2025 MLS Mock Draft: Final Mock 3 Rounds

Round 1 Picks 1-15

My final 2025 MLS Mock Draft is now up. Find out why the 2025 MLS Super Draft might be one of the better MLS Drafts in a few years.

Chris Ransom follow @DraftUtopia Last Updated: December 20, 2024.

1. San Diego FC: Michael Adedokun, M, Ohio State
   
   
   San Diego FC will be joining the MLS as an expansion team in 2025. Tomas Angel will play the 9 at striker after LAFC gave up a second round pick to get San Diego FC to take on his contract. Marcus Ingvartsen plays the 11 at left winger and is the one double digit goal scorer you have. Alex Mighten plays the 11 at right winger. Hirving Lozano also known as Chucky Lozano gives you a second winger for depth, but he mainly plays left winger. You could play Lozano at left winger and move Ingvartsen to the 9 at striker, but Ingvartsen is mainly a winger rather than a striker. Drafting a true 9 allows you to play Tomas Angel in a bench role as a backup striker which honestly might suit him better.
   
   
   
   San Diego FC has Jeppe Tverskov playing the 6 at defensive midfielder. San Diego FC also added Heine Gikling Bruseth who will play the 8 at central midfielder in the MLS Expansion Draft. San Diego FC needs someone that can play the 10 at attacking midfielder.
   
   
   
   San Diego FC has Jasper Loeffelsend playing the 2 at left back, Patrick McNair also known as "Paddy" McNair on Middleesbrough in England as well as the captain of Northern Ireland's FIFA World Cup Team will be the 4 at sweeper, Christopher McVey will play the 5 at center back after being acquired from D.C. United, and Hamady Diop, the first pick in the 2023 MLS Super Draft will play the 3 at right back, but can also play center back if an injury at center back occurs. This is a good back line that can take pressure off of the starting goalie for San Diego FC.
   
   
   
   San Diego FC has two goalies that can play the 1 at goalie. Duran Feree an 18-year-old goalie was the first player to sign a contract with San Diego FC after playing on the San Diego Loyal SC team as the standout player on the USL team that Landon Donovan owned. San Diego FC also traded for CJ dos Santos who was the MLS Next Goalie on Inter Miami CF II as CJ dos Santos started on Inter Miami CF II over Cole Jensen, Inter Miami C.F.'s 2023 first round pick in MLS Next. CJ dos Santos only played one MLS game as a backup goalie, but he's been in MLS Next for three years and has enough experience to warrant playing time in the MLS now.
   
   
   
   San Diego traded two of the five players they picked in the 2024 MLS Expansion Draft for $625,000 in allocation money while also acquiring the ninth pick in the 2025 MLS Super Draft. They spent $100,000 in allocation money on D.C. United center back Christopher McVey and another $100,000 on CJ dos Santos who was the starting goalie on Inter Miami CF II the MLS Next Team of Inter Miami CF. Andres Reyes has started 8 or more geams each of the last five years as a backup center back on Inter Miami CF and the New York Red Bulls as he was the center back that came in off the bench for the New York Red Bulls. He started in the New York Red Bulls three center back formation during the 2024 MLS Playoffs as they gave the New York Red Bulls, this years Eastern Conference Champions $800,000 in allocation money for a 25-year-old center back that started 71 out of 83 games he played in over the past four years in the regular season with an MLS regular season being 34 games while also starting in all 9 of the New York Red Bulls playoff games from 2021-2024.
   
   
   
   San Diego FC has the goaltending, back line, defensive midfielder, central midfielder, and wingers. A goal scoring striker and an attacking midfielder are the only two things San Diego FC needs. There's an outside chance San Diego FC can end up getting both players with these two first round picks in the 2025 MLS Super Draft which will allow them focus on bench players in the second and third round of the 2025 MLS Super Draft.
   
   
   
   There's a ton players that could be in the running to go first overall. San Diego FC needs an attacking midfielder at the 10 and a striker at the 9, but they traded for the ninth pick in a very deep striker draft where they can get a quality striker at 9 with 8 different central forwards having 10 goal seasons in the NCAA. If Ohio State midfielder Michael Adedokun or Denver midfielder Sam Bassitt is there take one of those two and get your striker at 9.
   
   
   
   The 5-8 160 lb Michael Adedokun played at Dayton before transferring to Ohio State in 2023. Michael Adedokun had 3 goals, 2 assists, and 8 points in 13 starts at Ohio State in 2023. Michael Adedokun has 11 goals, 11 assists, 33 points, and 10 shutouts so far in 2024. Michael Adedokun can play the 6 at defensive midfielder, the 7 at right winger, the 8 at central midfielder, the 9 at striker, the 10 at attacking midfielder, and the 11 at left winger. He can play anywhere at midfielder or forward. ESPN U accidentally leaked two of the three Hermann Trophy Finalists during the Marshall VS Ohio State game and two of them are on Ohio State with Adedokun and one of his other two teammates that I mocked in the top 10.
   
   
   
   Adedokun has speed you cannot teach as he bursts through the pitch when dribbling. His versatility and speed when dribbling. He can also pass the soccer ball up to 50 yards with his legs as the Nigera native is too talented to pass on. He defends well and can get interceptions. All of his passes were accurate as he did not get intercepted once in the 90 minutes of the 2024 College Cup Semifinal loss to Marshall. He scored two goals on Wake Forest goalie Trace Alphin who entered the Fall as the top goalie in the 2025 MLS Super Draft in a 3-0 win where the Big 10 Champion took down the ACC Champion. Michael Adedokun was the only player in College Soccer with double digit goals and assists. He's also faster on tape than Alex Harris the Cornell player that I previously had at 1.
   
