The Best Superdraft Picks by Draft Position (Complete)

There have been plenty of articles over the years about the best Superdraft steals in MLS history. I'm sure everyone knows by now that Jeff Parke was the last pick of the 2004 draft, or that Jonathan Bornstein was a 4th rounder. Steve Davis gave us his top ten a year ago at Soccernet in a nice piece. But I prefer the comprehensive approach. So I'm going to go through each draft position and single out the best picks ever. I'm including each year's "college" draft. So in other words, that would be the College Draft (1996-99), Superdraft (2000-08), and Supplemental draft (2005-08). Of course, this excludes the original draft to stock the league rosters, as well as the 1996-99 supplemental draft. There will be a few professional players in the Superdraft due to its nature (combining the two annual drafts they had before 2000). Also, I include the current supplemental draft because it is really rounds 5-8 of the Superdraft, but they can't call it that apparently due to the collective bargaining agreement. So for example, pick #1 of last year's supplemental draft will be considered the 57th position. I will be judging each pick mostly based on how good the player turned out, regardless of how the player did for the team who picked him. The full number of picks in each year's "college" draft are as follows: 1996 30 1997 30 1998 36 1999 36 2000 72 2001 72 2002 70 2003 60 2004 60 2005 96 2006 96 2007 104 2008 112 The last four years are of course half Superdraft and half supplemental. I'll be going through all 112 positions. You can see a list of all drafts and picks here. Since this will be a long post to write and research, I'll split it up into several days. On 9/19/2008, #83-112 were posted. On 9/20, #70-82 were posted. On 9/21, #60-69 were posted. On 9/25, #50-59 were posted. On 9/26, #42-49 were posted. On 10/1, #34-41 were posted. Picking this up again to finish it before the new draft. On 1/5/2009, #27-33 were posted. On 1/6, #16-26 were posted. On 1/7, #8-15 were posted. On 1/8, #1-7 were posted. Note: My "best pick" for each position is in bold. Position #1 1996 KC Matt McKeon 1997 COL Tahj Jakins 1998 MIA Leo Cullen 1999 DC Jason Moore 2000 NY Steve Shak 2001 SJ Chris Carrieri 2002 DAL Chris Gbandi 2003 DC Alecko Eskandarian 2004 DC Freddy Adu 2005 RSL Nikolas Besagno 2006 NY Marvell Wynne 2007 TOR Maurice Edu 2008 KC Chance Myers Best pick: Edu. It's been a pretty famous trend in MLS, how the #1 pick has rarely panned out. Adu may possess more talent than his similarly named USA teammate, but Edu looked better in MLS and was transferred for more money. Then of course you have to realize that you can't really give too much credit for the Adu pick due to how MLS forced Dallas to trade the pick to DC. They really should've just allocated him to DC outside of the draft. None of these guys would be considered one of the top 50 players in MLS history, though. And no, Brian McBride doesn't count, that was the inaugural draft. Position #2 1996 DC Eddie Pope 1997 TB Mike Fisher 1998 CHI Ritchie Kotschau 1999 MIA Jay Heaps 2000 KC Nick Garcia 2001 TB Ali Curtis 2002 NE Taylor Twellman 2003 NY Ricardo Clark 2004 CLB Chad Marshall 2005 CHV Brad Guzan 2006 RSL Mehdi Ballouchy 2007 CHI Bakary Soumare 2008 DAL Brek Shea Best pick: The talent is much better here than the top spot. Pope is an all time MLS legend, but I have to go with Twellman. Fisher is notable as the highest pick in league history never to play a game (he decided to become a doctor instead). Position #3 1996 DAL Brandon Pollard 1997 CLB Rob Jachym 1998 SJ Ben Parry 1999 SJ Richard Mulrooney 2000 COL Adin Brown 2001 DC Mark Lisi 2002 NY Brad Davis 2003 CHI Nate Jaqua 2004 LA Joseph Ngwenya 2005 CHI Chad Barrett 2006 CLB Jason Garey 2007 KC Michael Harrington 2008 RSL Tony Beltran Best pick: Davis has been a part of two championship squads in Houston, and has easily held a starting position for years. It was a toss up between him and Mulrooney. Position #4 1996 TB Adam Frye 1997 SJ Alberto Montoya 1998 KC Chris Klein 1999 DAL Lazo Alavanja 2000 CHI Carlos Bocanegra 2001 DC Ryan Nelsen 2002 DC Justin Mapp 2003 NY Mike Magee 2004 KC Matt Taylor 2005 SJ Danny O'Rourke 2006 KC Yura Movsisyan 2007 RSL Chris Seitz 2008 LA Sean Franklin Best pick: Bocanegra was pretty amazing in MLS and more high profile here in the states, but Nelsen has eclipsed him since both players moved to England. He's now captaining Blackburn and is far more important to the team that Boca ever was to Fulham. Position #5 1996 KC Chris Snitko 1997 NY Brian Kelly 1998 NE Johnny Torres 1999 KC Chris Brown 2000 DAL Aleksey Korol 2001 DAL Joselito Vaca 2002 CHI Kelly Gray 2003 DC David Stokes 2004 SJ Ryan Cochrane 2005 LA Ugo Ihemelu 2006 CHV Sacha Kljestan 2007 NE Wells Thompson 2008 COL Ciaran O'Brien Best pick: Kljestan easily blows the rest out of the water. Position #6 1996 NE Paul Keegan 1997 DAL Temoc Suarez 1998 LA Clint Mathis 1999 DAL Bobby Rhine 2000 LA Danny Califf 2001 TB Craig Demmin 2002 SJ Luchi Gonzalez 2003 SJ Todd Dunivant 2004 DAL Ramon Nuñez 2005 DAL Drew Moor 2006 DAL Dax McCarty 2007 COL Nico Colaluca 2008 CLB Andy Iro Best pick: Hmm... Despite his lows, Mathis was amazing for a couple of years and deserves the nod. Califf may deserve it instead. Last year he captained Aalborg to a Danish league title. Certainly one of the best moments in YA history. But he was never at a level like Mathis was before his big injury in 2001. Position #7 1996 LA Guillermo Jara 1997 KC Brian Johnson 1998 TB Josh Keller 1999 NY John Wolyniec 2000 COL Wes Hart 2001 DAL Ryan Suarez 2002 NY Mansour Ndiaye 2003 CLB Diego Walsh 2004 DAL Clarence Goodson 2005 COL Hunter Freeman 2006 DC Justin Moose 2007 CHV John Cunliffe 2008 CHI Patrick Nyarko Best pick: Most of these guys ended up with around 100 games played. Walsh is now considered a top player in the Australian A-League, which doesn't make that competition look too good. The always reliable, never outstanding Wolyniec is the choice here (at least until Nyarko improves). Well, maybe once he was amazing. He also was drafted in 2000 out of the USL ( see pick #44th). Position #8 1996 DAL Jeff Cassar 1997 TB Mike Mekelburg 1998 NY Mike Petke 1999 COL Andrew Mittendorf 2000 SJ Travis Mulraine 2001 DC Santino Quaranta 2002 CLB Kyle Martino 2003 LA Guillermo Gonzalez 2004 NE Clint Dempsey 2005 LA Troy Roberts 2006 HOU Patrick Ianni 2007 CHI Jerson Monteiro 2008 DAL Josh Lambo Best pick: "I'll cross you over like the