For a few dozen players, hearing their name called up to the big stage will validate all the hard work and sacrifices they’ve made since they were children.
Starting at 11:00 a.m. when Los Angeles FC is on the clock at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia, the 2018 MLS SuperDraft will be underway. Many of the top college prospects will soon find out whether they’ll be headed to the Pacific Northwest, New England, the Southeast, Southern California or anywhere in between.
[MORE: 2018 MLS Mock Draft]
This year’s draft class is loaded with attacking talent, from Generation Adidas trio Ema Twumasi (Wake Forest), Mason Toye (Indiana) and Francis Atuahene (Michigan) to Twumasi’s college teammate Jon Bakero.
But potential No. 1 overall pick is a three-time national champion, Thomas Hilliard-Arce, who could become the anchor of a backline for a decade.
Follow along below as we update the picks live as we hear them:
First round
1. Los Angeles FC -- Joao Moutinho -- Defender (Akron)*
2.LA Galaxy -- Tomas Hilliard-Arce -- Defender (Stanford)*
3.DC United (traded to LAFC) -- Tristan Blackmon -- Defender (Pacific University)
4. Montreal Impact (traded to FC Dallas) -- Francis Atuahene -- Forward (Michigan)
5. Minnesota United (traded to Fire) -- Jon Bakero -- Forward (Wake Forest)
6. Orlando City -- Chris Mueller -- Forward (Wisconsin)
7. Montreal Impact (traded to Minnesota) -- Mason Toye -- Forward (Indiana)*
8. New England Revolution -- Brandon Bye -- Defender (Western Michigan)
9. New England Revolution -- Mark Segbers -- Defender (Wisconsin)
10. Real Salt Lake (traded to Fire) -- Mo Adams -- Midfielder (Syracuse)*
11. FC Dallas — Ema Twumasi -- Midfielder (Wake Forest)*
12. San Jose Earthquakes -- Paul Marie -- Midfielder/Defender (FIU)
13. Sporting KC -- Eric Dick -- Goalkeeper (Butler)
14. Atlanta United -- Jon Gallagher -- Forward (Notre Dame)
15. Chicago Fire (traded to Minnesota) -- Wyatt Omsberg -- Defender (Dartmouth)
16. New York Red Bulls -- Brian White -- Forward (Duke)
17. Vancouver Whitecaps -- Justin Fiddes -- Defender (Washingt0n)
18. Sporting KC -- Graham Smith -- Defender (Denver)
19. New York City FC -- Jeff Caldwell -- Goalkeeper (Virginia)
20. Houston Dynamo -- Michael Nelson -- Goalkeeper (SMU)
21. Columbus Crew -- Ben Lungaard -- Goalkeeper (Virginia Tech)
22. Seattle Sounders -- Alex Roldan -- Midfielder (Univ. of Seattle)
23. Toronto FC (traded to Minnesota) -- Carter Manley -- Defender (Duke)
Second round
24. LAFC -- Pol Calvet Planellas -- Midfielder (Pittsburgh)
25. Colorado Rapids -- Alan Winn -- Forward (North Carolina)
26. Vancouver Whitecaps -- Lucas Stauffer -- Defender (Creighton)
27. Colorado Rapids -- Frantzdy Pierrot -- Forward (Coastal Carolina)
28. Minnesota United (traded to Toronto FC) -- Tim Kubel -- Defender (Louisville)
29. FC Dallas -- Mauro Cichero -- Forward (SMU)
30. San Jose Earthquakes -- Danny Musovski -- Forward (UNLV)
31. New York Red Bulls -- Niko De Vera -- Defender (Akron)
32. Columbus Crew -- Edward Opoku -- Forward (Virginia)
33. Real Salt Lake -- Ricky Lopez-Espin -- Midfielder (Creighton)
34. FC Dallas -- Chris Lema -- Midfield (Georgetown)
35. San Jose Earthquakes -- Mohamed Thiaw -- Forward (Louisville)
36. Atlanta United -- Oliver Shannon -- Midfielder (Clemson)
37. Atlanta United -- Gordon Wild -- Forward (Maryland)*
38. Chicago Fire -- Diego Campos -- Midfielder (Clemson)
39. New York Red Bulls -- Tom Barlow -- Forward (Wisconsin)
40. LA Galaxy -- Drew Skundrich -- Midfielder (Stanford)
41. Minnesota United -- Xavier Gomez -- Midfielder (Nebraska-Omaha)
42. New York City FC -- AJ Paterson -- Defender (Wright St.)
43. Houston Dynamo -- Mac Steeves -- Forward (Providence)
44. Columbus Crew -- Jake Rozhansky -- Midfielder (Maryland)
45. Seattle Sounders -- Markus Fjortoft -- Defender (Duke)
46. Toronto FC -- Drew Shepherd -- Goalkeeper (Western Michigan)
- indicates Generation adidas player