   
   Previous Pick: Alex Harris, F, Cornell
   
   
2. San Jose Earthquakes: Emil Jaaskelainen, F, Akron
   
   
   San Jose is keeping their core of forwards with Cade Cowell playing the 11 at left winger, Jeremy Ebobisse is playing the 9 at striker after only having 6 goals in 2024 after two strong seasons, and Christian Espinoza plays the 7 at right winger. Preston Marie is back at winger for depth. Ousseni Bouda has blossomed into a good depth piece at winger too. San Jose traded for Preston Judd. If San Jose does not want to renew Jeremy Ebobisse's contract, Preston Judd, the Los Angeles Galaxy's 2021 first round pick as well as the backup striker on the 2024 MLS Cup Champion Los Angeles Galaxy could take over as the starting striker next season.
   
   
   
   Hernan Lopez, the 10 at attacking midfielder is back for San Jose. Ian Harkes the backup attacking midfielder to Carles Gil re-unites with Bruce Arena and is now the backup attacking midfielder to Hernan Lopez. Jackson Yueill, Judson, and Carlos Gruezo are back at mare back at the 8 at central midfielder. Mark-Anthony Key the starting central midfielder also leaves New England to re-unite with Bruce Arena in San Jose.
   
   
   
   Bruno Wilson, Rodrigues are the two center backs playing the 4 at sweeper and Rodrigues playing the 5. You also have Niko Tskairis as their third center back and Dave Romney as the fourth center back. San Jose added Dave Romney from the New England Revolution whose familiar with new San Jose Earthquakes head coach Bruce Arena for more depth at center back. Daniel Munie, a 2023 first round pick got extended and might be the fifth center back unless he moves to a backup fullback role at left back or right back. Vitor Costa also known as Costa de Brito will be back at left back playing the 2. Carlos Akapo will be back playing the 3 at right back. JT Marcinkowski is the starting goalie at the 1 and Emi Ochoa is the backup goalie on the San Jose Earthquakes.
   
   
   
   San Jose is retaining most of their starting lineup. San Jose finished 13th in the Western Conference out of 14 teams in goals scored only outscoring Austin FC. San Jose also finished dead last 29th out of 29 teams in the MLS with a league worst 78 goals allowed in 2024. Part of that was poor coaching, the other part of that was their best center back Nathan left San Jose to sign with the Seattle Sounders due to the cheapness of San Jose Earthquakes owner John Fisher who also owns the Oakland Athletics. Jeremy Ebobisse and Jackson Yueill are both unrestricted Free Agents and both guys appear to be leaning towards leaving San Jose.
   
   
   
   San Jose was so thin at striker when Jeremy Ebobisse was subbed out of their final game on Decision Day that, they played their winger Ousseni Bouda at the 9 as the backup striker. I loved Ousseni Bouda coming out of Stanford and I think he's improved enough to warrant a fourth year as I want to continue to see Bouda succeed in the MLS. At the same time, Bouda is most effective at the wing. Taking the best striker on your board at 2 is the most logical route for San Jose because you can ease that striker into your lineup without rushing him up to the MLS. Akron forward Emil Jaaskelainen dominated the 2024 MLS College Showcase interviewing well there, so he could be the first forward off the board despite being a senior.
   
   
   
   Emil Jaaskelainen has been on my radar for a few years. He helped Long Island upset Maryland when Ben Bender was the eventual first overall pick in the 2022 MLS Super Draft back in the 2021 College Cup during his freshman season. He transferred to Akron this season.
   
   
   
   The 6-3 190 lb Emil Jaaskelainen had 14 goals, 4 assists, and 34 points as a freshman redshirt at Long Island in 2021. Emil Jaaskelainen had 12 goals, 1 assist, and 25 points as a sophomore redshirt at Long Island in 2022. Emil Jaaskelainen had 12 goals, 6 assists, and 30 points in 19 starts as a junior redshirt in 2023. Emil Jaaskelainen had 23 goals, 8 assists, and 54 points as a senior redshirt in 2024.
   
   
   
   Emil Jaaskelainen plays the 9 at striker. His father Jussi Jaaskelainen was a goalie in the Premiere League.
   
   
   Previous Pick: Dean Boltz, F, Wisconsin
   
   
   
   
3. Chicago Fire F.C.: Alex Harris, F, Cornell
   
   
   Chicago Fire F.C. is in a tough spot at 3. Hugo Cuypers is the 9 at striker for Chicago Fire F.C. The 27-year-old Hugo Cuypers had 10 goals for Chicago Fire F.C. His backup Georgios Koutsias is also back under contract and Tom Barlow another backup is also back. Koustias is a central forward, but he came in as a substitute winger off of the bench. Chris Brady is a 20-year-old goalie. Chicago has stability at forward and goalie heading into 2025.
   
   
   
   Chicago Fire F.C. ran a 4-5-1 formation in their season finale on Decision Day. Chris Mueller plays the 11 at left winger as Chicago Fire F.C. traded a 2023 first round pick to Orlando City S.C. to get Chris Mueller and Orlando City S.C. got Duncan McGuire with that first round pick from Chicago. Kellyn Acosta is back and plays the 6 at defensive midfielder after being a defensive midfielder on LAFC when they won the 2022 MLS Cup and lost the 2023 MLS Cup. Brian Guttieriez is back at the 10 at attacking midfielder, Federico Navarro started at the 8 at central midfielder despite also having the versatility to play the 6 at defensive midfielder, and Maren Haile-Selassie played the 7 at right winger. All five of their starting midfielders are back. Gaston Giminez a backup midfielder is back at defensive midfielder and Sergio Orgel is the backup central midfielder.
   