great Clint Dempsey!" Guillermo is better known by his nickname, Memo. That's Spanish for...no, it's too easy. Petke is the most famous of 10 MLS players to come from Southern Connecticut State. Others include Brian Bliss and Bo Oshoniyi, and they also can boast Juan Carlos Osorio. Pretty good for a D2 school. Position #9 1996 COL Mike Gentile 1997 LA Steve Jolley 1998 CLB Jeff Cunningham 1999 CLB Matt Chulis 2000 KC John Wilson 2001 LA Brian Mullan 2002 DAL Carl Bussey 2003 NE Pat Noonan 2004 CHI Scott Buete 2005 NE Michael Parkhurst 2006 CLB Kei Kamara 2007 DAL Anthony Wallace 2008 TOR Julius James Best pick: Parkhurst instantly became an elite MLS player. As for Cunningham, Mullan, and Noonan...well, they easily would've been the top player in the 10th position (see below). Gentile was also picked 66th in 2000. Position #10 1996 CLB Mac Cozier 1997 DC Danny Care 1998 DAL Matt Jordan 1999 LA Tony Soto 2000 COL Alan Woods 2001 CLB Duncan Oughton 2002 CHI Billy Sleeth 2003 DAL Shavar Thomas 2004 SJ Steve Cronin 2005 CHI Jack Stewart 2006 CHI Calen Carr 2007 TOR Andrew Boyens 2008 TOR Pat Phelan Best pick: Boy, that's not a lot of standouts for a top ten pick. At least everyone here played in the league. There's three real choices here. Jordan was a four year starter for the Burn, and now is one of the men spearheading the Montreal Impact's run to the Champions League quarterfinals. He obviously could still play in MLS. However, he probably would still only be around an average starter. Oughton has been a good role player, but hasn't played much since his big injury a few years ago. Thomas has been a pretty decent defender for half a decade now, albeit one that is continually overshadowed by more famous partners (Steve Morrow, Jimmy Conrad, Claudio Suarez). Position #11 1996 NY Scott Lamphear 1997 COL Ross Paule 1998 COL Tyrone Marshall 1999 CHI Evan Whitfield 2000 LA Sasha Victorine 2001 LA Isaias Bardales 2002 DC Daouda Kanté 2003 DC Brian Carroll 2004 CHI Leonard Griffin 2005 KC Scott Sealy 2006 NE Leandro de Oliveira 2007 DC Bryan Arguez 2008 KC Roger Espinoza Best pick: Oliveira was the proof that Steve Nicol actually could have a bad draft. Alas, he went on to make an equally surprising pick the next season in Wells Thompson that worked out okay. Carroll has been a part of several great teams now, including two championship winners. But you can also say that about Marshall (2001 MIA, 2002 LA, 2005 LA). Position #12 1996 NY Miles Joseph 1997 NE Scott Coufal 1998 SJ Wade Barrett 1999 DAL Paul Broome 2000 DC Bobby Convey 2001 KC Jose Burciaga 2002 DAL Lee Morrison 2003 NY Eddie Gaven 2004 CLB Chris Wingert 2005 NY Tim Ward 2006 LA Nathan Sturgis 2007 NE Amaechi Igwe 2008 CHI Dominic Cervi Best pick: This group seems to have a common theme: Players who haven't quite lived up to their potential. Even Convey, despite his bright spots, has been somewhat of a disappointment everywhere he's played: MLS, England, internationals. Position #13 1996 SJ Derrick Brownell 1997 CLB John Smith 1998 MIA Pablo Mastroeni 1999 LA Seth George 2000 DC Stephen Armstrong 2001 NY Rodrigo Faria 2002 LA Hemir Neibles 2003 SJ Arturo Alvarez 2004 LA Josh Gardner 2005 RSL Jamie Watson 2006 CLB Jed Zayner 2007 HOU John Michael Hayden 2008 NE Rob Valentino Best pick: For pure drama, nothing beats Faria. From tanking the combine and winning Rookie of the Year, to late game heroics for San Jose and unannounced disappearances. For pure amusement/pluckiness/sadness, there's Watson. After playing out his GA contract, he recently signed for Dallas as a developmental player (salary: $17,700). At least he hasn't given up. But for pure talent, it's Mastroeni. Position #14 1996 TB Casey Sweeney 1997 SJ Jason Annichero 1998 DC Carey Talley 1999 KC John Wilson 2000 NE Rusty Pierce 2001 TB Devin Barclay 2002 NE Shalrie Joseph 2003 DC Doug Warren 2004 LA Ned Grabavoy 2005 CHV Christian Jimenez 2006 CHI Jeff Curtin 2007 DAL Abdus Ibrahim 2008 RSL David Horst Best pick: No disputes here, it's Joseph. Now let's talk about Barclay. This is a guy whose career may have been short, but it certainly was memorable to many people. Possibly because of all the teams he disappointed. This is a kid who was the 4th youngest player in league history when he debuted, and later that year gave the pitiful Mutiny a ray of hope with his play (including scoring the last goal in team history). Of course, it turned out that only the worst team in the history of MLS would give him regular playing time. A couple years later, he was traded for the pick that became Brian Ching. Now he's a backup kicker for the Ohio State (American) football team. Crazy. Curtin was a pick that confused fans even back then. Position #15 1996 KC Diego Gutierrez 1997 NY Will Kohler 1998 NY Joe Munoz 1999 SJ Wojtek Krakowiak 2000 KC Peter Byaruhanga 2001 DC Bryan Namoff 2002 DAL Jordan Stone 2003 DAL Jason Thompson 2004 COL Adolfo Gregorio 2005 LA Michael Enfield 2006 DAL Justin Moore 2007 CLB Brad Evans 2008 SJ Shea Salinas Best pick: It's between Gutierrez and Namoff. Diego has been a part of the league since the beginning, so I'll give it to him based on longevity. Position #16 1996 NE Imad Baba 1997 DAL Alan Branigan 1998 NY Billy Walsh 1999 NY Kevin Knight 2000 SJ Justin Evans 2001 LA Brian Ching 2002 COL Danny Jackson 2003 LA Scot Thompson 2004 COL Adrian Cann 2005 KC Ryan Pore 2006 KC Lance Watson 2007 LA Robbie Findley 2008 NY Eric Brunner Best pick: Pretty lacking in talent for such a high pick. The top two picks here (Ching and Findley) both were dumped by LA less than a year after being drafted, then have gone on to have success elsewhere. At least that hasn't happened with Thompson...yet. Position #17 1996 LA Greg Vanney 1997 KC Ike Udeh 1998 NE Jesse Van Saun 1999 DC Keith Beach 2000 MIA Martín Machón 2001 COL Stephen Herdsman 2002 CHI Craig Capano 2003 NY Tim Regan 2004 KC Will Hesmer 2005 SJ Kevin Goldthwaite 2006 NY Josmer Altidore 2007 COL Greg Dalby 2008 RSL Alex Nimo Best pick: Altidore is probably the most famous second round pick in league history, and the sky's the limit for his potential. Even if he didn't make a huge impact on the field, he was more than worth it due to the huge transfer fee. Vanney may have 300+ league games and longevity, and he may have played in France, but he can't compare based on pure talent. Position #18 1996 TB Steve Ralston 1997 TB PASS 1998 LA Daniel Hernandez 1999 CLB Jeff Bilyk 2000 SJ Joseph Ragusa 2001 MIA Ali Ngon 2002 DAL Matt Behncke 2003 CHI Damani Ralph 2004 NY