Expansion Austin FC to pick first in trimmed-down 2021 MLS SuperDraft

TORONTO — Expansion Austin FC will pick first in the Jan. 21 MLS SuperDraft with a second first-round selection (11th overall) coming courtesy of the trade that sent Canadian defender Kamal Miller to the Montreal Impact during this week’s expansion draft.

The Vancouver Whitecaps also have two first-round picks — their own ninth selection and the 23rd, obtained in a December 2018 trade that sent forward Erik Hurtado to Sporting Kansas City.

FC Cincinnati will choose second, followed by Houston, D.C. United and Atlanta.

Toronto FC goes 18th in the first round, followed by selections in the second round (45th overall) and third (64th and 72nd). The 64th pick came from Miami in a December 2019 deal for the rights to Juan Agudelo.

Montreal does not have a selection until the third round when it has two (63rd and 65th overall). The 63rd pick was obtained in the September deal that sent goalkeeper Evan Bush to Vancouver.

The Impact sent their second-round pick (38th overall) to Minnesota in acquiring forward Mason Toye in October.

Vancouver also has two second-round selections (36th and 53rd overall). The 53rd pick came from Seattle in an August 2019 swap for an international roster slot.

The draft, which will be held virtually in 2021, has been reduced to three rounds. There were four rounds in 2020 but only 10 of the 26 picks in the final round were used.

The league says clubs that received a fourth-round pick via a previous trade will have a compensatory pick at the conclusion of the third round.

Montreal passed on three of its four draft picks in the 2020 draft. The Impact used their first-round pick (ninth overall) on University of North Carolina defender Jeremy Kelly, whom it then traded to Colorado for US$75,000 in general allocation money from the Colorado Rapids.

—

Follow @NeilMDavidson on Twitter

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 16, 2020

Neil Davidson, The Canadian Press