College Soccer News 2015 MLS Mock Draft Updated – by Ben Roth

TEAM

PLAYER

COLLEGE

Position

ANALYSIS

1

Orlando City

Cyle Larin**

UCONN

Forward

Larin is a no brainer for Orlando City, a team with no glaring needs.  The athletic forward has loads of potential and it’s known that Healey has been to plenty of Larin’scollege games this year.  The Lions may consider other teams’ offers for the coveted #1 pick, but ultimately, as an expansion side they want to make a splash in their first season; and Larin is that player to do so.

2

NYCFC

Cristian Roldan**

Washington

Midfielder

Roldan, a crafty playmaker also capable of playing a box-to-box role is a perfect fit for Kreis, a coach known to love technical players.  The GA prospect can play anywhere in the attack, a very beneficial aspect, expecially with Mix Diskerud joining the squad.Side note: there’s rumors of NYCFC looking to trade down for more draft picks and allocation money.

3

Montreal Impact

Khiry Shelton

Oregon St.

Forward

Shelton, an explosive forward with an ability to play on the wings can immediately help bolster a struggling Impact side.  The former Beaver striker was often injured in college, but when healthy he has the talent to be an MLS stud.

4

San Jose Earthquakes

Connor Donovan**

NC State

Defender

The Quakes’ grab Donovan, a young GA player, they can mold into a top prospect.  Donovan reads the game well, but will need to gain experience, maybe in USL Pro before being able to make an impact.

5

Portland Timbers

Nick Besler

Notre Dame

Midfielder

Porter goes with Besler, a hard working, simplistic defensive midfielder who could be a solid MLS player in his rookie season.  Besler, a real competitor boosted his draft stock with a very good combine.

6

Toronto FC

Alex Bono**

Syracuse

Goalkeeper

Toronto grab recent U.S National Team call-up Alex Bono, a 6’3” agile goalkeeper.  The Hermann Trophy Award finalist is the top keeper in the draft and a known commodity.  Teams will be looking to trade up for the former Orange net-minder.

7

Chicago Fire

Dan Metzger

Maryland

Midfielder

The Fire snag Metzger, one of the standouts at the combine.  The former Terps’ defensive midfielder is a technical true #6 who loves to sit in front of his back line and spray the ball around.

8

Houston Dynamo

Boyd Okwuono

UNC

Defender

Okwuono, a very consistent player who rarely loses the ball is a smart pick here as he can help address the Dynamo’s need in the backline.  At 5’8”, he may project more as a right back in MLS.  There were some questions about Okwuono’sMLS readiness, but he really impressed at the combine, showing how polished he is.

9

Toronto FC

FataiAlashe

Syracuse

Goalkeeper

Toronto pick a hard nosed defensive midfielder, Alashe who can be a great bench option and compete with Kyle Bekker for minutes.

10

Sporting KC

Tim Parker

St. John’s

Defender

Vermes goes with Tim Parker, an athletic center back who had an outstanding combine.  The 6’2” defender was near the top of every leaderboard in the physical testing and has the speed to keep up with MLS’ fastest attackers.  The former St. John’s captain is a great pick up for a team struggling with defensive depth.

11

Toronto FC

Romario Williams**

UCF

Forward

With Toronto’s third pick of the first round, they choose, Williams, a semi-risky, but a budget saving pick, since he’s a GA.  He’s an athletic player who can learn behind the likes of Gilberto and Altidore and gain some minutes as the year goes on.  Many see Williams as a hit-or-miss prospect

12

Sporting KC

Otis Earle

UC Riverside

Defender

For a team that lost Collin this offseason and has virtually no depth at outside back, Earle is a great pick.  He’s a solid defender who can contribute from day one.

13

Vancouver Whitecaps

Axel Sjoberg

Marquette

Defender

The Whitecaps need defensive depth and with Sjoberg, they grab a 6’7” center back, who has better mobility than some may think.  Sjoberg has decent feet and is essentially a magnet in the air.  He would be a smart draft move for the Whitecaps.

