With the 2026 MLS SuperDraft set to kick off today, it’s a good time to look back at how the class of 2025 did this past season, and how New York City FC’s picks have performed over the years.
The 2026 MLS SuperDraft will start at 2:00 pm ET, with wooden spoon winners DC United set to make the first pick. There will be three rounds with 30 selections each. A total of 436 players are eligible for the SuperDraft — you can find a full list here.
If you’re the kind of sicko who wants to go deeper, Paul Harvey put together an MLS SuperDraft Dashboard at American Soccer Analysis that handicaps the leading picks. He also put together a New York City-foused analysis for The Outfield, which you can find here.
New York City will have four picks: Round 1, #27 overall; Round 2, #57 overall; Round 3, #71 overall; and Round 3, #87 overall. The #71 overall pick came from San Jose via the Alfredo Morales trade at the start of the 2024 season; the other three are the club’s natural picks.
Here are five thoughts about New York City’s history with the MLS SuperDraft
1. Don’t sleep on the MLS SuperDraft
Not all MLS SuperDraft picks work out. Some players won’t sign with the club that selects them, while others don’t develop into high-performing professionals.
But the MLS SuperDraft can reward teams that pick well. Take Patrick Agyemang, who was selected by Charlotte FC in 2023 from the University of Rhode Island. Agyemang broke into the First Team, scoring 18 goals in the regular season and playoffs while logging almost 3,500 minutes for the club (and scoring five goals in 12 appearances for the United States men’s national team), before moving to Derby County over the summer for a transfer fee that reportedly could reach $10 million.
Looking back at the class of 2025, 12 of the 30 selections saw First Team minutes in the regular season, with six making 10 or more starts. Top pick Manu Duah, a 20-year-old defender who stands at 6′ 4″, made 14 appearances for San Diego FC in the regular season, then added another five in the MLS Cup Playoffs. For what it’s worth, Transfermarkt now values him at $1 million, up from $100,000 when he first signed with San Diego.
2025 MLS SuperDraft | First Round Picks
| Team | Player | Apps | Starts | Mins | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | San Deigo FC | Manu Duah | 14 | 12 | 1,038 |
| 2. | San Jose Earthquakes | Max Floriani | 14 | 9 | 821 |
| 3. | Chicago Fire | Dean Boltz | — | — | — |
| 4. | Colorado Rapids | Alex Harris | 4 | 0 | 41 |
| 5. | San Jose Earthquakes | Reid Roberts | 14 | 10 | 890 |
| 6. | Colorado Rapids | Matthew Senanou | — | — | — |
| 7. | St. Louis City SC | Emil Jääskeläinen | — | — | — |
| 8. | Sporting Kansas City | Jansen Miller | 29 | 25 | 2,305 |
| 9. | Charlotte FC | Mikah Thomas | — | — | — |
| 10. | DC United | Hakim Karamoko | 1 | 0 | 9 |
| 11. | FC Dallas | Enzo Newman | — | — | — |
| 12. | Colorado Rapids | Efetobo Aror* | _ | — | — |
| 13. | CF Montréal | Michael Adedokun | — | — | — |
| 14. | Portland Timbers | Ian Smith | 20 | 11 | 1,021 |
| 15. | Vancouver Whitecaps | Tate Johnson | 29 | 20 | 1,974 |
| 16. | Colorado Rapids | Sydney Wathuta | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 17. | New York City FC | Max Murray | — | — | — |
| 18. | New England Revolution | Donovan Parisian | — | — | — |
| 19. | Real Salt Lake | Jesús Barea | 11 | 1 | 255 |
| 20. | LA Galaxy | Jason Bucknor | — | — | — |
| 21. | Real Salt Lake | Max Kerkvilet | — | — | — |
| 22. | LAFC | Alec Hughes | — | — | — |
| 23. | Toronto FC | Reid Fisher | — | — | — |
| 24. | San Diego FC | Ian Pilcher | 17 | 8 | 916 |
| 25. | Minnesota United | Roman Torres | — | — | — |
| 26. | Colorado Rapids | Josh Copeland | — | — | — |
| 27. | Orlando City SC | Joran Gerbet | 20 | 13 | 1,115 |
| 28. | Seattle Sounders | Ryan Baer | — | — | — |
| 29. | Real Salt Lake | Lineker Rodrigues dos Santos | — | — | — |
| 30. | Real Salt Lake | Sergi Solans | — | — | — |
MLS regular season only
* Did not sign
2. The current state of NYCFC’s SuperDraft picks
The club selected 29 players via the SuperDraft over the years, signing 17 of them. Out of those, 10 made First Team appearances. Four SuperDraft picks are currently with the club: Nico Cavallo (2025), Malachi Jones (2024), Max Murray (2025), and Kevin O’Toole (2022).