   
   
   Chicago has Jonathan Dean playing the 2 at left back even though he's versatile enough to play the 3 at right back too. Carlos Teran plays the 4 a sweeper, but got injured last year. Mauricio Pineda can play the 4 at sweeper, the 5 at center back, or the 6 at defensive midfielder. Tobias Salquist plays the 5 at center back. Arnaud Souquet plays the 3 at right back. Chase Gasper the backup left back is under contract next year. Justin Reynolds is the backup right back.
   
   
   
   Chris Brady remains the starting goalie. Jeff Gal one of the two backup goalies exercised his player option and will return to Chicago as the backup. Chicago also drafted Notre Dame goalie Bryan Dowd sixth overall, who got loaned to Hunstville, the MLS Next team of Nashville S.C.
   
   
   
   Chicago seems like they have depth at goalie and defense. Chicago has good depth at central midfielder as well as defensive midfielder. Chicago has depth at striker. The one area Chicago Fire F.C. needs to add depth at is winger as Chicago Fire F.C. needs a backup left winger as well as a backup right winger. Chicago's backup striker was utilized as a backup right winger on Decision Day. Chicago Fire F.C. retained most of their starters despite finishing tied for 13th with Toronto F.C. in the Eastern Conference in goals scored and 13th in the Eastern Conference out of 15 teams inn goals allowed. Only the New England Revolution and D.C. United allowed more goals than Chicago.
   
   
   
   Chicago Fire F.C. drafts the best player on my board at 3. Alex Harris checks off enough boxes to where I can see him beating out Hugo Cypours as a rookie if he signs his MLS contract and if he goes to Cornell he can develop for one more year after being drafted before learning under Cypours for a year in 2026 once Harris has his degree.
   
   
   
   The 5-11 150 lb Alex Harris was the unanimous Ivy League Rookie Of The Year with 12 goals, 4 assists, and 28 points as a freshman in 14 starts in 2023. Alex Harris had 19 goals, 5 assists, and 43 points as a sophomore in 19 starts winning Ivy League Offensive Player Of The Year in 2024. Alex Harris almost became the first sophomore to get 20 goals and I thought the goal he scored against Pittsburgh should have counted. He's great at passing the ball to teammates and is elite defensively. He put a lot of pressure on Pittsburgh center back Niklas Soerensen when scouting him in person.
   
   
   
   Alex Harris can play the 7 at right winger, the 9 at striker, and the 11 at left winger. Alex Harris had one of the best interviews that I ever heard at the beginning of the year. You can go to Kick A Ball Pod's Youtube Channel. That is where you will find the Alex Harris interview it is the best interview I've heard from a striker since I spoke with Theo Collomb leading up to the 2022 MLS Super Draft.
   
   
   
   Alex Harris had a 4.0 GPA in High School and led his team to a state title in the state of Washington on a 24-0 team while also winning Gatorade High School Player Of The Year in the State of Washington. Harris also played Tennis in High School too, so he's a multi sport athlete. He's the oldest sibling in his family with a younger brother. He could have gone anywhere he wanted to play college soccer, but chose to go to Cornell because he wanted to major in engineering. Teams would triple team this guy and Alex Harris still found a way to score. You have to put an entire backline with two center backs, a left back, and a right back on this guy just to neutralize him as there is no guarantee you will stop him. Pittsburgh had 8 of their ten players outside of the goalie on him when Cornell attempted corner kicks. That shows you the type of presence Harris has. By putting 3 to 4 players on Harris, you open things up for the rest of the offense at left winger, attacking midfielder, right winger, and central midfielder. Harris has the soccer IQ to make the right reads when pressured. He's also elite defensively as he takes up space and forces your defenders to pass the soccer ball quicker than they would like. He did volunteer work at a drug store for the Salvation Army and also coaches Youth Soccer in his free time. Alex Harris was a player in my top 7 last year before he returned to Cornell for his sophomore season after not getting an invite to the 2023 MLS College Showcase. Alex Harris did get an invite to the 2024 MLS College Showcase.
   
   
   
   There's literally nothing this guy cannot do, so he could end up being the number one pick in the 2025 MLS Super Draft come draft day on December 20, 2025. I feel Alex Harris is the most MLS ready player, but there are also rumors he could return to Cornell for one more year to get his degree. You can give Tomas Angel an audition if that is the case and draft Harris if that is the case. Harris can score on triple teams and he's a forward that defends at an elite level which is rare to see, especially from a sophomore forward.
   
   
   
   I would take Harris at 1 because I believe he's gonna be special. This is gonna sound kind of bold, but I could see Alex Harris being the MLS version of Peyton Manning in five years from now from an IQ and mental processing standpoint. That's rare to say about a player on a college team in the MLS Super Draft because most of the talent in the MLS comes from overseas in Free Agency or MLS teams acadamies. I don't want to put that kind of pressure on Alex, but he makes everything he does look so effortless, from playing soccer, to his interviews, to his academics, to his community service off the field. Alex Harris should inspire his teammates with his relentless work ethic. There's ambitious and ambitious as f. Mr. Harris is in the latter of those two categories when it comes to his drive, his motivation, what insipres him to perform on and off the pitch.
   
