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 Salvadorian 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 edit
| GK | Goalkeeper | DF | Defender |
| MF | Midfielder | FW | Forward |
| Selected number one overall | Enshrined in the National Soccer Hall of Fame |
References edit
- General References
- "MLS SuperDraft History". MLSSoccer.com. Major League Soccer. Retrieved January 24, 2015.
- "Collection of US Soccer Players History". USSoccerPlayers.com. US Soccer Players.
- Notes
- Citations
- ^ "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.
- ^ a b D.C. United Communications (January 15, 2009). "D.C. United selects five in 2009 MLS SuperDraft". D.C. United. DCUnited.com. Retrieved August 10, 2015.
- ^ Goff, Steven (January 14, 2011). "MLS draft 2011: D.C. United stresses defense, selecting Akron's Perry Kitchen with No. 3 pick". The Washington Post. WashingtonPost.com. Retrieved August 10, 2015.
- ^ Tenorio, Paul (January 12, 2012). "MLS draft: D.C. United takes Louisville midfielder Nick DeLeon". The Washington Post. WashingtonPost.com. Retrieved August 10, 2015.
- ^ Goff, Steven (January 17, 2013). "D.C. United stays local, drafts Maryland's Taylor Kemp in MLS draft". The Washington Post. WashingtonPost.com. Retrieved August 10, 2015.
- ^ "D.C. United selects Steven Birnbaum with 2nd overall pick in 2014 MLS SuperDraft". DCUnited.com. D.C. United. January 16, 2014. Retrieved January 24, 2015.
- ^ Rockwell, Jason (January 15, 2015). "MLS Draft 2015: D.C. United selects University of San Francisco forward Miguel Aguilar in the first round". SB Nation. BlackAndRedUnited.com. Retrieved August 10, 2015.
- ^ Goff, Steven (January 13, 2017). "D.C. United drafts Maryland defender, waits on Ian Harkes resolution". The Washington Post — Soccer Insider. WashingtonPost.com. Retrieved January 13, 2017.
- ^ Anderson, Jason (January 11, 2019). "MLS Draft 2019: D.C. United select Creighton defender Akeem Ward". SB Nation. Retrieved January 11, 2019.
- ^ "Hall of Tradition". D.C. United. DCUnited.com. Retrieved August 10, 2015.