MLS SuperDraft 2025: Everything you need to know

The MLS SuperDraft is back tomorrow, and while it won't look or feel the same as it has in years past, teams around the league will still have the opportunity to pick some of the top players in college soccer.

While the pool of players to choose from isn't nearly as strong as it used to be, several MLS contributors have come out of the NCAA in recent years. Logan Farrington was perhaps the most impressive, as he added four goals and five assists for FC Dallas after they traded up to pick him. Meanwhile, for all of Inter Miami's starpower, two of their top draft picks – Yannick Bright and Leo Afonso – were signed to the first team last season, and both appeared against the Fire in 2024.

MLS Commissioner Don Garber told media in his State of the League address that the league was placing less of an emphasis on the draft, and that was reflected in the decision not to broadcast it this year. Instead, fans can follow along on mlssoccer.com to stay up to date with picks in real-time.

Here's everything else you need to know about the SuperDraft, which will commence at 1 p.m. on Friday.

What picks do the Fire have?

At the time of publication, the Fire have three picks in this year's SuperDraft, their natural pick in each round. Because of the Fire's 28th-place finish last season, they have been granted the third pick in each round, trailing only expansion team San Diego FC and wooden spoon-winner San Jose Earthquakes. This means the Fire have the 3rd, 33rd, and 63rd overall picks.

Last year, the #3 pick was the aforementioned Farrington, who easily could have gone first overall but slipped to third when both Toronto FC and the Colorado Rapids passed on him. In 2023, the Colorado Rapids picked Moïse Bombito out of New Hampshire, arguably Canada's best center back today, while in 2020, Dylan Nealis went third overall. Historically, the third pick has not been the most successful, but some other names picked at that spot previously include Tristan Blackmon (2017), Christian Dean (2015), Perry Kitchen (2011), Ike Opara (2010), Omar González (2008), and Michael Harrington (2007).

Late-round draft picks hold little value these days and are often thrown away as part of trades. In fact, Philadelphia traded all of their picks for the next three seasons to Colorado in exchange for $350,000 in General Allocation Money, and because of that, the Rapids will have seven picks in this year's draft. From the Fire's current roster, Tom Barlow (39th overall from Wisconsin) and Jack Elliott (77th overall from West Virginia) were picked in the later rounds of the 2018 and 2017 SuperDrafts, respectively.

Will the Fire actually sign anyone from the SuperDraft?

It's difficult to say definitively whether or not the Fire will actually sign anyone from the draft this year, at least to senior team contracts. In the previous five seasons under Sporting Director Georg Heitz, the Fire signed just two draft picks to MLS deals, and while Heitz has now moved on, it is unclear whether that will change under new Director of Football Gregg Berhalter. Those two previous picks – Kendall Burks (2022) and Bryan Dowd (2024) did not prove to be roaring successes by any means, though Dowd seemingly did enough in his loan spell at Huntsville City to earn a one-year extension to his contract.

While a potential Fire draft pick won't necessarily go straight into the MLS roster – very few NCAA players do these days – they would likely receive an MLS Next Pro deal and be a part of the second team. Last year, of the Fire's five draft picks, three were signed to some form of a contract with the club. Dowd was signed to a first team deal but did not appear for the Fire or Fire II all season.

Second-round pick Jason Shokalook signed an MLS Next Pro deal. Third-round pick Laurence Wootton impressed in preseason and signed an MLS deal, but was not extended past his first season.

It is essential to mention that it is also quite possible that the Fire could trade their first-round pick. This year's draft class is, like last year's, pretty weak and void of top talents, so it may be worthwhile to test the trade market tomorrow morning. The value of a pick could vary wildly, and last season, Dallas sent $300,000 of GAM to Miami for the third overall pick (Logan Farrington).

Who will the Fire pick?

Predicting the SuperDraft is incredibly difficult. This time, it isn't. San Diego are reportedly planning to pick UC Santa Barbara midfielder Manu Duah with the first overall pick, which is to be expected after an impressive freshman season. Meanwhile, the San Jose Earthquakes also appear to select St. Louis' Max Floriani with the second overall pick. That leaves the Fire with an obvious selection of Wisconsin's Dean Boltz with the third overall pick.

Boltz holds the distinction of being a Generation Adidas player for this draft, meaning he was signed directly by the league and won't count toward the salary cap next season. He is also a native of Palatine, Illinois, and previously played for Sockers FC. Boltz was named Big 10 Freshman of the Year this fall, and it would be a surprise if the Fire chose someone else with the #3 pick.

Nonetheless, there are a few other names to keep an eye on. Michael Adedokun of Ohio State was named Big 10 Midfielder of the Year, and contributed eight goals and seven assists in 15 starts this season for the #1-ranked Buckeyes. If anyone else is to break into the draft's top three, it will likely be him. Indiana's Tommy Mihalić, formerly of FC United, is also expected to go in the middle of the first round after contributing 10 goals and 5 assists this season. A possible second-round pick for the Fire could be Sam Sarver, also from Indiana, who just finished his senior season with the Hoosiers.

There are five former Fire Academy players in the draft pool, and the most notable among them is Sidney Paris of Wake Forest. Though he battled injuries this season and missed the Demon Deacons' ACC Tournament triumph, Paris is a Puerto Rican international and was named to the CONCACAF Nations League C Best XI last year. Talented former Sockers FC wingback Ernest Mensah is also in the pool for the draft, though he recently announced his transfer to Syracuse.

Finally, a player Gregg Berhalter will have some familiarity with entering this draft is Elton Chifamba, who recently completed his senior season at Syracuse. Chifamba was a top prospect with the Columbus Crew while Berhalter was the head coach there in 2018, and he trained with the first team at various points before ultimately taking the college route. The holding midfielder is also a former U.S. youth national team star, having appeared alongside the likes of Brian Gutiérrez, Javi Casas, Alex Monis, Kevin Paredes, Cade Cowell, and others prior to the pandemic, and could be a low-risk, high-reward third-round pick for the Fire.

Draft details and how to follow

The SuperDraft will start at 1 p.m. on Friday but will not be broadcast as clubs will announce their picks over a web call. Fans can follow along on mlssoccer.com to stay up to date with picks in real time.