   
   
   Everyone at Pitt soccer games as far as fans of Pitt Men's Soccer says a player sucks when going through the opposing lineup. All I heard when the announcer read the name of Alex Harris in the Cornell starting lineup was applause. That speaks volumes whether you realize it or not. I haven't seen that from an MLS prospect in a long-time. You have to go back to Andre Blake in the 2014 MLS Super Draft and Cyle Larin in the 2015 MLS Super Draft to find a player of that caliber with the first pick in the MLS Super Draft that could be considered a blue chip talent. I believe Harris has done enough to earn that distinction after watching him in person and seeing multiple interviews from him. Harris will not require an International roster slot either. The seniors are more MLS ready and that's the only reason Harris slides. Alex Harris has a ceiling of being the first pick, but he could also end up sliding down to six if Nashville S.C. if Chicago goes with hometown striker Dean Boltz.
   
   
   Previous Pick: Tate Johnson, D, North Carolina
   
   
4. Sporting Kansas City: Pape Mar Boye, D, Clemson
   
   
   Sporting Kansas City ran a 4-3-3 formation on Decision Day. Daniel Salloi plays the 11 at left winger, William Agada plays the 9 at striker and led Sporting Kansas City with 10 goals with the Nigeria native breaking out in 2024, and Alenis Vargas plays the 7 at right winger. All three starting forwards on Sporting Kansas City are in their twenties and Sporting Kansas City seems happy with those three forwards as their long-term starters. Stephen Afrifa, Sporting Kansas City's eighth overall pick in the 2023 MLS Super Draft is both the backup winger off of the bench after playing striker at Florida International. Alan Pulido is the backup striker. Khiry Shelton is the backup right winger, but has improved his defenive play despite regressing offensively after being drafted second overall in the 2015 MLS Super Draft.
   
   
   
   Sporting Kansas City has Erik Thommy their left midfielder as their attacking midfielder at the 10 as Thommy was a bright spot with 7 goals, 4 assists, and 11 points last year. Nemanja Radoja their central midfielder plays the 6 at defensive midfielder. Memo Rodriguez the right midfielder on Sporting Kansas City plays the 8 at central midfielder despite lining up on the right side. The good news with Memo Rodriguez is he's been a steady homegrown player with 2 goals, 5 assists, and 7 points, but the bad news is he had 7 yellow cards so his points and yellow cards evened out in 2024.
   
   
   
   Sporting Kansas City has Logan Ndenbe playing the 2 at left back, Dany Rosero plays the 4 at sweeper when healthy, Robert Voloder started 21 out of 34 games playing the 5 at center back, but moved to sweeper when 31-year-old Dany Rosero had arthrscopic knee surgery. Tim Leibold plays the 3 at right back. Once Rosero got surgery, Sporting Kansas City got exposed at center back down the stretch. Zorhan Bassong is the backup left back, but also substituted in as the backup defensive midfielder at the 6.
   
   
   
   Sporting Kansas City starting goalie Tim Melia is a Free Agent and Sporting Kansas City did not renew his contract. The 38-year-old goalie was the only goalie on Sporting Kansas City's roster heading into the 2024 MLS Super Draft. I was suprised when Sporting Kansas City ignored goalie in the 2023 MLS Super Draft, but they drafted Ryan Schewe out of Georgetown in the first round of the 2024 MLS Super Draft. Backup goalie John Pulskamp started 6 games and gave up 16 goals in those 6 starts. He gave up 18 goals on the year if you count his start in the MLS Open Cup Tournament and his lone start in MLS Next before Ryan Schewe took over Sporting Kansas City II. Ryan Schewe was drafted by Sporting Kansas City in the first round of the 2024 MLS Super Draft out of Georgetown, but mainly spent his rookie season rotating between starting in MLS Next where he recorded 2 shutouts and got promoted to being the backup after Sporting Kansas City benched Tim Melia who started 28 games with 75 saves and 4 shutouts in 2024.
   
   
   
   Sporting Kansas City has stability at forward. They have two goalies in their twenties and Ryan Schewe might be the long-term answer if their 2024 first round picks. Sporting Kansas City has good starters at midfielder and defense, but no depth. This makes Sporting Kansas City the true wild card of the 2025 MLS Super Draft if they stay put at 4. I intially had Sam Bassett here, but he's not on the 2025 MLS Super Draft list. Pape Mar Boye, who could have gone firsst overall after leaving Clemson to an NCAA Championship as a true freshman is. There's a lot of speculation about Pape Mar Boye potentially going first overall now, but every team in the top 3 has starters as well as depth at center back.
   
   
   
   The 6-3 185 lb Pape Mar Boye helped Clemson record 10 shutouts in 2023. He can play the 4 at sweeper or the 5 at center back. He did play for Pheonix FC in the USL this past year where he was a finalist for USL Young Player Of The Year which is essentially a rookie of the year award for USL Players.
   
