List of D.C. United first-round draft picks explained

This is a list of first-round draft picks made by D.C. United of Major League Soccer. D.C. United were an original MLS franchise, joining the league in its inaugural 1996 season.

Every year during January, each MLS franchise seeks to add new players to its roster through a collegiate draft known as the "Major League Soccer SuperDraft" which is more commonly known as the MLS Draft. Teams are ranked in inverse order based on the previous season's record, with the worst record picking first, and the second worst picking second and so on. The exception is teams that qualify for the MLS Cup Playoffs, as teams that reach further levels in the playoffs receive a later selection in the draft, with the tiebreaker being regular season record. The MLS Cup champion picks last in the draft, while the MLS Cup runner-up picks second-to-last. Clubs have the option of trading away their picks to other teams for different picks, players, allocation money, or a combination thereof. Thus, it is not uncommon for a team's actual draft pick to differ from their assigned draft pick, or for a team to have extra or no draft picks in any round due to these trades.

United have selected number one overall three times: Freddy Adu, Alecko Eskandarian and Jason Moore. D.C. United's first selection as an MLS team was Raúl Díaz Arce, a Salvadoran international striker who previously played for Firpo of the Primera División de Fútbol de El Salvador. The team's most-recent first-round selection was Michael DeShields, a defender from Wake Forest.

Player selections

GKGoalkeeperDFDefender
MFMidfielderFWForward
DraftPlayer namePositionCollegeNotes
YearPick
Original Allocations
1996 IP10Raúl Díaz ArceFW
1996 IA4Jeff AgoosDFVirginia
14Jaime MorenoFW
24John HarkesMFVirginia
34Juan Berthy SuárezMF
College Draft Era
19962Eddie PopeDFNorth Carolina[1]
199710Danny CareDFClemson
1998No first-round draft pick
19991Jason MooreMFVirginia
SuperDraft Era
200012Bobby ConveyMFProject-40
20013Mark LisiMFClemson
4Ryan NelsenMFStanford
8Santino QuarantaMFProject-40
20028Justin MappMFProject-40
11Daouda KantéDFFIU
20031Alecko EskandarianFWVirginia
align=center 5David StokesDFNorth Carolina
20041Freddy AduMFIMG Soccer Academy
2005No first-round draft pick
2006align=center 7Justin MooseMFWake Forest
2007align=center 11Bryan ArguezMFIMG Soccer Academy
2008No first-round draft pick
2009align=center 6Rodney WallaceDFMaryland[2]
align=center 7Chris PontiusFWUC Santa Barbara
2010No first-round draft pick
2011align=center 3Perry KitchenMFAkron[3]
2012align=center 6Nick DeLeonMFLouisville[4]
2013align=center 17Taylor KempDFMaryland[5]
2014align=center 2Steve BirnbaumDFCalifornia[6]
201517Miguel AguilarFWSan Francisco[7]
201611Julian BüscherMFSyracuse
201712Chris Odoi-AtsemDFMaryland[8]
2018No first-round draft pick
201914Akeem WardDFCreighton[9]
202021Simon LefebvreGKTemple
20214Kimarni SmithFWClemson
5Michael DeShieldsDFWake Forest
2022No first-round draft pick
2023
20247Jacob MurrellFWGeorgetown

References

General References
Notes
  • Citations

    • Notes and References

    1. Web site: Cobi Jones, Eddie Pope, and Earnie Stewart Elected to National Soccer Hall of Fame Class of 2011. United States Soccer Federation. USSoccer.com. March 23, 2011.
    2. Web site: D.C. United Communications. D.C. United selects five in 2009 MLS SuperDraft. D.C. United. DCUnited.com. August 10, 2015. January 15, 2009.
    3. Web site: Goff. Steven. MLS draft 2011: D.C. United stresses defense, selecting Akron's Perry Kitchen with No. 3 pick. The Washington Post. WashingtonPost.com. August 10, 2015. January 14, 2011.
    4. Web site: Tenorio. Paul. MLS draft: D.C. United takes Louisville midfielder Nick DeLeon. The Washington Post. WashingtonPost.com. August 10, 2015. January 12, 2012.
    5. Web site: Goff. Steven. D.C. United stays local, drafts Maryland’s Taylor Kemp in MLS draft. The Washington Post. WashingtonPost.com. August 10, 2015. January 17, 2013.
    6. Web site: D.C. United selects Steven Birnbaum with 2nd overall pick in 2014 MLS SuperDraft. DCUnited.com. D.C. United. January 24, 2015. January 16, 2014.
    7. Web site: Rockwell. Jason. MLS Draft 2015: D.C. United selects University of San Francisco forward Miguel Aguilar in the first round. SB Nation. BlackAndRedUnited.com. August 10, 2015. January 15, 2015.
    8. Web site: Goff. Steven. D.C. United drafts Maryland defender, waits on Ian Harkes resolution. The Washington Post - Soccer Insider. WashingtonPost.com. January 13, 2017. January 13, 2017.
    9. Web site: MLS Draft 2019: D.C. United select Creighton defender Akeem Ward. Anderson. Jason. January 11, 2019. SB Nation. January 11, 2019.

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