Last year, New York City took five players in the SuperDraft, signing three of them: Cavallo, Collin McCamy, and Murray. Cavallo saw playing time with the First Team, while McCamy spent the year with NYCFC II but was released at the end of the season. Murray made his First Team debut in the US Open Cup, but has yet to appear in an MLS game.
| Year | Player | Pos | Rnd | Pick | Apps | Starts | Mins | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 2022 | Kevin O’Toole* | F | 2 | #34 | 80 | 65 | 5,748 | 2 goals, 4 assists |
| 2. | 2016 | Jack Harrison | F | 1 | #1 | 55 | 50 | 4,361 | 15 goals, 9 assists |
| 3. | 2015 | Khiry Shelton | F | 1 | #2 | 54 | 23 | 2,503 | 6 goals, 6 assists |
| 4. | 2019 | Luis Barraza | GK | 1 | #12 | 30 | 29 | 2,678 | 8 clean sheets |
| 5. | 2017 | Jonathan Lewis | F | 1 | #3 | 31 | 6 | 793 | 3 goals, 4 assists |
| 6. | 2025 | Nico Cavallo* | D | 3 | #88 | 15 | 2 | 313 | |
| 7. | 2024 | Malachi Jones* | F | 1 | #8 | 14 | 4 | 483 | 1 goal, 3 assists |
| 8. | 2021 | Vuk Latinovich | D | 3 | #71 | 8 | 3 | 349 | |
| 9. | 2015 | Connor Brandt | M | 2 | #23 | 1 | 0 | 10 |
* Currently with New York City FC
3. Kevin O’Toole: New York City’s most productive pick
Two of NYCFC’s historic MLS SuperDraft picks stand out for their contributions to the First Team: Jack Harrison (2026, #1 overall), and O’Toole (2022, #34 overall).
Harrison was the hottest property in 2022. Originally selected first overall by Chicago Fire, New York City traded for the forward behind the scenes. Flanking David Villa at the top of the attack, he went on to score 16 goals and add nine assists over two years before he joined Manchester City for a reported $6 million. The 29-year-old currently plays with Leeds United in the English Premier League.
But the SuperDraft pick who has logged the most playing time with the First Team is O’Toole. He has 80 appearances in league games with New York City over the past four years, playing 5,748 minutes. O’Toole now has 65 starts after becoming the first-choice starter at left back at the end of the 2023 season.
The 27-year-old received looks like he’ll once again be New York City’s everyday starter in 2026.
Andrew Leigh
4. Low picks can pan out
Over the years, NYCFC have made nine first-round picks: Khiry Shelton (2015), Harrison (2016), Jonathan Lewis (2017), Jeff Caldwell (2018), Luis Barraza (2019), Jésus Pérez (2020), Malcolm Johnston (2023), Malachi Jones (2024), and Murray (2025).