Seth Stammler 2005 CHI Will John 2006 DAL Blake Wagner 2007 DAL Andrew Daniels 2008 NE Michael Videira Best pick: Ralston. No explanation necessary. Though I have to wonder why the Mutiny would pass on their pick a year after taking the 1996 rookie award winner at the same spot. That's the highest "PASS" in league history. Second highest is the Rapids at 29 in 1996. Ngon is better known as Ali Gerba, the Canadian international. Position #19 1996 COL Paul Grafer 1997 LA Shawn Boney 1998 TB Chris Houser 1999 MIA Jeremy Aldrich 2000 DC Eric Denton 2001 DAL Edward Johnson 2002 COL Jeff Stewart 2003 LA Arturo Torres 2004 CHI Matt Pickens 2005 DC Nick Van Sicklen 2006 KC Tyson Wahl 2007 NY Dane Richards 2008 DAL Eric Avila Best pick: Despite his flaws, EJ could tear up MLS defenses when he was on. He'll probably be doing that again sooner than we'd like to see. Every player here except for Boney played at least one competitive match for an MLS team. Position #20 1996 CLB Ricci Greenwood 1997 DC Tom Presthus 1998 KC Tom Hardy 1999 COL Tom Poltl 2000 COL Keyeno Thomas 2001 SJ Eddie Robinson 2002 CLB Jeff Matteo 2003 LA Ricky Lewis 2004 CHI Sumed Ibrahim 2005 CLB Marcus Storey 2006 CHI Brian Plotkin 2007 LA Josh Tudela 2008 CLB George Josten Best pick: Presthus started in two MLS Cups for DC, but Robinson has four championship rings for San Jose and Houston. Eddie was underrated for years, but now it seems that he' s finally considered an elite MLS defender. Position #21 1996 DC Jesse Marsch 1997 COL Mike Feniger 1998 CLB Andrew Gregor 1999 SJ Jamie Clark 2000 CLB Roland Aguilera 2001 NE Nick Downing 2002 NE Ian Fuller 2003 DAL David Comfort 2004 NY Zach Wells 2005 NE James Riley 2006 COL Jacob Peterson 2007 CHI Nate Norman 2008 LA Ely Allen Best pick: Marsch has been a solid player year in and year out for the past decade. We might see him on the sidelines after his playing days are over. Position #22 1996 NY Hamisi Amani-Dove 1997 NE Steve Klein 1998 DAL Hans Wittusen 1999 LA Sam Franklin 2000 DAL Antonio Martinez 2001 LA Robbie Russell 2002 LA Bryheem Hancock 2003 NE Dimelon Westfield 2004 LA Memo Arzate 2005 RSL Jay Nolly 2006 DAL Dominic Oduro 2007 DAL Ryan Guy 2008 CLB Ricardo Pierre-Louis Best pick: Russell had a nice career in Norway, winning a title and seeing Champions League action for Rosenborg before coming home to America. Martinez would be the runner up here. Position #23 1996 SJ Eddie Lewis 1997 CLB Todd DeNault 1998 COL Jason Boyce 1999 CHI Greg Sutton 2000 LA Peter Vagenas 2001 CHI Justin Evans 2002 CLB Jon Busch 2003 SJ Roger Levesque 2004 NE Jeremiah White 2005 CLB Domenic Mediate 2006 NE Willie Sims 2007 LA Ty Harden 2008 KC Yomby William Best pick: Busch and Vagenas have done pretty well for themselves, but Lewis is the obvious choice. The so-called "American Beckham" has played in the World Cup and the Premiership, and has generally impressed everywhere he's gone. Position #24 1996 TB Nate Daligcon 1997 SJ Chris McDonald 1998 CLB Henrik Nebrilius 1999 DAL Darren Warham 2000 SJ Adrian Narine 2001 KC Andrew Gregor 2002 DC Mike McGinty 2003 CHI Logan Pause 2004 DC Kevin Ara 2005 KC Christopher Sawyer 2006 LA Marc Burch 2007 DC Brad North 2008 DC Andrew Jacobson Best pick: Pause has been a starter for years now. Position #25 1996 KC Dion Sebwe 1997 NY Andrew Lewis 1998 DAL Matt Caution 1999 NE Leighton O'Brien 2000 MIA David Wright 2001 DAL Josue Mayard 2002 LA Gavin Glinton 2003 CHI Ryan Mack 2004 COL Kevin Taylor 2005 NY Chris Corcoran 2006 LA Kyle Veris 2007 NE Ryan Solle 2008 KC Jonathan Leathers Best pick: Lewis was the best of this bunch. He was a reserve defender for some very good trophy winning Fire teams, and later he went on to win a USL title with the Charleston Battery. Position #26 1996 NE Paulo Dos Santos 1997 NE J.T. Roberts 1998 LA Matt Reis 1999 KC Kevin Kalish 2000 COL Jeff Dimaria 2001 NY Kerwyn Jemmott 2002 CHI Steve Totten 2003 CHI Phil Swenda 2004 NY Olivier Occean 2005 CHV Aaron Lopez 2006 RSL Ryan Johnson 2007 HOU Corey Ashe 2008 CHI Peter Lowry Best pick: It's between two players, Reis and Occean. The Canadian Occean was signed away from the Metros during the La Manga tournament that they won that preseason, and since then he's been in the top ten goalscorers in Norway for four out of the last five seasons. He was also transferred at one point for a million dollars. Reis has turned into one of the best keepers in MLS, seemingly almost a lock to be a finalist for GK of the year every season. Not having seen much of Occean, I'm going to go with Reis. Imagine if he had been drafted by a team without another stud keeper (see three picks down). Position #27 1996 LA Ante Razov 1997 KC Jake Joy 1998 SJ Caleb Porter 1999 SJ Todd Duncan 2000 DC Sergio Salas 2001 CLB Edson Buddle 2002 LA Alejandro Moreno 2003 COL Jason Cole 2004 SJ Mike Wilson 2005 DAL Winston Marshall 2006 CLB Brandon Moss 2007 TOR Richard Asante 2008 NE Joe Germanese Best pick: Welcome to the land of great goalscorers. Here you have three of the top goalscorers in league history: Razov (2nd), Buddle (14th), and Moreno (36th). While Moreno is not a pure goalscorer and has won several MLS Cups, Razov has just been too impressive to deny. He's compiled seven seasons with 10+ goals, a feat only equaled this past year by Jaime Moreno. Position #28 1996 DAL Brandon Cavitt 1997 TB Musa Shannon 1998 NY Cesidio Colasante 1999 DC David Hayes 2000 SJ Jon Conway 2001 DC Craig Ziadie 2002 COL Bryn Ritchie 2003 COL Alex Blake 2004 CHI Khari Stephenson 2005 DAL Chris Gomez 2006 KC Matt Groenwald 2007 DAL Scott Jones 2008 TOR Brian Edwards Best pick: Two trivia questions I want to ask here: 1) Which one of these players has played the most MLS games? 