Orlando City SC: Draws First Pick in MLS Expansion Draft and SuperDraft
By Phil Naegely
Jun 17, 2014; Portland, OR, USA; The starting eleven for Orlando City pose before the game against the Portland Timbers at Providence Park. Mandatory Credit: Steve Dykes-USA TODAY Sports
On Wednesday, Major League Soccer hosted the draw for Orlando City SC and New York City FC for the 2014 MLS Expansion Draft and the 2015 SuperDraft. After the draw for the aforementioned drafts, both coaches alternated picking priority for various rankings.
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Orlando City opted for priority in the USL PRO/NASL ranking and the Lottery ranking, while NYCFC received priority in the Allocation ranking, Discovery ranking, Waiver/Re-Entry ranking and the Designated Player ranking. NYCFC head coach Jason Kreis seemed to make a mistake by picking priority in the Discovery ranking instead of the USL PRO/NASL ranking. Despite the apparent mistake, MLS officials said the decision stood and Orlando City SC was allowed to pick the USL PRO/NASL ranking priority.
The entire rankings and where both teams rank are below.
- Allocation Ranking: Pick 1 goes to New York City FC, Pick 2 goes to Orlando City SC
- Discovery Ranking: Pick 20 goes to New York City FC, Pick 21 goes to Orlando City SC
- USL PRO/NASL Player Priority Ranking: Pick 1 goes to Orlando City SC, Pick 2 goes to New York City FC
- Waiver/Re-Entry Draft Ranking: Pick 20 goes to New York City FC, Pick 21 goes to Orlando City SC
- Lottery Ranking: Pick 20 goes to Orlando City SC, Pick 21 goes to New York City FC
- Designated Player Ranking: Pick 1 goes to New York City FC, Pick 2 goes to Orlando City SC
Head coach Adrian Heath was pleased with how Orlando City SC made out on Wednesday in both the draw and priority ranking picks.
"“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.”"
On December 10th, NYCFC and Orlando City will alternate picks in the Expansion Draft. They will choose unprotected players from the current 19 MLS teams. The deadline provide a list of protected players to the league is scheduled for December 8th. Some tough choices will have to be made about who to protect or not protect. Also NYCFC and Orlando City will be able to acquire some seasoned MLS talent within the Expansion draft.
The SuperDraft in January will allow both squads to select the top collegiate talent. This talent isn’t always the best compared to other means of acquisition, but the college players come at a cheaper price.
All in all, this is just the beginning of NYCFC and Orlando playing and developing their inaugural MLS season’s rosters.