Columbus Crew SC SuperDraft Preview: Step by step, second time around for CCSC | Armchair Analyst

Matthew Doyle

Ahead of Thursday's SuperDraft, MLSsoccer.com is breaking down each team's needs and potential draft targets.
Columbus Crew SC have a new logo and a new suffix, but just about everything else is the same.

I really, really really thought Columbus were going to get past New England in the Eastern Conference semifinals. They'd been better than the Revs in their two late-season meetings despite splitting the games, and seemed to just know how to use the ball to discombobulate the league's hottest team.

I was wrong. We all remember New England dismantling the Massive Canary to the tune of 7-3. We all remember just how young -- or maybe naive -- CCSC looked in that series, and how the patience and professionalism of guys like Lee Nguyen, Jermaine Jones and Jose Goncalves just wasn't matched by the guys on the opposite side of the field.

Mock Draft: Pre-Combine Edition

The good thing about young teams, though, is that if you keep them together, they grow up. They get better. They stop making the same mistakes.

Crew SC's braintrust has thus decided to rock the boat only minimally this offseason. "Chemistry" has been given greater priority than star power, and chemistry -- along with a little more grind-it-out knowhow -- will have much, much more of an impact on how things go in Ohio in 2015 than any new signing or draft pick.

Take that under advisement when considering this team's draft needs.

Columbus SuperDraft selections: #14 (1st Round), #35 (2nd Round), #55 & #60 (3rd Round), #69 (4th Round)

Columbus Depth Chart: 24 players

Goalkeeper (3): Steve Clark, Matt Lampson, Brad Stuver
Left Back (2): Waylon Francis, Ben Sweat
Center Back (3): Michael Parkhurst, Emanuel Pogatetz, Tyson Wahl
Right Back (2): Hector Jimenez, Chad Barson
Defensive Midfield (2): Wil Trapp, Kevan George
Central Midfield (3): Tony Tchani, Mohammad Saeid, Ben Swanson
Right Midfield (2): Ethan Finlay, Romain Gall
Left Midfield (2): Justin Meram, Kristinn Steindorsson
Attacking Midfield (2): Federico Higuain, Ben Speas
Forward (3): Kei Kamara, Aaron Schoenfeld, Adam Bedell

Primary Need: Central defense

Pogatetz, who came on board late in 2014 and will be a big part of that "grind it out knowhow" I mentioned, will probably slot in next to Parkhurst in a new central defensive pairing, with Wahl backing them up.

And then that's really about it. Barson could probably play central defense in a pinch at the MLS level, but everyone else on the roster would be jumping into a new position they're really not all that suited for.

Injuries happen, suspensions happen (Pogatetz's nickname is "Mad Dog," and I've set the over/under on red cards for him at 1.5), and call-ups to the Gold Cup happen. It looks like Parkhurst is out of the USMNT picture, but... are we sure? He's still maybe the smartest defender in the US pool, and on current form Jurgen Klinsmann's men could use a dose of brains. So maybe he'll be gone.

So really, unless something strange happens, I'd expect Gregg Berhalter & Co. to zero in on whichever central defender they like best, and then wait it out until the 14th pick. Whoever they nab will have a real shot at getting playing time as the fourth man in the rotation.

Targets:Ramon Martin del Campo (UC-Davis), Axel Sjoberg (Marquette), Tim Parker (St. John's), Anthony Manning (St. Louis), Aaron Simmons (UCLA), Oumar Ballo (UMBC)

Secondary Need: Left back

Parkhurst has a shot at going to the Gold Cup. Waylon Francis, on the other hand, is close to a lock. That will leave the entirely untested Sweat in sole command of left back, unless Berhalter decides he wants Wahl to play there for a bit.

If Columbus decide they don't like any of the central defenders on offer -- or fall in love with one who they think will be around later in the draft -- then they could end up going with a left back early in this one instead.

Targets:Andy Thoma (Washington), Otis Earle (UC-Riverside), Connor Brandt (San Diego) Jordan Murrell (Syracuse), Jose Ribas (Creighton)

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