2) Which one of these players was transferred for a $1 million fee? Let's stat with the first one. Conway recently has become a starter in goal after years of being a solid backup. But would you believe that Ziadie has played more MLS games than him or any other #28 pick? I didn't remember that he actually retired after leaving MLS, and also that he tried to make the RSL roster a year ago. As for the second one, that would be Stephenson. He was bought by AIK of Sweden in 2007. This is the guy who famously became a starter in the 2004 playoffs after barely playing during the regular season. He then went back to being a bench warmer the next season, before being waived to make room for Antti Sumiala. Great move Bob Gansler. He has struggled with injuries, and he's now playing in the Norwegian top flight as a teammate of Adin Brown. Shannon is another notable player. He had a few shining moments in MLS, once scoring 12 goals in a season for Tampa Bay. Overall, I think Stephenson's European adventure is a bit more impressive than any of the others. Position #29 1996 COL PASS 1997 LA Kevin Hartman 1998 NE Kevin Coye 1999 NY Jim Manganello 2000 LA Jose Retiz 2001 CHI Jim Curtin 2002 COL Daniel Alvarez 2003 NE Kyle Singer 2004 DAL Ty Maurin 2005 CHI Chris Rolfe 2006 KC Stephen Shirley 2007 KC Edson Elcock 2008 LA Julian Valentin Best pick: Curtin and Rolfe were very good picks by Chicago. Hartman though, is one of the best goalkeepers in league history and is 5th all time in games played. He should rise to 2nd sometime next year. Position #30 1996 CLB Todd Miller 1997 DC Brandon Leib 1998 LA Joe Franchino 1999 DAL Andrew Parrish 2000 KC Kerry Zavagnin 2001 CLB Kevin Adams 2002 NY Sam Forko 2003 NY Tim Glowienka 2004 SJ Lindon Pecorelli 2005 SJ Victor Arbelaez 2006 DAL Ray Burse 2007 RSL Steven Curfman 2008 TOR Mike Zaher Best pick: From this point and up, we have the full complement of 13 years worth for each number. Two really good picks here, Franchino and Zavagnin. The latter was actually a member of the Metrostars from 1997-98. Apparently he didn't become a good player until he went down to the USL for a year. He then emerged to become a key player for the defensive stallions that were the 2000 Wizards. He's also been capped for the USA, which is something Franchino can also boast. However, Franchino was only capped once and was never considered an elite player in the league like Zavagnin was. Certainly his selection has to be one of the shrewdest moments in Wizards history. Position #31 1998 TB Bill May 1999 NY Eric Kvello 2000 NE Shaker Asad 2001 SJ Craig Waibel 2002 DC Mohammed Fahim 2003 DC Hayden Woodworth 2004 DAL David Wagenfuhr 2005 SJ Orlando Ramirez 2006 DC Rod Dyachenko 2007 COL Omar Cummings 2008 CLB Ryan Miller Best pick: A couple useful players here. Waibel has had the best career of any of them, having be en a part of four championship teams. Cummings has been one of the better picks in the 2007 draft, but he turned 25 as a rookie and the question is, how much better will he really get? Position #32 1998 KC Mario Sanchez 1999 COL Bobby Meyer 2000 CHI Yuri Lavrinenko 2001 COL Ryan Lee 2002 KC O'neil Peart 2003 NY Kenny Arena 2004 CLB Jamal Sutton 2005 SJ C.J. Klaas 2006 HOU Andre Schmid 2007 DC Jay Needham 2008 NY Luke Sassano Best pick: This is not a group of winners. Arena has played the most MLS games, but the less said about him the better. Yuri and Sutton also had brief cameos. But Sassano has already done more than all of them combined, starting in the recent MLS Cup. As for the others, uh...this would be interesting, but I think it's a different O'neil Peart. Position #33 1998 CLB Nick Theslof 1999 CLB Randy Merkel 2000 CLB Brian Winters 2001 CHI Henry Ring 2002 SJ Chris Roner 2003 KC Taylor Graham 2004 LA David McGill 2005 NE Tony Lochhead 2006 CLB Dayton O'Brien 2007 NY Sinisa Ubiparipovic 2008 DC Ryan Cordeiro Best pick: Lochhead has found a home in the Australian A-League after failing to secure a starting spot with New England, and is apparently doing well. Graham continues to be the MLS equivalent of a quadruple-A player; he tears it up in the second division but has failed twice in the big leagues. It looks like he might a third shot with Seattle. Roner had a promising career cut short by injury. Ring may be the worst player ever to win a team MVP award (during Chicago's poor 2004 season). Like Sassano, Ubiparipovic has seen an increased role with NY this season, though he's still yet to become a full time starter. That should happen in 2009. I expect Sinisa could easily be considered the best pick a year from now, but I'll give it to Lochhead as of now. He's apparently now one of the better players at his position in the A-League and has become part of the first XI for New Zealand. Position #34 1998 TB R.T. Moore 1999 LA PASS 2000 DAL Steve Bernal 2001 TB Alberto Munoz 2002 COL Matt Moses 2003 DAL Mike Tranchilla 2004 DC Josh Gros 2005 LA Quavas Kirk 2006 CHI Jordan Russolillo 2007 CHI Mike Banner 2008 LA Matt Allen Best pick: Gros is the obvious standout, starting for some great DC United teams. Hopefully we'll see him play again. Position #35 1998 COL P.J. Brown 1999 DAL Aaron Lewis 2000 MIA Nick Rimando 2001 KC Ben Stafford 2002 CLB John Barry Nusum 2003 CHI Rob Friend 2004 COL Kevin Richards 2005 CHI Gonzalo Segares 2006 NE Kyle Brown 2007 COL Nick LaBrocca 2008 TOR Joseph Lapira Best pick: A two man race. Segares is a great left back and one of the top defenders in the league. But he has only just started to fulfill his potential, whereas Rimando has been one of the league's better keepers for a while now. Every time people count him out, he comes back with another strong season. Due to the longevity of his career and what he's accomplished, he's my choice. Position #36 1998 NE Tom McLaughlin 1999 CHI Stefani Miglioranzi 2000 NE Fabio Zuniga 2001 COL Eric Lukin 2002 CHI Dipsy Selolwane 2003 SJ Josh Saunders 2004 NY Michael Bradley 2005 CHI Thabiso Khumalo 2006 LA Chris Dunsheath 2007 COL Justin Hughes 2008 COL Adrian Chevannes Best pick: Bradley is now a starter for the US national team. Position #37 2000 NY Daniel Alvarez 2001 SJ Fabio Eidelwein 2002 KC Chris Brunt 2003 CLB Michael Ritch 2004 KC Jay Alberts 2005 RSL Luke Kreamalmeyer 2006 CHV Jonathan Bornstein 2007 DC Ricky Schramm 2008 RSL Brennan Tennelle Best pick: Bornstein. The lowest drafted of any of the ROTY winners. Position #38 2000 NE Adam Eyre 2001 MIA Greg Simmonds 2002 LA Cory Gibbs 2003 COL Matt Crawford 2004 CHI Denny Clanton 2005 CHV Esteban Arias 2006 CLB Duke Hashimoto 2007 NE Bryan Byrne 2008 CHI Dwight Barnett Best pick: Who jumps out at you here? Gibbs, right? I can't give the Galaxy credit for this pick, though. This was the second time he was drafted, and they only did it to get his MLS rights (he was already playing in Germany). See pick #40. Man, if it wasn't for Barnett, we could say every single pick here played for an MLS team. Eyre is married to USWNT 2008 gold medalist Aly Wagner. As for the best pick, Crawford had the longest and best MLS career of the rest, so it's him. Probably would still be going strong if not for a series of injuries. He's still competing, though. Position #39 2000 NE Bo Oshoniyi 2001 CLB McKinley Tennyson 2002 SJ Kevin Sakuda 2003 SJ Jamil Walker 2004 CHI Phil Hucles 2005 CHI Karim Deltz 2006 