ORLANDO – September 24, 2014 – Orlando City Soccer Club took a significant step toward building its 2015 Major League Soccer (MLS) roster today, selecting the first picks in the MLS Expansion Draft and SuperDraft.
“Overall, it’s been a really good day for us,” said Head Coach Adrian Heath. “The draw went exactly as we hoped it would because we received everything that we wanted. We thought that the Expansion Draft was the right one to go with first and fortunately we were able to get it.”
Set to occur on December, 10, 2014, the MLS Expansion Draft allows incoming teams the opportunity to select 10 unprotected players from existing clubs within the league. During the Expansion Draft, Orlando City and New York City FC (NYCFC) will take turns alternating picks, bolstering their rosters with proven MLS players.
The MLS SuperDraft will take place in January 2015, providing each MLS team the chance to acquire players from various universities across the United States. Orlando City will have the first pick and NYCFC will have the second in the SuperDraft, strengthening their squads with premier young talent.
Orlando City received the first pick in today’s Expansion Priority Draft over New York City FC, after a draw was conducted by supporters from each team in the first of many match-ups between both organizations.
Following the draw, Heath and NYCFC Head Coach Jason Kreis alternated selections for priority among eight player acquisition mechanisms, beginning with the Expansion Draft.
In addition to the Expansion Draft and the SuperDraft, Orlando City opted for priority in the USL PRO/NASL ranking and the Lottery ranking. As a result, the New York-based club received priority in the Allocation ranking, Discovery ranking, Waiver/Re-Entry ranking and the Designated Player ranking.