Out of those, five made significant contributions to the First Team: Shelton, Harrison, Lewis, Barraza, and Jones. (Murray is still proving himself, and could become a regular starter.) But three were outright busts: Caldwell, Pérez, and Johnston never reported to NYCFC.
| Year | Player | Pos | Rnd | Pick | Signed? | College | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 29. | 2025 | Max Murray* | D | 1 | #17 | Y | University of Vermont |
| 28. | 2025 | Collin McCamy | M | 2 | #54 | Y | Northeastern University |
| 27. | 2025 | AJ Smith | F | 3 | #78 | N | University of Virginia |
| 26. | 2025 | Arnau Farnos | F | 3 | #84 | N | Oregon State University |
| 25. | 2025 | Nico Cavallo* | D | 3 | #88 | Y | UCLA |
| 24. | 2024 | Malachi Jones* | F | 1 | #8 | Y | Lipscomb University |
| 23. | 2024 | Taylor Calheira | F | 3 | #66 | Y | University of Maryland |
| 22. | 2023 | Malcolm Johnston | M | 1 | #26 | N | University of Maryland |
| 21. | 2023 | Braudílio Rodrigues | F | 2 | #55 | N | Franklin Pierce University |
| 20. | 2023 | MD Myers | F | 3 | #66 | Y | Rutgers University |
| 19. | 2022 | Kevin O’Toole* | F | 2 | #34 | Y | Princeton University |
| 18. | 2022 | Kingsford Adjei | F | 2 | #56 | N | University of Dayton |
| 17. | 2022 | El Mahdi Youssoufi | F | 3 | #84 | Y | St Francis College Brooklyn |
| 16. | 2021 | Ben Di Rosa | D | 2 | #44 | N | University of Maryland |
| 15. | 2021 | Vuk Latinovich* | D | 3 | #71 | Y | University of Wisconsin Milwaukee |
| 14. | 2020 | Jesús Pérez | M | 1 | #22 | N | University of Illinois at Chicago |
| 13. | 2020 | Felicien Dumas | D | 2 | #48 | N | Notre Dame |
| 12. | 2019 | Luis Barraza* | GK | 1 | #12 | Y | Marquette University |
| 11. | 2019 | Abdi Mohamed | D | 2 | #43 | Y | University of Akron |
| 10. | 2018 | Jeff Caldwell | GK | 1 | #19 | Y | University of Virginia |
| 9. | 2018 | AJ Paterson | M | 2 | #42 | N | Wright State University |
| 8. | 2018 | Alex Bumpus | D | 3 | #52 | N | University of Kentucky |
| 7. | 2017 | Jonathan Lewis* | F | 1 | #3 | Y | University of Akron |
| 6. | 2017 | Jalen Brown | F | 2 | #38 | N | Xavier University |
| 5. | 2017 | Chris Wingate | M | 3 | #54 | N | University of New Hampshre |
| 4. | 2016 | Jack Harrison* | F | 1 | #1 | Y | Wake Forest Unversity |
| 3. | 2015 | Khiry Shelton* | F | 1 | #2 | Y | Oregon State University |
| 2. | 2015 | Connor Brandt* | M | 2 | #23 | Y | University of San Diego |
| 1. | 2015 | Andre Rawls | GK | 3 | #44 | Y | Saint Mary’s College (California) |
But O’Toole, New York City’s most productive pick, was selected in the second round. Nico Cavallo, his understudy at left-back, was selected in the third round last year, #88 out of 90. This past season, the team got a combined 33 starts in all competitions between the two players.
5. New York City’s missed opportunities
Some recent picks feel like missed opportunities. MD Myers, a third-round pick from Rutgers University in 2023, scored 18 goals in 28 appearances for NYCFC II and was the joint-winner of the MLS NEXT Pro Golden Boot, but was released at the end of the season. The 24-year-old went on to score 29 goals in 60 appearances for Charleston Battery in the USL Championship.
Likewise, third-round pick Taylor Calheira led NYCFC II with 14 goals in 2024, but was released at the end of the season. He went on to score 17 goals with FC Tulsa in the USLC last year. Not to put too fine a point on it, but the USLC Golden Boot table ended with Calheira in second place, and Myers in second.
With New York City missing striker Alonso Martínez going into the 2026 season, it would be nice to have one (or both) of those players available to fill out the attack.
Oliver Strand