DC Jeff Carroll 2007 HOU Mike Sambursky 2008 KC Matt Marquess Best pick: Oshoniyi is another player, like Yari Allnut below, who played in MLS early on, then dropped a level before being drafted again. He finally got to be a full time starter with KC by the end of 2004 and for the next two seasons, but was one of the league's worst starters. I wonder how MLS Cup 2004 would've turned out with Tony Meola in the net? Walker was used almost exclusively as a late game sub, but he had his shining moment starting in the 2003 MLS Cup where he played very well and set up the second goal for the Quakes. This is close, but I think Walker was a more useful player. Position #40 2000 SJ Andrew Hemmerich 2001 MIA Cory Gibbs 2002 DC Dennis Ludwig 2003 LA Hamid Mehreioskouei 2004 SJ Marin Pusek 2005 DAL Julian Nash 2006 KC Eric Kronberg 2007 TOR Jeffrey Gonsalves 2008 CHI Stephen King Best pick: Gibbs, easily. This pick is different from the above one because this was the normal pick after college, and there was a possibility of him signing. Position #41 2000 DC Michael Burke 2001 COL Ryan Trout 2002 NE Derek Potteiger 2003 DC John Swann 2004 CLB Adom Crew 2005 SJ Antou Jallow 2006 NY Blake Camp 2007 CLB Aaron Chandler 2008 NE Matt Britner Best pick: Burke and Camp played a handful of MLS games each, but both are now with the USL. Burke's had a long career with Richmond that continues to this day, following them from the A-League/USL-1 to the USL-2. Camp is now with Atlanta. Potteiger was a part of Cleveland's recent USL-2 championship. Interestingly, both Burke and Trout were at the USMNT training camp as replacement players during the labor dispute. The top pick has be Burke who has won numerous honors with the Kickers. Position #42 2000 TB Amos Magee 2001 NE Yari Allnutt 2002 DC Bob Brennan 2003 NY Jacob LeBlanc 2004 CLB Luke Vercollone 2005 SJ James Twellman 2006 DAL Michael Dello-Russo 2007 KC Kurt Morsink 2008 HOU Geoff Cameron Best pick: Allnutt was drafted five years after playing one game for the Wizards in 1996! Just like Oshoniyi. Anyway, this is interesting because the last three guys are still full of potential. Morsink has been the biggest contributor so far. Position #43 2000 COL Lance Key 2001 DAL Adam Zapala 2002 KC Dominic DaPra 2003 KC Jack Jewsbury 2004 LA Jason Perry 2005 COL Guy Melamed 2006 DAL Mike Ambersley 2007 DAL Tommy Krizanovic 2008 CHV Keith Savage Best pick: Jewsbury. Still going strong with the Wizards. Position #44 2000 CHI John Wolyniec 2001 TB Adam Throop 2002 DAL Adauto Neto 2003 CHI Chad Dombrowski 2004 DC Kevin Hudson 2005 CLB Knox Cameron 2006 HOU Mike Chabala 2007 LA Tally Hall 2008 NY David Roth Best pick: This is an interesting pick to judge because Wolyniec was also selected in the 1999 draft (see pick #7). I suppose I should take into account everything that happened since the pick. Well, no matter how you judge it, Wolyniec has had the best career here. Always room on the roster for a cheap guy who can score a few goals. He has struggled as of late, so who knows if he'll be back next year. Meanwhile, Hall is in Denmark and Chabala is a two-time MLS champion without ever playing a league game. Can he get the triple crown? Seems like that would be an unbreakable record. He was even on the bench for the final last year. Position #45 2000 CLB Christof Lindenmayer 2001 LA Brent Rahim 2002 NE Marshall Leonard 2003 DAL Michael Mariscalco 2004 COL Gary Sullivan 2005 COL Amir Lowery 2006 COL Josh Brown 2007 LA Bobby Burling 2008 DAL Jamil Roberts Best pick: Leonard had a nice run with the Revolution, starting in 2004 and 2005 (though he was one of their worst starters). He also might've set an MLS record last year for most times appearing on the bench without getting into an game. He did play twice in the Open Cup, however. Position #46 2000 DAL Brian Piesner 2001 NY Martin Klinger 2002 CHI Mike Nugent 2003 SJ Johanes Maliza 2004 NY Johnny David 2005 LA Mubarike Chisoni 2006 CHI Jeremy Ashe 2007 CHV Cameron Dunn 2008 LA Brandon McDonald Best pick: Not a lot to choose from. Metrofanatic has the scoop on former Metros Piesner, Klinger, and Nugent. Chisoni was an occasional sub on the Galaxy's 2005 MLS and Open Cup double winners, though he didn't play a game in either tournament. I'll remember him most for his post championship celebrations, when he rode on a Zamboni at a LA Kings game with the trophy (pic). Dunn was a part of Hollywood United's team this year. I'll take Mcdonald, who's seen a lot of time for a rookie; he's already played more in MLS than anyone else here. Position #47 2000 LA Josh Henderson 2001 NE Fernando Ortiz Solis 2002 CLB Chris Leitch 2003 CLB Guy Abrahamson 2004 KC Justin Detter 2005 KC John Minagawa-Webster 2006 DC Kenny Bertz 2007 CHI Simon Omekanda 2008 COL Brian Grazier Best pick: Leitch is one of those guys that nobody is ever really impressed by, but he continues to stick around. Not only that, but he's now in the top ten for the most starts with NY all time. Position #48 2000 NY Orlando Perez 2001 KC Pablo Webster 2002 LA Noah Delgado 2003 COL Casey Schmidt 2004 KC Ryan Barber 2005 DC Tim Merritt 2006 LA Aaron King 2007 NE Adam Cristman 2008 CLB Steven Lenhart Best pick: As a left-footed fullback, Perez had an 8 year MLS career. He was a starter on the 2003 Chicago team that won the Supporters' Shield. But he was never one of the best players on any team he was with. Cristman was a rookie of the year finalist and is continuing to play well this year. Position #49 2000 NY Colby Jackson 2001 SJ Corey Woolfolk 2002 SJ Erik Ozimek 2003 NY Marco Velez 2004 CHI Ian Pilarski 2005 RSL Steven Rhyne 2006 CHV Drew Helm 2007 CLB Ben Hunter 2008 COL Scott Campbell Best pick: Velez is the easy pick, though it took him a while to make it to MLS. Position #50 2000 KC Tom Zawislan 2001 DC Caleb Norkus 2002 KC Davy Arnaud 2003 LA Jimmy Frazelle 2004 SJ Tighe Dombrowski 2005 CHV Javier Barragan 2006 RSL Jeff Rowland 2007 DC Luis Robles 2008 DAL Ben Nason Best pick: Arnaud in MLS - 161 games and 30 goals. The others combined: 4 and 0. Position #51 2000 TB Mark Schulte 2001 CLB Scott Powers 2002 CLB Christof Lindenmayer 2003 DC Michael Behonick 2004 CHI Ryan McGowan 2005 CHI Justin Cook 2006 CLB Andy Gruenebaum 2007 NE Kyle Helton 2008 LA Matt Hatzke Best pick: Schulte was part of a horrible Crew team in 2005 and is now the two-time USL-2 defender of the year. That tells you a little about the standard there. Hatzke is with SJ now and doesn't play. He's not be confused with his brother Nick who doesn't