   
   Previous Pick: Owen Smith, M, Western Michigan
   
   
   
   
5. New England Revoultion: Alec Hughes, F, Massachusetts
   
   
   New England runs a 4-2-3-1 formation. Aljaz Ivacic was Porltand's starting goalie in 2022 and 2023 after being the backup to Steve Clark on Portland's 2021 team that won the Western Conference and started 25 games for the New England Revolution in 2024. Will Sands replaced DeJuan Jones their 2019 first round pick at left back, Andrew Farrell their 2013 first round pick is back at the 4 at the sweeper, Mamadou Fofana played 120 games and 10,000 minutes in France and is joining Andrew Ferrell after playing 80 games with FC Mets nicknamed Nojo capable of playing the 4 at sweeper or the 5 at center back if Andrew Farrell misses time, Brayan Ceballos is a 23-year-old center back from Brazil that New England signed with targeted allocation money, and Brandon Bye New England's 2018 first round pick remains the starting right back. Matt Polster, Chicago's 2015 first round pick plays the 6 at defensive midfielder. New England still has Carles Gil at the 10 at attacking midfielder, but neglecting striker in the 2024 MLS Super Draft for allocation money and a designated player in Free Agency backfired as the striker New England got in Free Agency only had 2 goals and 1 assist. Alec Hughes went undrafted in the 2024 MLS Super Draft, but because he had a fifth year of eligiblity thanks to Covid-19, he's got a shot to be a top 5 pick.
   
   
   
   The 6-2 170 lb Alec Hughes had 10 goals, 2 assists, and 22 points winning Co-Atlantic 10 Player Of The Year for Massachusetts as a junior in 2022. Alec Hughes had 15 goals, 1 assist, 31 points, and took 73 shots with 37 of those shots being shots on goal as a senior for the Massachusetts Minutemen winning Atlantic 10 Player Of The Year for Massachusetts as a senior for the second year in a row in 2023. Alec Hughes had 16 goals, 1 assist, and 33 points so far as a plus one senior with a fifth year of college eligibility in 2024.
   
   
   
   Alec Hughes is a natural 9 at striker. He can come up to help New England right out of the gate here. He's an upgrade over Giacomo Vrioni who only scored 9 goals at striker in 2024 and could allow Vrioni to move to the wing. I heard New England loves Hughes even after mocking him fifth overall. New England is gonna have to draft Hughes and hope things work out after trading their two youngest defenders for allocation money, two youngest midfielders away for allocation money, and fired their five year assistant head coach.
   
   
   
6. Nashville S.C.: Dean Boltz, F, Wisconsin
   
   
   Nashville S.C. runs a 4-4-2 formation with four defensemen, four midfielders, and 2 forwards.
   
   
   
   Sam Surridge plays the 9 at striker and had 12 goals, 2 assists, and 14 points as a 26-year-old forward in 2024. Hany Muhktar plays the 10 at attacking midfielder and is arguably the best attacking midfielder in MLS outside of Messi. Alex Muyl is back at the 11 playing left winger and Jonathan Perez is back at the 7 playing right winger. Sean Davis plays the 8 at central midfielder. Taylor Washington plays the 2 at left back. Walker Zimmerman at the 4 at sweeper, Josh Bauer at the 5 at center back, and Jack Maher their second overall pick in the 2020 MLS Super Draft at center back. Julian Gaines plays the 3 at right back. Joe Willis and Elliott Panicco as your top two goalies. Nashville S.C. is in a rare, but unique position to draft for value over need at 6. Nashville S.C. will gladly take whichever striker Chicago Fire F.C. passes on at 3 between Cornell sophomore Alex Harris and Wisconsin freshman Dean Boltz. If both are there at 6, Nashville S.C. can take the guy they like better and develop that guy behind striker Sam Surridge who surprised a lot of fans on Nashville S.C. with 12 goals at striker in 2024.
   
   
   
   The 6-2 170 lb Dean Boltz had 10 goals, 4 assists, and 24 points so far as a true freshman at Wisconsin. Dean Boltz goes to Nashville S.C. in this mock because I gave Chicago Alex Harris at 3.
   
   
   
   Dean Boltz was someone I was giving heavy consideration to being the first pick in this Super Draft, but Alex Harris has been more consistent and at some point that matters. Harris separated himself from Boltz after watching Harris in person, but the 2024 Big 10 Freshman Of The Year did enough to get an invite to the 2024 MLS College Showcase.
   
   
   
   Dean Boltz has the best kicking power in the 2025 MLS Super Draft. He doesn't have the kicking accuracy, soccer IQ, ability to score on triple teams, and elite defense that Alex Harris has which is the only reason he fell below Harris in my mock draft. All of his goals and assists came in games where the Wisconsin Badgers were the home team. I haven't seen him score on the road in college yet. Nashville S.C. will likely start whichever striker falls to them at 6 right out of the gate.
   
   
   Previous Pick: Emil Jaaskelainen, F, Akron
   
   
   
   
7. St. Louis City SC: Matthew Roou, F, Notre Dame
   
   
   The 5-10 155 lb Matthew Roou had 7 goals, 3 assists, and 17 points as a freshman in 2021. Matthew Roou had 4 goals, 4 assists, and 12 points as a sophomore in 2022. Matthew Roou had 10 goals, 3 assists, and 23 points as a junior in 2023. Matthew Roou had 14 goals, 4 assists, and 32 points as as senior in 2024.
   
   
   
   Matthew Roou plays the 9 at striker. He's managed to improve despite Notre Dame losing some of their core starters from their 2023 College Cup Team to the 2024 MLS Super Draft. St. Louis City SC doesn't have a double digit goal scorer at striker after a setback season in 2024. Neither Joao Klauss with 5 goals, 2 assists, and 3 yellow cards in 27 games in 2024 or Simon Becher 4 goals moved the needle at striker for St. Louis City SC in 2024 after St. Louis City SC made the playoffs and got the one seed in the Western Conference as an Expansion Team. Drafting Matthew Roou, the 2024 ACC Offensive Player Of The Year prevents having that problem in the future.
   
