A late-breaking trade that landed UCLA midfielder Andy Rose gave Seattle a five-player haul from Tuesday’s Supplemental Draft.
Along with their four selections, the Sounders swapped the rights to 2011 draft pick Leone Cruz for Rose, a 6-foot-2 central midfielder originally from England.
The 21-year-old Rose was a two-time All-Pac-12 selection with the Bruins, and could be used as cover for Osvaldo Alonso and Brad Evans in the center of the field should he make the roster.
“He’s a player that we really like,” Sounders technical director Chris Henderson said. “He’s a two-way midfielder. He can also sit in as a holding midfielder—he’s pretty versatile.
“He’s been a captain at his previous teams and growing up,” Henderson added. “He’s a good pro and can be a leader. He seems, at a young age, to be a student of the game.”
The Sounders hope they might have found a few more gems, making four selections of their own in Tuesday’s draft.
After trading their natural first-round pick to the Chicago Fire for the rights to acquire Sammy Ochoa, Seattle waited until the 33rd pick overall to select defender Tim Pontius out of UC Santa Barbara. The brother of D.C. United midfielder Chris Pontius, Tim attended Seattle’s Las Vegas combine.
Henderson lauded Pontius’ versatility and described him as another addition who can play center back or defensive midfield.
With the next selection, Seattle opted for 19-year-old Englishman Jason Banton. Last fall, the English midfielder was signed by Leicester City, only to be loaned to League Two's Burton Albion where he only played one match.
“Banton grew up in the Arsenal youth system, similar to Steve Zakuani,” Henderson said. “ […] We think he’s a guy who, depending on how things play out with our wingers, that he might be a guy who can step in on either flank.”
With the final two selections, Seattle stayed on the West Coast.
Forward Abdul Aman is well-known to the Sounders coaching staff from his time at the University of Washington and his participation in club’s Las Vegas combine. Wes Feighner, a “physical outside back” according to assistant coach Kurt Schmid, was Seattle’s final pick.
WATCH: MLS Combine highlights of Andy Rose
Andrew Winner covers the Seattle Sounders for MLSsoccer.com.
