Austin FC uses club’s first No. 1 pick to select Daniel Pereira of Virginia Tech Univ. in MLS SuperDraft ‘21 presented by adidas

Austin FC uses club’s first No. 1 pick to select Daniel Pereira of Virginia Tech Univ. in MLS SuperDraft ‘21 presented by adidas

Nashville SC makes deals to end with three first-round selections in club’s first MLS SuperDraft

NEW YORK (Thursday, January 21, 2021) – Expansion club Austin FC made the first MLS SuperDraft selection in the club’s history an historic one, selecting Daniel Pereira with the No. 1 overall selection in MLS SuperDraft ‘21 presented by adidas.

Pereira is the first player from Virginia Tech ever selected No. 1 overall in the MLS SuperDraft. A member of Generation adidas, Pereira’s selection marked the 19th consecutive year the first selection overall was part of Generation adidas or its predecessor, and he was the first native of Venezuela ever selected first overall.

The first three selections in MLS SuperDraft ’21 were all members of the Generation adidas class. With the second selection overall, FC Cincinnati chose Calvin Harris of Wake Forest Univ. The Colorado Rapids had moved up to obtain the third selection overall in a draft-day trade with Houston Dynamo FC, which they then used to choose Philip Mayaka of Clemson Univ.

In all, the first four selections in MLS SuperDraft ’21 were all born outside the USA. With the fourth selection overall, D.C. United chose Kimarni Smith, also out of Clemson Univ. Smith, along with Harris, was born in England, while Mayaka is a native of Kenya, and Pereira born in Venezuela.

With the fifth selection, D.C. United took Michael DeShields, who played collegiately for Wake Forest Univ. before signing professionally with New England Revolution II last year. Under the rules of the 2021 SuperDraft, players eligible for selection included college seniors and Generation adidas players, as well as players who waived their college eligibility by signing to play in a domestic professional league since the conclusion of the 2019 college soccer season.

The remaining members of the Generation adidas class were selected with the next two selections. With the sixth selection, Houston Dynamo FC selected Ethan Bartlow out of the Univ. of Washington, then Real Salt Lake chose Bret Halsey from the Univ. of Virginia with the seventh pick.

Two schools had three products selected in the first round, both from the Atlantic Coast Conference: Clemson Univ. and Wake Forest Univ. It marked the 11th and 12th times a school had at least three players selected in the first round. Players from 48 colleges and universities were represented in the 75 selections overall, led by the Univ. of Virginia with 5, followed by Georgetown Univ. and Wake Forest Univ. with four each.

There were also players selected from 17 different countries: USA, Canada, England, France, Ghana, Guadeloupe, Guinea, Jamaica, Kenya, Nigeria, Norway, Senegal, Scotland, Tanzania, Uganda, Venezuela, Zambia. Of the eight African countries represented, six had selections in the first round: Mayaka (Kenya), Donasiyano (Tanzania), Uganda (Kizza), Mabika (Zambia), Egbo (Nigeria), Malou (Senegal).

• For a complete recap of MLS SuperDraft ‘21, please visit: www.MLSsoccer.com.
• Images of the selections in MLS SuperDraft ’21 are available by CLICKING HERE
• Footage from the pick-by-pick selections in the first round is available by CLICKING HERE

A round-by-round summary of MLS SuperDraft ’21 follows:

ROUND 1

[Ga] – Generation adidas

% ATL trade No. 5 and No. 32 overall selection in 2021 to DC for No. 31 overall selection and $125,000 general allocation money
& NYC trade No. 17 overall selection in 2021 to MIN for $50,000 general allocation money
# TOR trade No. 18 overall selection in 2021 to MIN for No. 25 overall selection in 2021 and $50,000 general allocation money
@ COL trade No. 21 overall selection in 2021 to ATX for $50,000 general allocation money