   
   
   St. Louis City SC has Teuchert at the 10 at attacking midfielder, Hartel at the 11 at left winger, Eduard lowen at the 8 at central midfielder, and Roman Burki a tthe 1 at goalie. They got four star players that have been consistent in the two years with the franchise. Simon Becher, the Vancouver Whitecaps 2022 first round pick on the Saint Louis Billikens could be a good backup to Matthew Roou. St. Louis City SC has Joshua Yaro, Kyle Hiebert, and Henry Kessler at center back despite letting John Nelson walk at left back. St. Louis may not be the one seed again for some time, but with a strong offseason and a good 2025 MLS Super Draft by taking Matthew Roou, that will go a long way in helping St. Louis City SC return to the 2025 MLS Playoffs.
   
   
   
8. Colorado Rapids: Siggi Magnusson, D, Ohio State
   
   
   Philadelphia traded their entire draft picks in rounds 1, 2, an 3 in 2025, 2026, and 2027 to the Colorado Rapids for allocation money. The Philadelphia Union may have the best Academy in the MLS, but the Philadelpha Union will have to do a complete rebuild from the ground up finding eleven new starters once goalie Andrew Blake retires.
   
   
   
   Rafael Navarro had 15 goals, 1 assist, 16 points, and 7 yellow cards playing the 9 as a striker on the Colorado Rapids in 2024. Rafael Navarro is a Brazilian striker that Stan Kronke brought to Colorado and is the catalyst of this offense as he's only 24.
   
   
   
   Kimani Stewart-Baynes the fourth pick in the 2024 MLS Super Draft will take over for Jonathan Lewis at the 11 at left winger. Djordje Mihailovic had 11 goals, 10 assists, and 6 yellow cards in 2024 as the attacking midfielder playing the 10 and is 26. Omir Fernandez only had 2 goals, 4 assists, and 6 points playing the 7 at right winger, but his 79.8% pass percentage was best among Rapids midifelders and forwards making him the most accurate passer on their offense. Former number two pick in the 2021 MLS Super Draft, Calvin Harris is a backup forward and midfielder that Colorado can bring off the bench for depth. Colorado has two starting central midfielders that play the 8 in Connor Ronan and Oliver Larraz as returning starters. You also have Wayne Frederick the second pick in the 2024 MLS Super Draft for depth, but could use another central midfielder for depth. The duo of Larraz and Ronan combined for a meager 4 points. Drafting someone like Denver midfielder Sam Bassett could provide the spark that this central midfielder room needs.
   
   
   
   Reggie Cannon and Jasper Loffelsend split reps at the 2 at left back for Colorado in 2024. Reggie Cannon only played 8 matches with the Colorado Rapids. Colorado lost both Moise Bombito their third overall pick in the 2023 MLS Super Draft and Lalas Abubakar at center back. Andreas Maxso is the one returning center back who will play the 4 at sweeper with Nate Jones last years fifth overall pick complimenting him at the 5 at center back. Keegan Rosenberry plays the 3 at right back.
   
   
   
   Colorado needs a left back and a goalie. They also need depth at center back if injuries occur too. Colorado Rapids played three center backs when they were the top seed in the Western Conference back in 2021 and there is a possibility they draft the top center back at 8 if they lose both Lalas Abubakkar and Moise Bombito. Ohio State center back Siggi Manusson is the second of three finalists for the Hermann Trophy if the ESPN leaks during the College Cup end up being true.
   
   
   
   The 6-2 170 lb Siggi Magnusson can play the 4 at the sweeper or the 5 at center back. Siggi Magnusson had 4 goals, 2 assists, 10 points, and has helped Ohio State record 10 shutouts in 2024. Five of those ten shutouts came against Akron on the road, SIU Edwardsville at home who made the 2024 College Cup Tournament, Penn State on the road, Michigan in the 2024 Big 10 Championshp Game, a shutout against number 16 ranked Stanford in a game where Ohio State went to penalty kicks, and a shutout against Wake Forest where Ohio State shutout Wake Forest 3-0 thanks to stout defense.
   
   
   Previous Pick: Noah Adnan, D, Stanford
   
   
   
   
9. San Diego FC: Yaniv Bazini, F, Vermont
   
   
   San Diego FC gets their striker to compliment Michael Adedokun at 9. The 6-2 183 lb Yaniv Bazini plays the 9 at striker for the Vermont Catamounts. Yaniv Bazini had 11 goals, 4 assists, and 26 points as a junior in 2023. Yaniv Bazii had 14 goals, 2 assists, and 30 points so far in 2024. Yaniv Bazini scored on number seven Hofstra, San Diego which features the best goalie in the 2025 MLS Super Draft, a number two ranked Pittsburgh team with two MLS goalie prospects, and a number three ranked Denver team. Despite being 25 turning 26 in July, you can argue he's more consistent than Duke forward Ulfor Bjornsson whose been consistent for a two year starter at Duke being 21-years-old, but only two of Bjornsson's 12 goals came against quality back lines with Stanford and Notre Dame in 2024.
   
   
   Previous Pick: Jackson Gilman, D, Pittsburgh
   
   
10. D.C. United: Nathan Demian, D, Ohio State
    
    
    D.C. United runs a 4-3-1-2 formation. Jacob Murrell last years first round pick out of Georgetown made good progress. I think D.C. United drafts a center back thanks to Steve Birnbaum, the second overall pick in the 2014 MLS Super Draft retiring after a eleven year career playing the 4 at the sweeper and Christopher McVey was traded to San Diego FC for allocation money.
    
