FRISCO — The 2019 draft season is just about upon the league, and many teams will be looking to make various moves centered around the MLS Expansion Draft, Re-Entry Draft and SuperDraft.
This handbook-style guide will take you through what each event means and how it affects FC Dallas as well.
Expansion Draft
The first major draft event of the 2019 offseason is the MLS Expansion Draft, which takes place on Nov. 19. The Expansion Draft allows new teams to draft up to five players from other teams in the league to help build out their roster. Existing MLS teams are allowed to protect 12 players from being selected in the Expansion Draft. Generation Adidas and Homegrown players are also automatically protected from selection. Teams that had a player selected in the Expansion draft are exempt from entering it next season.
With Inter Miami CF and Nashville FC entering MLS in 2020, a total of 10 players will be selected in this year’s Expansion draft. Miami will choose first, and the teams will alternate picks until each team has selected their five players.
Because FC Cincinnati selected Roland Lamah from FC Dallas in the 2018 edition of the Expansion Draft, FCD is exempt from having players eligible for this year’s draft. D.C. United, Vancouver Whitecaps, Houston Dynamo and the NY Red Bulls are also exempt.
Re-Entry Draft
The MLS Re-Entry Draft happens in two stages and allows for teams to select players with MLS experience who haven’t agreed a new contract with their current teams but prefer to stay in the league. The first stage is scheduled for Nov. 26 and the second for Dec. 3.
Stage One of the Re-Entry draft requires teams to automatically pick up a player’s 2020 contract option or issue a Bona Fide Offer to the player. This is where in 2015 Dallas traded up to the top spot to select Maxi Urruti from Portland, who was automatically added to the clubs roster at his 2016 contract option value.
The same field of players who weren’t selected in Stage One are again available in Stage Two of the Re-Entry Draft. Unlike in Stage One, players who are drafted here are not guaranteed a spot on the roster as teams instead are drafting for the right to negotiate with a player who was cut from another team. Atiba Harris was the most recent player FC Dallas selected in Stage Two of the Re-Entry Draft back in 2014.
SuperDraft
The MLS SuperDraft is similar to regular drafts in other sports where teams select players from college depending on draft order. The 2020 edition will take place in Baltimore, Maryland this January.
Last year, FCD selected defenders Callum Montgomery and John Nelson with the fourth and 10th overall picks. Dallas is still benefiting from past SuperDrafts having acquired current starting left back Ryan Hollingshead in 2013 and three-time MLS All-Star Matt Hedges in 2012.
FC Dallas draft picks for 2020:
- 14th overall (first round)
- 17th (first round acquired from D.C. United)
- 40th (second round)
- 66th (third round)
- 92nd (fourth round)
