North Carolina forward and Hermann Trophy finalist Andy Craven is headed to the Seattle Sounders, after he was taken with the sixth pick in Round 3 of the MLS SuperDraft on Tuesday.
Craven’s selection was one of the biggest headlines of Rounds 3 and 4 of the draft, which was conducted via teleconference call with representatives from all 20 MLS clubs.
Craven scored 15 goals and added five assists in 22 appearances during his senior season for the Tar Heels, and was named to NSCAA’s All-American First Team. He finished the season tied for the national lead in goals scored, and was a finalist for the MAC Hermann Trophy.
He was also one of 14 players who signed with MLS before the draft, as was UC Davis senior defender Martin del Campo, who was surprisingly not selected in either round of the draft on Tuesday. Born in Mexico but raised in San Diego, del Campo has been in the mix for the US Under-23 national team and played for the San Jose Earthquakes U-23 team last year, but he reportedly struggled during the recent MLS Player Combine in Florida.
UCLA goalkeeper Earl Edwards was the first player taken in Round 3 on Tuesday by 2015 expansion side Orlando City. A 6-foot-3 netminder from San Diego, Edwards was a first team All-Pac-12 selection and boasted a career-best 0.89 GAA in 2,331 minutes for the Bruins as a senior last season.
Fellow expansion side New York City FC followed with a goalkeeper of their own in the form of St. Mary’s star Andre Rawls, who was selected first team all-Far West Region by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America as a senior.
The Montreal Impact selected Princeton forward Cameron Porter with the third pick, followed by San Jose’s selection of Providence goalkeeper Keasel Broome and New England’s selection of Cal State Fullerton forward Marc Fenelus at No. 5.
Perhaps the most notable selection of the fourth round was the day’s only international pick of the day, Canadian winger Jaineil Hoilett to FC Dallas. An ex-Canadian youth international who impressed at the Combine, Hoilett is the younger brother of Queens Park Rangers winger Junior Hoilett.
