For Immediate Release
MLS Communications
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Eligible Player List Now Available for MLS SuperDraft 2025
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MLS SuperDraft 2025 will kick off at 2 p.m. ET on Friday, Dec. 20
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NEW YORK (Wednesday, December 18, 2024) – Major League Soccer today announced the eligible player list for MLS SuperDraft 2025, which will take place on Friday, December 20 with the first round kicking off at 2 p.m. ET. The full list of 477 eligible players representing 150 different schools can be found HERE . Additionally, four players signed Generation adidas contracts ahead of Friday’s SuperDraft, while one player – Saint Louis University’s Max Floriani – signed a contract as a pre-signed senior for the class of 2025. The list of eligible players, including Generation adidas signings, is subject to change.
Ahead of their inaugural season in 2025, expansion club San Diego FC, the league’s 30th team, owns the draft’s top pick, with the San Jose Earthquakes (second), Chicago Fire FC (third), Sporting Kansas City (fourth), and New England Revolution (fifth) rounding out the top five. Draft coverage can be found on MLSsoccer.com and the MLS social handles. The current order of the SuperDraft as of December 18 at 2 p.m. ET is available HERE.
Below is further information regarding MLS SuperDraft 2025, including details on the virtual press conference availability with the No. 1 overall selection, photo assets, eligible player list, and more. Any players signed to Generation adidas contracts will be announced in the coming days.
Five Prospects Sign Contracts Ahead of MLS SuperDraft 2025
University of Wisconsin freshman forward Dean Boltz, UC Santa Barbara freshman midfielder Manu Duah, Cornell University sophomore forward Alex Harris, and University of North Carolina freshman defender Tate Johnson have signed Generation adidas contracts and will be eligible for MLS SuperDraft 2025. Additionally, Saint Louis University defender Max Floriani signed a contract as a pre-signed senior.
Throughout the program’s history, Generation adidas players have made a significant impact in MLS and on the international stage. Since 2019, nine different Generation adidas players have gone on to represent five different national teams, including standouts Moïse Bombito (Canada), Patrick Schulte (United States), and Dani Pereira (Venezuela). At the 2024 Copa America, a total of 11 former Generation adidas signings participated in the competition.
Forward Dean Boltz earned Big Ten Freshman of the Year honors after scoring 10 goals and adding four assists in his first collegiate season with the Wisconsin Badgers. Boltz entered college after a remarkable youth career in MLS NEXT with Sockers FC Chicago, in which he was named the MLS NEXT MVP presented by adidas in the U19 age group last season after scoring 19 times for a team that only lost one game in 10 months. The young forward looks to join a long list of former Big Ten Freshman of the Year who have gone on to star in MLS, including Aidan Morris, Jack Maher, and Eriq Zavaleta.
A native of Ghana, midfielder Manu Duah started all 14 games he played in for the Gauchos as the side went 8-3-3 during those matches. He produced his first collegiate assist on August 29 against the University of Missouri–Kansas City. Duah previously starred in MLS NEXT for Santa Barbara Soccer Club, helping them reach the MLS NEXT Cup Playoffs in the U19 age group. Duah looks to join current Gaucho alumni in MLS like Christian Ramírez (Columbus Crew), Michael Boxall (Minnesota United FC), and Emmanuel Boateng (New England Revolution).
Cornell University’s Alex Harris started 19 games as a sophomore for the Big Red, en route to becoming the first player in school history to earn co-Ivy League Offensive Player of the Year honors. The Vancouver, Wash., native registered 19 goals, including four game-winners, and five assists in 2024 and totaled 31 goals and nine assists across 34 career collegiate games. He earned unanimous Ivy League Rookie of the Year honors in 2023 after setting the school record for goals by a freshman (12). Harris prepped at Columbia River High School in Washington, where he was twice named the Washington State Gatorade Player of the Year and United Soccer Coaches Washington State Player of the Year. He also played club soccer with he Washington Timbers, where he was twice named First Team ECNL All-Conference and was the back-to-back ECNL conference goal scoring leader.
Defender Tate Johnson becomes the first North Carolina player to earn a Generation adidas contract since MLS Cup 2024 champion John Nelson in 2019. In 2024, Johnson started all 16 contests that appeared in, playing the full 90 minutes in 13 of those games. Johnson scored his first career goal in a win over College of Charleston on October 8. Johnson’s father, Brian, played five seasons in MLS, which included lifting MLS Cup in 2000 with the Kansas City Wizards alongside current head coach Peter Vermes. Brian then became an assistant with Real Salt Lake before spending time as the U14/U15 U.S. Youth National Team head coach until eventually making his way to the Sporting Director at MLS NEXT club Tampa Bay United.
An academic senior, Saint Louis defender Max Floriani has been a staple of the Billikens’ lineup since 2022, appearing in 56 games (53 starts) and recording four goals and seven assists. In 2024, Floriani garnered first-team All-Conference honors while anchoring the Billiken back line that led the league in goals against average and shutouts percentage. He also added two game-winning goals for the Bills in 2024. Hailing from Gurnee, Ill., Floriani began to consider Saint Louis University as his soccer destination through former youth teammate and Billiken standout Isaiah Parker, who was selected with the third overall pick by FC Dallas in MLS SuperDraft 2022. |
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