Canadians Tani Oluwaseyi, O’Vonte Mullings and Mo Omar went in the first round of the MLS SuperDraft on Tuesday.
Oluwaseyi, a forward from St. John’s University, was taken 17th overall by Minnesota United while Mullings, a forward from Florida Gulf Coast University, went 20th to the New York Red Bulls and Omar, a defensive midfielder from Notre Dame, was selected 23rd by the Colorado Rapids.
Expansion Charlotte FC, the league’s 28th team, used the first pick to take Maryland sophomore Ben Bender, the Big Ten Midfielder of the Year in 2021.
Toronto FC traded away its third overall pick on Monday.
CF Montreal, after trading down, took Utah Valley University winger Jojea Kwizera with the 15th overall pick. Vancouver then chose Saint Louis University forward Simon Becher with the 16th pick.
Kwizera, a native of the Democratic Republic of Congo who went to high school in Utah, played two seasons at USU Eastern in Price, Utah, before switching to Utah Valley. He had three goals and eight assists in 14 games last year.
Becher, a first team all-American and Atlantic 10 Conference Offensive Player of the Year, scored 21 goals and added 13 assists in 46 career games for Saint Louis University. He was the fourth member of the Billikens to go in the first round.
Oluwaseyi was the first Canadian taken with former Canadian international Mark Watson, Minnesota’s technical director, calling out his name in the virtual draft.
“He’s been a player we’ve targeted and known about for a while. He’s very gifted athletically and he’s got a ton of upside,” said Minnesota coach Adrian Heath.
The 21-year-old from Mississauga, Ont., has seen limited action since the 2019 season due to the pandemic and knee surgery. But in 2019 as a sophomore, Oluwaseyi became the first Red Storm player since 1996 to win Big East Offensive Player of the Year honours after scoring 11 goals and adding five assists. His 11 goals were the most by a St. John’s player since 2003.
The six-foot-two 170 pounder underwent surgery after dislocating his left kneecap last June while playing for Manhattan SC in USL League Two. He returned to action in the fall, but pulled the plug after two games to give the knee a little more time.
The Red Bulls traded to get Mullings, sending US$75,000 in general allocation money and a second-round pick (43rd overall) to Seattle to get the Toronto native.
Mullings, who led Florida Gulf Coast with seven goals last season, ranks second all-time in FGCU history with 28 goals and 63 points in 57 games.
Named Notre Dame’s co-captain last August, Omar played 69 games for the Fighting Irish, including 55 starts. He started 23 games last season, with four goals and one assist.
Prior to Notre Dame, the six-foot-three Toronto native played at Berkshire School in Massachusetts which also helped produce Toronto FC’s Jacob Shaffelburg and Ifunanyachi Achara. Omar also spent time with the Toronto FC academy, playing for Toronto FC III.
The first five picks of the virtual draft were all members of the Generation Adidas class – collegiate underclassmen signed by the league whose salaries will not count against their team’s salary cap budget.
Recent Canadian Generation Adidas players include Tajon Buchanan (taken ninth in the 2019 draft) and Richie Laryea (seventh, 2016). Both have now left their MLS clubs for Europe with Buchanan at Belgium’s Club Brugge and Laryea at England’s Nottingham Forest.
Bender is the 50th Maryland player taken in the history of the MLS SuperDraft – and the third to go first overall following Maurice Edu (taken by Toronto FC in 2007) and Leo Cullen (1998).
The first-team all-American had seven goals and five assists in 18 games last season for the Terrapins.
FC Cincinnati, which gave up a league-worst 74 goals last season, used the second pick on Indiana junior goalkeeper Roman Celentano. The six-foot-three Hoosier is the first player in Big Ten history to win the conference’s Goalkeeper of the Year award multiple times (2020-21 and 2021).
FC Dallas, with the third overall pick acquired from Toronto, took Saint Louis University freshman winger Isaiah Parker who was named to the Atlantic 10 All-Rookie team in 2021.
Toronto traded the pick Monday in a salary dump that sent veteran forward Dom Dwyer and the draft pick for $50,000 in general allocation money. Dallas promptly bought out Dwyer’s contract and waived him.
Canadian Pat Onstad, the new GM of the Houston Dynamo, took Duke sophomore forward Thor Ulfarsson with the fourth pick. The native of Iceland was the 2021 ACC Offensive Player of the Year with 15 goals.
Austin FC completed the top five by selecting Saint Louis University centre back Kipp Keller, the 2021 Atlantic 10 Conference Defensive Player of the Year.
CF Montreal traded down in a three-way deal with the New York Red Bulls and Chicago Fire.
The trade saw Montreal drop to No. 15 from No. 11 while gaining $100,000 in general allocation money from the Red Bulls. New York then sent the 11th pick and $100,000 in GAM to Chicago, using the Fire’s seventh overall pick to select six-foot-eight defender Matthew Nocita from the U.S. Naval Academy.
The three remaining Generation Adidas players went before the 20th pick: Stanford junior forward Ousseni Bouda (San Jose, eighth), Saint Louis University junior goalkeeper Patrick Schulte (Columbus, 12th) and University of the Pacific freshman defender Eric Centeno (Atlanta, 19th).
Toronto selected St. John’s goalkeeper Luka Gavran in the second round pick (31st overall). The 21-year-old from Hamilton, who stands between six foot five and six foot six, recorded 12 shutouts and posted an 0.57 goals-against average in 20 games last season.
Vancouver used the first of two second-round picks on Clemson midfielder Luis Felipe Fernandez-Salvador (44th overall). Two picks later, Orlando City took Marshall defender Nathan Dossantos, from Oakville, Ont.