    
    
    The 5-10 170 lb Nathan Demian can play the 4 at the sweeper or the 5 at center back. Nathan Demian only had 1 assist in 9 games after starting for two years before this season in 2022 and 2023. The thing is, Nathan Demian was the voice and leader in the clubhouse of Ohio State's soccer team. He was the personality as well as the voice in that loccer room on an Ohio State team that had 10 shutouts and was the top ranked team in College Soccer. D.C. United takes Nathan Demian. He mssed the Final 4 game due to getting shot, but he made a safe recovery and honestly he might get picked in the top 10 in a deep draft at center back.
    
    
    Previous Pick: Nick Dang, D, Virginia
    
    
    
    
11. F.C. Dallas: Sydney Wathuta, M, Vermont
    
    
    F.C. Dallas runs a 4-3-3 formation. F.C. Dallas has the forwards with Jesus Ferreria at the 9 at striker, Benard Kamungo at the 11 at left winger, and Alan Velasco at the 7 at right winger. Petar Musa did a good job as the backup striker and Logan Farrington last years third overall pick showed he could start and be a viable backup at the MLS level.
    
    
    
    Sebastian Lleget is back at left midfielder. Show is back at right midfielder. F.C. Dallas does need a new starting midfielder.
    
    
    
    The 6-3 172 Sydney Wathuta can play 7 at right winger, the 8 at central midfielder, the 9 at striker, the 10 at attacking midfielder, and the 11 at left winger. Sydney Wathuta made the American East Freshman team despite only having 2 goals, 1 assist, and 5 points in 2023. Sydney Wathua had 1 goal, 14 assists, and 16 points. Syndey Wathuta has built up a lot of traction leading up to the 2025 MLS Super Draft and MLS Scouts expect Wathuta to be the first Vermont player off the board.
    
    
    
    F.C. Dallas retains Sam Junqua as their starting left back at the 2, Sebastien Ibeagha plays the 4 at sweeper, Marco Farfan plays the 5 at center back. F.C. Dallas also has Turner Humprhey last years second round pick out of Oregon State who was teammates with Logan Farrington in college in MLS Next. F.C. Dallas needs a right back.
    
    
    
    F.C. Dallas has Antonio Carrera and Mararten Paes at goalie. F.C. Dallas has two areas they got to find starters at with central midfielder and right back. This draft only has one sure fire first round attacking midfielder that can get you 10 or more assists left on the board, so F.C. Dallas grabs their midfielder here at 11. Denver, Vermont, Pittsburgh, and Clemson all have right backs that warrant first round grades, so F.C. Dallas can play the numbers game and try to get a right back in the second round.
    
    
    Previous Pick: Luca Nikolai, D, James Madison
    
    
12. Austin FC: Ulfor Bjornsson, F, Duke
    
    
    Austin F.C. runs a 4-2-3-1 formation. Austin FC drafts a goal scoring striker here. Ulfor Bjornsson has been a bright spot on Duke.
    
    
    
    The 6-3 187 lb Ulfor Bjornsson had 10 goals, 4 assists, and 24 points in 16 starts as a freshman in 2023. Ulfor Bjornsson had 12 goals, 2 assists, and 26 points as a sophomore. Ulfor Bjornsson has the versatility to play the 7 at right winger, the 9 at striker, and the 11 at left winger. Duke is hoping their second striker from Iceland since Thor Ulfarsson their 2022 first round pick drafted fourth overall panned out in the MLS despite rubbing some scouts the wrong way in his draft year. Duke can continue to build a factory for forwards in Iceland. I think Ulfor Bjornsson is better than Ulfarsson and he doesn't have the maturity question marks that Thor had coming out of Duke. Ulfor is a player that will get picked in the top 12 and he's also a Hermann Trophy Semifinalist as a 21 year old sophomore.
    
    
    
    
    
13. CF Montreal: Lineker Rodrigues dos Santos, F, Marshall
    
    
    CF Montreal runs a 3-4-3 formation. They added Josef Martinez at forward last year, but it was on a one year deal.
    
    
    
    The 6-0 190 lb Lineker Rodirgues dos Santos had 14 goals, 5 assists, and 33 points as a junior at Memphis playing the 9 at striker. He entered the transfer portal and enrolled at Marshall replacing last years first round pick Matthew Bell. Lineker Rodrigues dos Santos had 15 goals, 5 assists, and 35 points as a senior on a Marshall Thundering Herd team that got to the Championship in the 2024 College Cup.
    
    
    Previous Pick: Michael Adedokun, M, Ohio State
    
    
14. Portland Timbers: Alioune Ka, F, Cornell
    
    
    Portland ran a 4-2-3-1 formation. Portland has one of the best offenses in the MLS. Their main forward is Felipe Mora a 31-year-old striker from Chile who had 14 goals, 6 assists, and 20 points playing the 9 at central forward where most strikers play.
    
    
    
    Jonathan Rodriguez plays the 11 at left winger. Jonathan Rodriguez is also 31, but he had 16 goals, 5 assists, 21 points, and 7 yellow cards in 2024. He's classified as a forward, but lined up as a midfielder in Portland's lineup. Evander the 10 at attacking midfielder on the Portland Timbers had 15 goals and 19 assists. Antony plays the 7 at right winger, he's a midfielder, but listed as the third forward. Antony scored in the season finale posting 6 goals, 4 assists, and 10 points as a 23-year-old from Brazil. Cristhian Paredes plays the 8 at central midfielder. Diego Chara returns as the 6 at defensive midfielder, but he's 38, had 0 points, and 9 red cards. David Ayala did well for a 22-year-old backup midfielder in a depth role and started Portland's playoff loss after sittng out the regular season finale.
    