play for Houston. Gruenebaum is the backup keeper for Columbus. Despite the 2005 lack of success, I'm still gonna pick Schulte. He's played for good teams in Iceland and Uruguay, and actually had some success. The others have barely played. Position #52 2000 SJ Ian Russell 2001 MIA Teofilo Cubillas Jr. 2002 NE Pass 2003 DAL Andy Rosenband 2004 CLB Matthew Haefner 2005 DAL Kevin Wilson 2006 KC Anthony Noriega 2007 HOU Eric Ebert 2008 DC Tony Schmitz Best pick: Easily Russell. He was an important player for the Earthquakes during their two championships. One of the better professional players to be drafted (he was in the A-League for two years previously). Position #53 2000 MIA Pablo Gentile 2001 NE Eric Pogue 2002 DC Pass 2003 KC Kevin Friedland 2004 LA Alan Gordon 2005 SJ Brett Rodriguez 2006 NY Joe Vide 2007 TOR Jarrod Smith 2008 KC Rauwshan McKenzie Best pick: Three guys to debate here. First, let's compare the two who play the same position, Gordon and Smith. The latter may be a New Zealand international, but he hasn't scored goals like the former has. So Gordon versus Vide, who wins? I'll take Gordon. His goal tally looks better when you include all competitions, and I think he's a bit better than people give him credit for. Position #54 2000 TB Brian Waltrip 2001 NE Shaun Tsakiris 2002 DAL Jeremy Piette 2003 CHI Ryan Futagaki 2004 DAL Edwin Miranda 2005 NY Jason Hernandez 2006 DAL Christopher Joyce 2007 CHV Desmond Brooks 2008 CHI Austin Washington Best pick: Hernandez is a starter for San Jose, the only 54 to claim such a role in MLS. The Salvadorian Miranda was just in the news for scoring in the CONCACAF Champions League for Puerto Rico. Position #55 2000 COL Peter Scavo 2001 DAL Gary DePalma 2002 DAL Ricardo Villar 2003 LA Joe Barton 2004 COL John Pulido 2005 COL Sasha Gotsmanov 2006 HOU Mpho Moloi 2007 KC Aaron Hohlbein 2008 NE Spencer Wadsworth Best pick: Hohlbein is the only one to have any kind of impact in MLS. Position #56 2000 CHI Alejandro Rincon 2001 TB Mersim Beskovic 2002 NY Mario Gomez 2003 SJ Frank Sanfilipo 2004 NE Felix Brillant 2005 CLB Matt Oliver 2006 DAL Miguel Guante 2007 COL John DiRaimondo 2008 HOU Jeremy Barlow Best pick: Lot of USL-1 level guys here. DiRaimondo has contributed for the Rapids in his second season after being part of the league's top reserve team last year. Position #57 2000 CLB Dominic Schell 2001 LA Alex Bengard 2002 KC Brian Lavin 2003 NE PASS 2004 LA Chris Aloisi 2005 CLB Bill Gaudette 2006 COL Jordan Harvey 2007 LA Steve Purdy 2008 SJ Adam Smarte Best pick: A bunch of benchwarmers is the reaction that comes to mind. Most of the players got a bit of playing time without much success, though Aloisi was on the bench for the 2006 MLS Cup. Harvey and Smarte are still in the league, but Gaudette is my pick due to his recent heroics in goal for the Puerto Rico Islanders. It was just a year ago that he was dropped as the Crew's backup for Gruenebaum, one of the better picks at 51. Good move? Position #58 2000 DAL Seth Marks 2001 NY O'neil Peart 2002 NE Pass 2003 CLB Jake Traeger 2004 NE Andy Dorman 2005 LA Benjamin Benditson 2006 CHI Floyd Franks 2007 NY Randi Patterson 2008 TOR Xavier Balc Best pick: Dorman was a big part of NE's success in recent times. He has since become a hit in Scotland after signing with St. Mirren as a free agent. There was even talk about a possible move to the Premiership. He's a no-brainer pick, but one to watch may be Patterson. He didn't play a minute for NY, but this year is one of the leading goalscorers in the USL-1. If he keeps that up, he could get another shot. Position #59 2000 LA Thomas Serna 2001 KC Narciso Fernandes 2002 LA Lawrence Smalls 2003 DC PASS 2004 CHI Tony McManus 2005 KC Edwin Ruiz 2006 NE Danny Wynn 2007 CHI Nick Noble 2008 COL Kevin Forrest Best pick: Geez, a grand total of 3 MLS games here. Noble still has a chance at becoming a good player. He's the #2 keeper for the Fire, albeit because Matt Pickens left for Europe. Yet to make his league debut, though he's played in the Open Cup. Forrest is now playing for the Sounders, so maybe he could be in MLS next year. Position #60 2000 DC Micah Cooks 2001 TB Hector Navarte 2002 SJ Aaron Biddle 2003 KC Byron Carmichael 2004 NY Jeff Parke 2005 DC Matt Nickell 2006 LA Trevor McEachron 2007 CHI Mark Totten 2008 LA Michael Gavin Best pick: Parke famously was the final pick in 2004, and now wears the number 60 to honor his status as a former "Mr. Irrelevant." And of those players in MLS draft history, he's really the only one to have any success. I suppose Stefani Miglioranzi could be considered a success, but he didn't make his MLS debut until 7 years after being drafted so that really doesn't count. Position #61 2000 NY Jake Dancy 2001 SJ Jorge Martinez 2002 COL Matt Harrell 2005 RSL Michael Lookingland 2006 CHV Darren Spicer 2007 DAL Sandi Gbandi 2008 COL Cesar Zambrano Best pick: Dancy was picked after being cut by KC. None of these goals has done anything in MLS, so at the moment I'll go with Spicer who is a starter with Charleston in the USL-1. Zambrano is awaiting his chance with the Rapids, if he ever does anything this spot is his for the taking. Position #62 2000 KC Casey Sweeney 2001 DC T.J. Hannig 2002 NE Pass 2005 CHV Helmis Matute 2006 RSL Willis Forko 2007 LA Gordon Kljestan 2008 CLB Billy Chiles Best pick: Forko was a key member of RSL for two seasons. He's now with a Norwegian team. That's better than Matute, who played in Iceland. The only one currently on an MLS roster is Sacha's brother, signed this year with NY. Can he ever hope to achieve anything close to what his sibling has done? Position #63 2000 NE Tom Hardy 2001 CLB Phil Karn 2002 DC Pass 2005 CHI David Mahoney 2006 CLB David Chun 2007 DC Shawn Crowe 2008 NY Danleigh Borman Best pick: Borman, he of the underwhelming goal celebrations, has shown promise for the Red Bulls and looks to be a supplemental steal. Position #64 2000 TB Ubusuku Abukusumo 2001 MIA Daouda Kante 2002 KC Dane Erickson 2005 DAL Abe Thompson 2006 KC Ryan McMahen 2007 NE Phil Marfuggi 2008 NE Kheli Dube Best pick: Dube was on his way to becoming a rookie of the year finalist before his injury. Still, I have to pick Thompson due to his 14 career league goals (and more in other competitions). He may not be the most skilled player, but he finds a way to get on the scoresheet. I remember back on draft day 2005 how some fans were shocked to see the Superdraft come and go without his name being called. Position #65 2000 TB Ernest Inneh 2001 COL John Carroll 