS.
A MAC Hermann Trophy finalist, Nealis was named both United Soccer Coaches First Team All-America and First Team All-East Region marking his first All-America honor. The defender is the reigning two-time BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year and a two-time All-BIG EAST honoree. The two-year team captain was selected to the BIG EAST All-Tournament Team this season and earned BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week honors three times in 2019. Nealis started all 24 games for the Blue & Gray and ranked fifth on the team in scoring with four goals and five assists for 13 points on the year. The GU defense had 13 shutouts for the season. Two of Nealis' three brothers have been MLS draft picks including his brother Jimmy who played on the Hilltop and was drafted 37th overall by the Houston Dynamo in 2013.
Achara was selected 25th overall by Toronto. He was an All-BIG EAST Second Team honoree this season after missing a number of games with an injury. In 15 games played with 11 starts, he was GU's third-leading scorer with six goals and five assists for 11 points, this included two game winners. Achara graduated in December with a degree in psychology from Georgetown College. In his career, he has tallied 21 goals and seven assists for 43 points in 55 games played. As a junior, Achara was an All-BIG EAST First Team All-BIG EAST honoree and an All-East Region Second Team selection.
Marquette’s Patrick Seagrist was selected 10th overall by the New York Red Bulls. Teammate Luka Prpa was taken in the second round by the Houston Dynamo with the 34th pick overall. It was the first time in program history that the Golden Eagles had two players drafted in the first two rounds of the SuperDraft in the same season.
A two-time All-BIG EAST First Team honoree, Seagrist was a staple on the backline for MU in the past four seasons. He finished first on the team and second in the conference in assists (seven) while also adding two goals this year. He tallied 28 points in his career and started in 63 of the 65 games he's played in.
Prpa, a Wind Lake, Wis., native, is one of the most decorated players in program history. He's a four-time all-conference selection, a two-time CoSIDA Academic All-American and a three-time BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Week. He's tied for No. 8 all-time in program history with 21 career assists.
Providence also had a pair of players drafted with goalkeeper Austin Aviza and midfielder Danny Griffin selected in the second round. Aviza was picked up by Orlando City 44th overall, while Griffin was the 49th overall pick by the Columbus Crew. Both Aviza and Griffin were All-BIG EAST Third Team selections in 2019. Aviza posted a 1.00 goals against average in 2019 with 6.2 shutouts, second most in the conference. Griffin scored two goals with four assists this season and started all 23 games. The Friars were the BIG EAST Championship runners up in November and represented the league in the third round of the NCAA Tournament.
The 2020 draft began Thursday afternoon and was a remote draft with selections revealed during a live broadcast produced by MLS and ESPN. The broadcast included Rounds 1 and 2 of the draft viewed through 20 video feeds from various locations across the country. Nine top draft prospects were followed by cameras, including the No.1 overall pick for Inter Miami, Robbie Robinson, a junior forward out of Clemson who won the 2019 MAC Hermann Award.
Cameras were also embedded in the draft rooms of clubs, including Inter Miami, Orlando City, Houston Dynamo, Montreal Impact, FC Dallas, New England Revolution, Toronto FC and Atlanta United.
Former Creighton men's soccer players
Luke Haakenson and
Younes Boudadi were each drafted during the fourth round of the 2020 MLS SuperDraft.Both Haakenson and Boudadi earned Second Team All-BIG EAST honors following the 2019 season.
Haakenson ranked second on the team with five goals, including three game winners. The Maple Grove, Minnesota native tallied 12 career goals, including seven game-winning tallies. Haakenson, a 5-foot-10-inch midfielder, played 74 matches during his four-year Bluejay career and made 56 starts.
Boudadi, a 6-foot defender, tied for the 2019 team-lead with four assists and ranked third on the Bluejays in minutes played. The Ypres, Belgium native totaled eight assists during 34 matches in two seasons at Creighton. Boudadi played two seasons at Boston College before heading to Omaha prior to the 2018 campaign.
St. John's Niko Petridis became the 12
th player in St. John's history to be taken in the MLS College Draft/SuperDraft and the first since Tim Parker was picked 13
th overall in 2015. This past season, Petridis led the Red Storm to its best season in nearly a decade, as the Johnnies won 14 games, earned a national seed in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2011, reached the NCAA Round of 16 for the first time since 2008 and climbed as high as no. 4 in the United Soccer Coaches poll, the team's highest ranking since 2009. Individually, Petridis played in 17 games, four of which were starts, and finished third on the team in points with four goals and four assists on the campaign. 11 of those 12 points came during a tremendous four-game stretch for the Norwalk, Conn., native, as he tallied a goal and an assist against Iona on Sept. 10 before repeating that stat line two games later against Columbia on Sept. 13.
BIG EAST Players in 2020 MLS SuperDraft presented by adidas
| Round (Overall) |
Player |
Team |
| 1 (3) |
Dylan Nealis, Georgetown, D |
Inter Miami CF (via CIN) |
| 1 (10) |
Patrick Seagrist, Marquette, D |
New York Red Bulls (via CHI) |
| 1 (25) |
Achara, Georgetown, M |
Toronto FC |
| 2 (34) |
Luka Prpa, Marquette, M |
Houston Dynamo |
| 2 (44) |
Austin Aviza, Providence, GK |
Orlando City SC |
| 2 (49) |
Danny Griffin, Providence , M |
Columbus Crew SC (via ATL) |
| 4 (80) |
Luke Haakenson, Creighton, M |
Nashville SC |
| 4 (93) |
Niko Petridis, St. John’s, W |
NY Red Bulls |
| 4 (102) |
Younes Boudadi, Creighton, D |
LA Galaxy |