14

Columbus Crew

Andy Craven

UNC

Forward

The Crew grab a Hermann Trophy award finalist in Craven, a natural finisher.  The former Tar Heel will add to a forward line who apart from Kamara, isn’t very consistent.  I could see Craven being a threat off the bench

15

FC Dallas

Ramon Martin Del Campo

UC Davis

Defender

FC Dallas pick Del Campo, a normally consistent central defender with good feet.  The UC Davis captain, struggled in his first two games at the combine, and therefore dropped his stock big time, but he’s definitely still a first round talent.

16

Real Salt Lake

Andy Thoma

Washington

Midfielder

With RSL losing their long time left back Chris Wingert, they replace him with speedster Andy Thoma.  The former UW outside back had a bit of a disappointing combine, but he’s still one of top left backs in the draft and is too good to pass up at #16.

17

DC United

Oumar Ballo

UMBC

Defender

For a team solid everywhere, they grab Ballo, a local product who could develop.  The UMBC center back is a physical beast, but there are questions about his ability to play out of the back.

18

New York Red Bulls

Dzenan Catic

Davenport (NAIA)

Forward

With all the changes going on in Harrison, the team really needs to make a solid pick in the draft and they go with DzenanCatic, one of the most impressive players from the combine.  At 6’3”, the athletic forward is explosive and has very good feet for his size.  He could be a great signing for a team lacking forward depth.

19

Colorado Rapids

Eric Bird

Virginia

Midfielder

The Rapids need desperately need depth at center mid so they pick Bird, a playmaker for the reigning national champs.  Bird, a hard working midfielder is versatile enough to play anywhere in the attack.  If he drops to 19, Mastroeni will be glad to take him.

20

Sporting KC

Connor Hallisey

CAL

Midfielder

If Sporting KC keep this pick, they could do much worse than picking up Hallisey, a crafty left winger who could fight for playing time.Hallisey endured a solid combine and even notched a goal, proving his worth as this draft’s best pure winger.

21

LA Galaxy

Leo Stolz

UCLA

Midfielder

The reigning MLS Cup champs grab the 2014 Hermann Trophy Award winner, LeoStolz.  It’s a bit of an odd situation because Stolz has been on trial with teams in Europe, but says he would still play in MLS depending on what team he was drafted by.  The former Bruin playmaker is arguably the best player in the draft, but his current status drops him to pick 21, where Arena rolls the dice and hopes he joins.

22

Orlando City

Seth Casiple

CAL

Midfielder

23

New York FC

Aaron Simmons

UCLA

Def/Mid

24

Portland Timbers

Miguel Aguilar

San Francisco

Forward

25

Orlando City SC

James Rogers

New Mexico

Midfielder

26

Colorado Rapids

Akeil Barrett

Tulsa

Midfielder

27

Seattle Sounders

Jordan Murrell

Syracuse

Defender

28

Chicago Fire

Skylar Thomas

Syracuse

Defender

29

Toronto FC

Anthony Manning

Saint Louis

Defender

30

Sporting KC

Sagi Lev-Ari

CSUN

Forward

31

Philadelphia Union

Ignacio Maganto

Iona

Midfielder

32

Portland Timbers

Jose Ribas

Creighton

Defender

33

New England Revolution

Tyler Arnone

Michigan

Midfielder

34

Portland Timbers

Sergio Campbell

UCONN

Defender

35

Columbus Crew

Saad Abdul-Salaam

Akron

Defender

36

Houston Dynamo

Rob Lovejoy

UNC

Midfielder

37

Toronto FC

Andy Bevin

West Virginia

Forward

38

Vancouver Whitecaps

Zach Steinberger

Butler

Midfielder

39

New York Red Bulls

Cameron Porter

Princeton

Forward

40

Seattle Sounders

Connor Brandt

San Diego

Defender

41

New England Revolution

Joseph Greenspan

Navy

Defender

42

DC United

Andrew Wolverton

Penn State

Goalkeeper