The Whitecaps then used the 49th overall pick, obtained earlier in a deal with Nashville, to take Cal State-Northridge midfielder Giovanni Aguilar, a Big West first-team All-Conference selection.
Toronto used its third-round pick (59th overall) to take Canadian forward Reshaun Walkes from the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. A native of Brampton, Ont., Walkes had nine goals and sevens assists in 17 games last season.
In the third round, Vancouver took North Carolina Greensboro’s French forward Theo Collomb (72nd overall) and Marshall’s Brazilian midfielder Vitor Dias (85th overall). Collomb is coming off a 15-goal season.
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 11, 2022
The French league’s legal commission has ordered Paris Saint-Germain to pay Kylian Mbappé the 55 million euros ($61 million) in unpaid wages that he claims he’s entitled to, the league said Thursday.
The league confirmed the decision to The Associated Press without more details, a day after the France superstar rejected a mediation offer by the commission in his dispute with his former club.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Former football star Reggie Bush was at his Encino home Tuesday night when three male suspects attempted to break in, the Los Angeles Times reported Wednesday.
“Everyone is safe,” Bush said in a text message to the newspaper.
The Los Angeles Police Dept. told the Times that a resident of the house reported hearing a window break and broken glass was found outside. Police said nothing was stolen and that three male suspects dressed in black were seen leaving the scene.
Bush starred at Southern California and in the NFL. The former running back was reinstated as the 2005 Heisman Trophy winner this year. He forfeited it in 2010 after USC was hit with sanctions partly related to Bush’s dealings with two aspiring sports marketers.
VANCOUVER – A fresh face has been gracing the B.C. Lions‘ highlight reels in recent weeks.
Midway through his second CFL campaign, wide receiver Ayden Eberhardt has contributed touchdowns in two consecutive games.
The 26-year-old wide receiver from Loveland, Colo., was the lone B.C. player to reel in a passing major in his team’s 37-23 victory over the league-leading Montreal Alouettes last Friday. The week before, he notched his first CFL touchdown in the Lions’ win over the Ottawa Redblacks.
“It’s been awesome. It’s been really good,” Eberhardt said of his recent play. “At the end of the day, the biggest stat to me is if we win. But who doesn’t love scoring?”
He’ll look to add to the tally Friday when the Leos (7-6) host the Toronto Argonauts.
Eberhardt signed with B.C. as a free agent in January 2023 and spent much of last season on the practice squad before cementing a role on the roster this year.
The six-foot-two, 195-pound University of Wyoming product has earned more opportunities in his second season, said Lions’ head coach and co-general manager Rick Campbell.
“He’s a super hard worker and very smart. He understands, has high football IQ, as we call it,” Campbell said.
The fact that Eberhardt can play virtually every receiving position helps.
“He could literally go into a game and we could throw him into a spot and he’d know exactly what he’s doing,” the coach said. “That allows him to play fast and earn the quarterback’s trust. And you see him making plays.”
Eberhardt credited his teammates, coaches and the rest of the Lions’ staff with helping him prepare for any situation he might face. They’ve all spent time teaching him the ins and outs of the Canadian game, or go over the playbook and run routes after practice, he said.
“I’ve played every single position on our offence in a game in the last two years, which is kind of crazy. But I love playing football,” he said. “I want to play any position that the team needs me to play.”
While B.C.’s lineup is studded with stars like running back William Stanback — who has a CFL-high 938 rushing yards — and wide receiver Justin McInnis — who leads the league in both receiving yards (1,074) and receiving TDs (seven) — versatility has been a critical part of the team’s back-to-back wins.
“I think we’ve got a lot of talented guys who deserve to get the ball and make big plays when they have the ball in their hands. So it’s really my job to get them the ball as much as possible,” said quarterback Nathan Rourke.
“I think that makes it easy when you can lean on those guys and, really, we’re in a situation where anyone can have a big game. And I think that’s a good place to be.”
Even with a talented lineup, the Lions face a tough test against an eager Argos side.
Toronto lost its second straight game Saturday when it dropped a 41-27 decision to Ottawa.
“We’ll have our hands full,” Rourke said. “We’ll have to adjust on the fly to whatever their game plan is. And no doubt, they’ll be ready to go so we’ll have to be as well.”
The two sides have already met once this season when the Argos handed the Lions a 35-27 loss in Toronto back on June 9.
A win on Friday would vault B.C. to the top of the West Division standings, over the 7-6 Winnipeg Blue Bombers who are on a bye week.
Collecting that victory isn’t assured, though, even with Toronto coming in on a two-game skid, Campbell said.
“They’ve hit a little bit of a rut, but they’re a really good team,” he said. “They’re very athletic. And you can really see (quarterback Chad Kelly’s) got zip on the ball. When you see him in there, he can make all the throws. So we’re expecting their best shot.”
TORONTO ARGONAUTS (6-6) AT B.C. LIONS (7-6)
Friday, B.C. Place
HOME FIELD ADVANTAGE: The Lions boast a 4-1 home record this season, including a 38-12 victory over the Redblacks at Royal Athletic Park in Victoria, B.C., on Aug. 31. The Argos have struggled outside of BMO Field and hold a 1-5 away record. Trips to the West Coast haven’t been easy for Toronto in recent years — since 2003, the club is 4-14 in road games against B.C.
CENTURION: B.C. defensive back Garry Peters is set to appear in his 100th consecutive game. The 32-year-old from Conyers, Ga., is a two-time CFL all-star who has amassed 381 defensive tackles, 19 special teams tackles and 16 interceptions over seven seasons. “Just being on the field with the guys every day, running around, talking trash back and forth, it keeps me young,” Peters said. “It makes me feel good, and my body doesn’t really feel it. I’ve been blessed to be able to play 100 straight.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
