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“Each player that we selected today has different talents. We have an intensely competitive and deep first team. We’re looking forward to the players coming in to train and compete for an opportunity,” TFC general manager Ali Curtis said. “Matt Di Rosa is a left back who was an important player on an NCAA championship team at Maryland. Nathaniel Crofts Jr. is a versatile attacking player who was a four-year starter on a very good team at Virginia. Paul Rothrock is another versatile player who won a national championship at Georgetown and Talen Maples is a strong defender who was a leader of his team at Southern Methodist University.
Toronto FC filled a need, trading down in the first round to take Maryland left fullback Matt Di Rosa 25th overall. CF Montreal, formerly the Montreal Impact, continued its recent trend of trading away picks or passing when its turn came.
Expansion Austin FC chose Virginia Tech midfielder Daniel Pereira first overall. The 20-year-old sophomore started all 26 games he played in for the Hokies with six goals and six assists. A native of Venezuela, Pereira was a teenager when his family went to the U.S. seeking asylum.
Pereira was one of five players signed to Generation Adidas contracts, which don t count against the league s salary cap. All five went in the top seven of the draft, which was reduced to three rounds from four this year.