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Best MLS draft Pick by draft position ( A Review)


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This is a huge read/post, lots of info.

So I've decided to let it stand alone.

As a matter of clarity, this is NOT</u> my work. Someone else put a hell of a lot of time in creating this body of work. I'm posting it as I received it, via e-mail, un-credited (which I think is poor taste and disrespectful). I'm going to track this one down. What I do believe is it is a Chicago Fire fan that did this. So I think I know who to turn to to find out who to give credit to.

IF this is familiar to anyone, feel free to point us in the appropriate direction. Thanks.

Anyway, I thought it was interesting. I have not added any comments of my own.

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.

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

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 "

A lengthy post, but informative.

If the mods/administrators feel its too big, so be it...

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Guest Jeffery S.

Pretty amazing that being drafted so low did not hurt these guys morale and that so many stuck with it in spite of being so far down in the league's appreciation.

Also proves that solid pros can come out of the draft, that there is real quality in there, and a few dozen decent prospects if anyone is willing to be patient with them.

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