MLS Release Draft Eligible List

Today MLS released the list of players available for selection in the SuperDraft next week. The draft, which is three rounds this year will consist of 86 picks, the three rounds, plus another five compensatory picks because of the removal of the fourth round.

Sporting Kansas City will not have a selection until the second round, the 50th pick overall, after trading their first round pick back in December of 2018 to the Vancouver Whitecaps as part of the trade that brought Erik Hurtado to Kansas City. KC also has the 77th pick overall in the third round, and a compensatory pick, the 82nd overall from a trade with Atlanta United ahead of the 2017 MLS Expansion Draft.

The list of players available for selection is currently at 176, and it includes seven players from the Sporting KC academy system. Three of those seven academy players were invited to Sporting’s combine held at Swope Park in late 2020. Four of the seven also have been on academy contracts with the Swope Park Rangers, though only one of them made an appearance for the club. Six of the seven academy players have also spent time with local USL-2 side, Kaw Valley FC while the sixth played with the Des Moines Menace.

Chase Bromstedt attended the University of Tulsa, where he made 46 appearances for the Golden Hurricanes, scoring eight goals and adding nine assists. Bromstedt was at the combine at Swope, on an academy contract with the Swope Park Rangers in 2017, and spent time with Kaw Valley in 2019.

Leroy Enzugusi from the University of Drake played in 52 games over his three seasons with the Bulldogs. He scored scoring 21 goals and added four assists. He too was at the Swope combine and was on an academy contract with the Rangers in 2017. Enzugusi played in the USL-2 for the Menace.

Bryce Gibson attended the University of Creighton, where over five years he made 61 appearances adding one goal and two assists as a defender. Gibson spent time in 2018 and 2019 with Kaw Valley.

John Leisman from Yale made 61 appearances for the Bulldogs, scoring five goals and adding three assists. He is another player who spent time with Kaw Valley, playing in the club’s first season in 2018.

Logan Lucas, from the University of West Virginia finished his career last year with the Mountaineers appearing 76 times over his four year career. He scored three goals and had three assists while there. Lucas was on Kaw Valley’s roster for their first season in 2018.

Steven Tekesky, from the University of West Virginia, was the last in a line of multiple Sporting academy players who ended up a Mountaineer including former New York Red Bulls draft pick, Joey Piatczyc. Tekesky won the starting job in goal his freshman year, making 52 appearances compiling a record of 27-19-4 and also adding two assists. He was on an academy contract with Swope Park for their first two season in the USL Championship as well as on Kaw Valley’s roster their first season.

Patrick Wilkinson from the University of Saint Louis made 47 appearances and added two assists during his time there. He’s the only one of the academy players available in the draft to have appeared for the Rangers on an academy contract, coming on for a 22 minute substitute appearance against Saint Louis FC in a 1-1 draw in August of 2016. Like Bromstedt and Enzugusi he was at the player combine at Swope. He was also on Kaw Valley’s roster for the 2019 season.

If any of these players have spent enough time with Sporting in the offseason to qualify as a Home Grown Player they could be withdrawn from the draft if Sporting were interested in signing them to a contract with the first team. Otherwise they can be drafted by any team in the league, like the previously mentioned Piatczyc, or Christian Duke was drafted by KC back in 2013.

Also available for selection in the draft is recent Sporting KC II signing Preston Judd. Judd could end up like Dylan Castanheira, who signed with Atlanta United 2 ahead of their 2019 season and then proceeded to be drafted by FC Dallas in the 2019 MLS SuperDraft. Castanheira ended up playing for Atlanta in 2019 and then had his MLS rights traded from Dallas to Inter Miami ahead of the 2020 season.

Certainly with where Sporting is drafting, they’re most likely drafting for positions on Sporting KC II. No player drafted outside the first round has made Sporting’s first team roster since James Ansu Rogers in 2015, and he was waived in June of the same year.