2002 KC Mark Spears 2005 NE Jamie Holmes 2006 NY Peter Dzubay 2007 HOU Nick Hatzke 2008 CHV Kraig Chiles Best pick: Holmes is a guy who had a great preseason but didn't have much of an MLS career (like Casey Schmidt). Now he's in the USL-2. Hatzke and Chiles are both still in MLS; the latter has seen more minutes due to the massive amount of injuries Chivas has had. Position #66 2000 TB Mike Gentile 2001 NE Michael Feller 2002 NY Jeff Moore 2005 SJ Robby Fulton 2006 DAL Brad Napper 2007 TOR Darryl Roberts 2008 DC Brandon Owens Best pick: Roberts chose not to sign, and is now making a successful career in Europe. Position #67 2000 COL Rich Cullen 2001 DAL Miguel Saavedra 2002 CLB Scott Leber 2005 LA Drew McAthy 2006 DC Andy Metcalf 2007 CLB Ryan Junge 2008 KC Pat Healy Best pick: Junge has seen some time for the Crew this season. How about Saavreda, who actually was a Project-40 (now Generation Adidas) player? That's really incredible to see such a player barely get drafted. Position #68 2000 CHI Kevin Jackson 2001 CHI Danny Risch 2002 NY Leo Krupnik 2005 CLB Eric Vasquez 2006 HOU Hector Guzman 2007 KC Michael Todd 2008 CHI Kai Kasiguran Best pick: Krupnik has been playing in Israel for the last couple years, after never playing a game for the Metros. Position #69 2000 CLB PASS 2001 LA Mike Potempa 2002 LA Ishmael Mintah 2005 NE Ryan Latham 2006 COL Liam Girrard 2007 RSL Haddon Kirk 2008 NE Chris Tierney Best pick: Latham has to be one of the least memorable players to ever play in an MLS Cup. He was cut during his second year. Another Rev, Tierney, is seeing time this year and has already played more games than Latham did, including starting the Superliga final. Position #70 2000 DAL Angel Rivillo 2001 NY Russell Payne 2002 SJ Lars Lyssand 2005 LA Matt Kovar 2006 CHI Dasan Robinson 2007 LA Kevin Long 2008 HOU Johnny Alcaraz Best pick: Robinson is in his third year with the Fire, although he's not played a big role this season. That may change if Brandon Prideaux is lost in the expansion draft to Seattle. Meanwhile, the less said about Payne's MLS career, the better. Position #71 2000 LA Ali John Utush 2001 DAL Roberto Navarro 2005 DAL Aaron Pitchkolan 2006 NE John Queeley 2007 NY Sal Caccavale 2008 SJ Tim Bohnenkamp Best pick: Caccavale should go down in history as one of the few MLS players to score in his only appearance. That's the only notable thing about every selection except FCD's Pitchkolan, who has filled in at both DM and CB. He's a solid MLS player who can play multiple positions. Position #72 2000 DC PASS 2001 KC Matthew Cross 2005 DAL Drew Cavanagh 2006 LA Daniel Paladini 2007 CHV Erasmo Solorzano 2008 TOR PASS Best pick: Paladini has played a few games with Chivas this year due to injuries. Position #73 2005 RSL Noah Palmer 2006 CHV Lawson Vaughn 2007 CHI Osei Telesford 2008 RSL Tino Nuñez Best pick: All four players have MLS experience. Palmer was a third stringer for RSL until he became an emergency stopgap "solution" for the Crew in 2006. Nunez is an attacking option off the bench in his rookie year. Telesford only was with the Fire briefly and didn't impress, but since moving to the Puerto Rico Islanders he's become a regular for his national team. Doesn't seem to be one of their better players, however. Vaughn was a regular for last year's stellar Chivas team. He's had the most success in MLS. Position #74 2005 CHV Mike Munoz 2006 RSL Chase Harrison 2007 LA Zach Kirby 2008 LA Charles Alamo Best pick: Munoz, who is back in MLS after a stint in the USL. Position #75 2005 CHI Chris Karcz 2006 CLB Ivan Becerra 2007 CLB Tonci Skroce 2008 COL Mike Graczyk Best pick: Let's see. Graczyk is in MLS now, but only as a pool keeper. Becerra started one Open Cup match for the Crew and scored. Karcz, whom Ives wrote about last year, signed with NY during 2007 but never played. He's now in the PDL. Can't find anything on the other guy. Let's give it to Graczyk, who's appeared on the bench for at least 3 MLS teams this season (COL, DAL, LA). Position #76 2005 DAL Chris Schwarze 2006 KC Corey Farabi 2007 CHV Raul Batista 2008 CLB Cory Elenio Best pick: Elenio just signed with the Crew this summer and made his debut. He's the only one to play in MLS. Although, Schwarze has played in the USL the past couple years. Position #77 2005 SJ Noah Merl 2006 NY Brian Cvilikas 2007 NE Gary Flood 2008 NY Michael Palacio Best pick: Flood has filled in for the Revs when necessary. Unfortunately for him, he plays a position (defensive midfield) where they are stacked. Position #78 2005 NY Patrick Hannigan 2006 DAL Sean Babcock 2007 LA Taylor Canel 2008 DAL Yannick Reyering Best pick: Yes, Reyering is now a college football kicker. Will he stick with that or tryout with Dallas next year? Until then, the pick is Hannigan, who was Miami FC's starting keeper in 2007. Position #79 2005 COL Eugene Sepuya 2006 NY Brian Devlin 2007 TOR Hunter West 2008 CHV Javier Ayala-Hill Best pick: Ok, I did not know that Sepuya (or Ssepuuya, apparently) is playing in Europe for the third best team in Serbia. Really? He's also scored a couple goals for Uganda in WCQ's. Position #80 2005 CLB Ryan Kelly 2006 HOU Tony Donatelli 2007 RSL Jared Kent 2008 DC Dan Stratford Best pick: Donatelli for now, who scored a goal as Vancouver won the USL title in 2006. I think that beats a handful of MLS games. Let's see what happens to Stratford after being waived. Position #81 2005 NE Easton Wilson 2006 COL Keith Cauldwell 2007 KC Chris Konopka 2008 KC Vicente Arze Best pick: Konopka was the Wizards' third keeper last year and is now in Ireland as the backup for the league leaders, Bohemians. Also, Arze has played almost every game for Vancouver, who are second in their league. Appears to be used mostly as a substitute. Wilson was with the Revs for 2005 and is now in the USL-2. Close battle, but I'll say Arze since he's actually playing games. I'm not convinced that the top team in Ireland is better than the Whitecaps (see the Russell Payne link above). Position #82 2005 LA Ryan Shaw 2006 CHI Ezra Prendergast 2007 KC Eric Frimpong 2008 CHI Adrian Bumbut Best pick: None made an MLS roster. Shaw was in the PDL as of last year. Bumbut, whose chances were likely hurt by his international status, just finished his first season as a starter for Richmond in the USL-2. He's the pick, since that's the best thing I can find about these four. Prendergast is Jamaican, I've always assumed that he's somehow related to the notorious official. How many Prendergasts are over there? Let's not even