    
    
    Claudio Bravo plays the 2 at left back with three consecutive seasons of 2,000 minutes before this season. Bravo made up for that with a 81.8% passing percentage and he's still 27. Dario Zuparich plays the 4 at sweeper. He's a reliable player who can log over 2,000 minutess and completed 80 percent of his passes each of the past five years. Miguel Araujo plays the 5 at center back, but he's kind of small for a center back at 5-9 165 lbs with a fullback body despite playing on Peru's National team. He's only started 19 games in two years. Finn Surman started the regular season finale with the 21-year-old playing all 90 minutes at the 5 at center back while also on the New Zealannd national team. His role will get bigger next year following Portland's 5-0 shutout to Vancouver in the playoffs. Kamal Miller a 2019 second round pick out of Syracuse is the fourth center back on Porltand. Zac McGraw is the biggest center back on Portland at 6-2 205 lbs. Juan Mosquera is a two year starter playing the 3 at right back. He started all 34 regular season games. Santiago Moreno is the backup left back and Eric Miller the final returning defenseman and he's the backup right back with his only award being a Canadian Cup winner with the Montreal Impact as a backup right back back in 2014 as the Jacksonville native rounds out Portland's defense.
    
    
    
    Maxime Crepeau is the starting goalie as he started on the LAFC team that won the 2022 MLS Cup. Portland brought back three other goalies.
    
    
    
    Portland has depth at goalie, defense, and midfielder despite a 5-0 playoff loss to Vancouver in the play-in game. They have three starting forwards, but zero depth behind those forwards if injuries occur. Cornell's secondary striker Alioune Ka ran a 4.67 40 meter dash which is like the 40 yard dash at the 2024 MLS College Showcase. He had the fasted 40 meter dash time.
    
    
    Previous Pick: Joran Gerbet, M, Clemson
    
    
    
    
15. Vancouver Whitecaps: Luis Sahmkow, F, Pittsburgh
    
    
    Back in October, I mocked Luis Sahmkow here because I thought Colorado owned this pick. It turns out Vancouver owns this pick and Colorado got the late first round pick that orignally belonged to LAFC before LAFC sent that pick to Vancouver.
    
    
    
    Vancouver ran a 4-3-2-1 formation with four defenders, three midfielders, two wingers acting as attacking midfielders, and one striker at central forward. Vancouver's central forward Brian White led the Vancouver Whitecaps with 16 goals playing the 9 at striker. Ryan Gauld had 15 goals and 16 assists playing the 11 at left winger. Vancouver declined the contract of Fafa Picault despite finishing the year with 9 goals and 6 assists because he's 33 The backup right winger Ryan Raposo a 2020 first round pick that I was lucky enough to interview was fourth on the Whitecaps in both goals as well as assists with 3 goals and 5 assists. His contract expired, but Vancouver is talking with his agent about bringing him back. With both of Vancouver's right wingers gone, Vancouver rolls the dice on a right winger whose being compared to two MLS legends.
    
    
    
    Vancouver has all three midfielders back with Stuart Armstrong at left midfielder, Andres Cubas the central midfielder at the 8, and Pedro Vite the right midfielder all back. Sebastian Berhalter is a good backup centeral midfielder who tied Picault for 6 assists which was second on Vancouver in 2024.
    
    
    
    Sam Adekugbe played the 2 at left back, Ranko Veselinovic played the 4 at sweeper, Tristan Blackmon transitoned from right back to the 5 at center back, and Mathias Laborda playing the 3 at right back replacing Javian Brown aftr Vancouver waived Brown. The starting goalie is Yohei Takaoka.
    
    
    
    Vancouver's depth chart is more complete than most people realize. With right wingers like Fafa Picault, Ryan Raposo, J.C. Ngando their first 2023 first round pick and Levonte Johnson their second 2023 first round pick leaving the right winger spot is the glaring position Vancouver needs to reload at.
    
    
    
    The 6-3 170 lb Luis Sahmkow can play the 6 at defensive midfielder, the 7 at right winger, the 8 at central midfielder, the 9 at striker, the 10 at attacking midfielder, and the 11 at left winger. Luis Sahmkow took over for other great forwards at Pittsurgh like Edward Kizza and Valentin Noel. I'm mocking Sahmkow to Vancouver as a right winger assuming that both Fafa Picault whose contract was terminated and Raposo do not come back.
    
    
    
    Luis Sahmkow had 9 goals, 3 assists, and 19 points at Pittsburgh in 2024. He can shoot with both his left foot or his right foot. The drawback is he only had 1 goal in his final 10 games with 6 of his 20 shots essentially 30 percent of his shots taking place in that ten game slump. His MLS player comparisions according to College Net Worth are Clint Dempsey and Landon Donovan. Both Dempsey and Donovan are tied for 57 International goals overseas and both Dempsey as well as Donovan are considered two of the greatest MLS players of All Time. Sahmkow's dad mentioned our mock which I appreciate, but I'm not sure I agree with the player comps for Sahmkow. He didn't get invited to the 2024 MLS College Showcase. At the same time, you can argue he was the best goal scorer on Pittsburgh. Luis Sahmkow feels like a boom or bust prospect. He will either be the steal of the 2025 MLS Super Draft is becomes half the player either Dempsey or Donovan became or drafting him will end up getting a Director Of College Scouting fired if his slump continues in the MLS.