2023 MLS SuperDraft
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The 2023 MLS SuperDraft was the 24th edition of the SuperDraft conducted by Major League Soccer. It was held on December 21, 2022, becoming the first SuperDraft to be held in December, but retained the 2023 branding. The draft was conducted via conference call and streamed online. Previously, the SuperDraft had been held in conjunction with the annual January United Soccer Coaches convention.
Since 2021, the SuperDraft has consisted of three rounds. Teams that received fourth-round picks for this draft via past trades received compensatory picks instead. The first overall pick is awarded to expansion team St. Louis City SC and the remaining picks are set by 2022 regular season and post-season results in reverse order.
Format
The SuperDraft format has remained constant throughout its history and closely resembles that of the NFL draft:
- Any expansion teams receive the first picks. MLS announced that St. Louis City SC would debut in 2023 instead of 2022, and the league's expansion to Sacramento was put on hiatus indefinitely.
- Non-playoff clubs receive the next picks in reverse order of prior season finish.
- Teams that made the MLS Cup Playoffs are then ordered by which round of the playoffs they are eliminated.
- The winners of the MLS Cup are given the last selection, and the losers the penultimate selection.
Player selection
| Player key | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| * | Denotes player who has been selected for an MLS Best XI team | |||||||||
| ^ | Member of 2023 Generation Adidas class | |||||||||
| † | Player who was named to an MLS Best XI and Generation Adidas | |||||||||
| Signed key | ||||||||||
| 28 | Denotes player who signed for a MLS team (Division I) | |||||||||
| 4 | Denotes player who signed for a USL Championship team (Division II) | |||||||||
| 38 | Denotes player who signed for a MLS Next Pro, USL League One or NISA team (Division III) | |||||||||
| 3 | Denotes player who signed for a team outside the United States soccer league system | |||||||||
| 7 | Denotes player who returned to college team | |||||||||
| Positions key | ||||||||||
| GK | Goalkeeper | DF | Defender | MF | Midfielder | FW | Forward |
Round 1
Round 2
Round 3
Round 4
Compensatory pick for a trade done before the SuperDraft was downsized to only three rounds.
| P | MLS team | Player | Pos. | College | Conference | Academy team | Other team | Signed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 88 | Portland Timbers | PASS | —N/a | —N/a | —N/a | —N/a | —N/a | —N/a |
Notable undrafted players
Homegrown players
| Original MLS team | Player | Position | College | Conference | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seattle Sounders FC | United States Jacob Castro | GK | San Diego State | Pac-12 | ||
| New York Red Bulls | United States Jayden Reid | DF | Connecticut | Big East |
Eligible players who signed outside of MLS in 2023
This is a list of eligible players who signed in leagues outside of MLS prior to the SuperDraft, but were still draft eligible.
| Player | Nat. | Position | College | Conference | Team | League | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nathan Opoku | Ghana | FW | Syracuse | ACC | Leicester City | Premier League |
Other notable players
| Original MLS Team | Player | Pos | Affiliation | Played in MLS | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Houston Dynamo FC | Haiti Charles Auguste | MF | Creighton | 2023– |
Summary
Selections by college athletic conference
| Conference | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NCAA Division I conferences | ||||
| ACC | 7 | 6 | 3 | 16 |
| America East | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 |
| American | 1 | 2 | 2 | 5 |
| Atlantic 10 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 5 |
| Big East | 3 | 1 | 5 | 9 |
| Big South | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| Big Ten | 4 | 4 | 3 | 11 |
| Big West | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Colonial | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Ivy | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| MAC | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 |
| Pac-12 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| SoCon | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| Sun Belt | 1 | 4 | 1 | 6 |
| WAC | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| West Coast | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Non-Division I conferences | ||||
| CCAA | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Northeast-10 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| NSIC | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| NJCAA | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Passes | ||||
| Passes | 0 | 0 | 4 | 4 |
Schools with multiple draft selections
| Selections | Schools |
|---|---|
| 5 | Syracuse |
| 4 | Maryland |
| 3 | Clemson, Indiana, Kentucky, New Hampshire, Penn State, Pittsburgh, Western Michigan |
| 2 | Creighton, Dayton, Georgetown, Penn, San Diego State, UNC Greensboro, Washington |
2023 SuperDraft trades
Round 1
Round 2
Round 3
Compensatory picks