talk about Frimpong. Position #83 2005 KC Doug Lascody 2006 NE Adam Williamson 2007 CHV Anthony Hamilton 2008 NE Kyle Altman Best pick: Hamilton was tied for the MLS reserve division golden boot in 2007, though he's barely played so far with Chivas. Position #84 2005 DC Andrew Terris 2006 LA Armando Melendez 2007 KC A.J. Godbolt 2008 HOU Craig Thompson Best pick: Thompson is seeing action after being traded to DC. Position #85 2005 RSL Cameron Knowles 2006 HOU Josh Fender 2007 CHV Lyle Martin 2008 SJ Greg Curry Best pick: Knowles, who is the captain for Portland in the USL-1 and was just voted the team's best player of 2008 by the supporters. Martin also seems to be doing pretty good for Vancouver as a right back. Position #86 2005 CHV Dan Kennedy 2006 COL Daniel Wasson 2007 CHI Asmir Pervan 2008 TOR PASS Best pick: It's between two players, both of whom have gone abroad in their short careers. Kennedy played a year in Chile, while Wasson is now in the 2-Bundlesiga (though he apparently is with the second team). I have to go with Kennedy, who has succeeded everywhere he's been and is young for a keeper. He's got his shot right now to claim the starting role. Position #87 2005 CHI Hollis Ryan Donaldson 2006 DAL Peter Louis 2007 COL Kosuke Kimura 2008 RSL Kevin Reiman Best pick: Kimura has played a lot this season for the Rapids. Position #88 2005 DAL Sammy Tamporello 2006 KC Chris Hamburger 2007 COL Riley O'Neill 2008 LA Greg Folk Best pick: O'Neill is with a team in the German 3rd division. Position #89 2005 SJ Chris Wondolowski 2006 RSL Chris Lancos 2007 DC Guy-Roland Kpene 2008 COL Daniel Antunez Best pick: Wondolowski is the king of the reserves and a serviceable bench player. Kpene is now with the Dynamo as well and can't get on the field, which makes for an easy comparison. Position #90 2005 NY Usiel Vasquez 2006 CHI Idris Ughiovhe 2007 NE Chris Loftus 2008 CLB Lukasz Tumicz Best pick: Loftus was with the Revs for a year and now is playing in the Swedish second division. You'd think he'd be the easy choice. However, Tumicz is the best pick. Why? He signed with a first division team in his native Poland, and is getting some playing time. Here he is scoring two goals in a match a few weeks ago. I wonder if teams knew he was signing abroad and that's why he was drafted so low? Position #91 2005 COL Dan Gargan 2006 DC Devon McTavish 2007 HOU Erik Ustruck 2008 NY John Gilkerson Best pick: McTavish has turned into a regular starter for United. Meanwhile, Gargan's a bit unlucky to share position 91 with him given the lack of talent at some of these spots (though he did just retire). Position #92 2005 CLB Chris Lee 2006 HOU PASS 2007 TOR Tyler Hemming 2008 DAL Ben Shuleva Best pick: Hemming played a few games for TFC and now is going after a European career, in Finland. Position #93 2005 NE Jeff Larentowicz 2006 KC Luke Enna 2007 CLB Ted Niziolek 2008 CHV El-Hadj Cisse Best pick: One of the easiest positions to decide on, Larentowicz. Along with McTavish, he's one of the two best picks from position 90 or later. Position #94 2005 LA Jeremiah Gallegos 2006 CHI Richard Mupfudze 2007 HOU Justin Douglass 2008 CLB Zola Short Best pick: Uh...let's see. None of these four made a roster, and I can't find anything about them playing anywhere else since. Douglass is definitely not playing, it appears. Gallegos is listed on the Galaxy player register at MLSnet, but he's not listed on any of the transactions as ever being with him so that must be a mistake. Mupfudze tried out for the Carolina Railhawks a year ago and apparently failed. He also played a reserve game for the Galaxy in 2006. So at least he almost made it somewhere else, so I'll go with him. Mupfudze it is. Position #95 2005 KC Ryan Caugherty 2006 NE Matt Wieland 2007 RSL Kyle Reynish 2008 KC Tom Gray Best pick: None have played an MLS match, but Reynish is still around as RSL's #3 keeper. Position #96 2005 DC Shawn Kuykendall 2006 LA Matt Couch 2007 LA Kiel McClung 2008 CHI Zach Pope Best pick: Kuykendall is the only guy who played in MLS. But it was only for 25 minutes over 3 games for DC in 2005, though he was picked up by NY the following season (and then injured himself). Meanwhile, McClung played for the California Victory in the USL-1, and was just on the USL-2 championship squad in Cleveland (though he only played a couple games). Is that better than a handful of MLS minutes, and should Kuykendall's injury be factored in? I guess I'll go with Kuykendall for now as he was on an MLS roster for two seasons, so we know he could play at that level. And this has nothing to do with that analysis, but he also enjoys making Youtube videos. Position #97 2007 DAL Chase Wileman 2008 NE Saidi Isaac Best pick: Wileman. He's still in MLS, whereas Isaac is back in the PDL. No, he's not the guy who retired to become a priest, that's Chase Hilgenbrink. Position #98 2007 NY Danny Cepero 2008 HOU Kieran Hall Best pick: Cepero has been regularly making the bench as NY's backup keeper ever since Zach Thornton was traded. Though NY just signed a new senior roster keeper. Position #99 2007 CHI Daniel Woolard 2008 SJ Tim Jepson Best pick: Woolard, who's played in 7 games this season. Jepson not in MLS. Position #100 2007 KC Michael Kraus 2008 TOR PASS Best pick: Kraus. Yet to play but still with the team. Position #101 2007 RSL Dustin Kirby 2008 RSL Kenny Anaba Best pick: Kirby. He's made a few appearances for Salt Lake, while Anaba is nowhere to be found. Position #102 2007 CLB Kevin Burns 2008 LA Daniel De Geer Best pick: Burns. He's still with the Crew. Actually, according to his bio he played a year in the USL before he signed. Position #103 2007 NE PASS 2008 CHI Steve Bode Best pick: Bode by default, despite the fact that he didn't make the team. Position #104 2007 KC Willy Guadarrama 2008 CHI Tim Conway Best pick: Guadarrama. He was on an MLS roster for a year, even though he didn't play. I wonder if he was more successful with his contest date? Now he's with the Austin Aztecs of the PDL, and I'd imagine should be able to make their USL-1 team next year. We'll see. Meanwhile, Conway was cut in preseason and is now in the NPSL. Positions #105-112 Due to expansion to 14 teams, this season's 105-112 picks are the only choices and are the best picks by default. Only Thorpe remains on an MLS roster. 105 2008 NY Laurent Manuel 106 2008 DAL PASS 107 2008 CHV Andre Sherard 108 2008 DC James Thorpe 109 2008 KC Andrew Kartunen 110 2008 CHI Melford James, Jr. 111 2008 NE PASS 112 2008 HOU James Georgeff