Following an outstanding sophomore campaign at Cornell University, Alex Harris is headed to Major League Soccer, along with 19 other ECNL alumni who were selected in the 2025 MLS SuperDraft.
The Columbia Premier (formerly Washington Timbers) alum was selected with the fourth pick in the 2025 MLS Superdraft by the Colorado Rapids, after it was announced he was signing a Generation Adidas contract and going pro.
Generation Adidas is an MLS partnership in which Adidas sponsors the athlete’s contract for the team that drafts them. In signing the contract, Harris officially declared himself as a professional.
Along with Harris, eight other ECNL alumni were taken in the first round of the draft.
Hakim Karamoko (Manhattan SC), Donovan Parisian (FC Arizona), Max Kerkvliet (Albion Hurricanes FC), Alec Hughes (FSA FC), Reid Fisher (Slammers FC), Ian Pilcher (Charlotte SA), Roman Torres (FC Dallas), and Ryan Baer (Charlotte Independence) were all selected in the first round of the MLS Superdraft.
In addition to the first round selections, Travis Smith Jr. (Louisville City Academy), Eric Howard (Crossfire Premier), Kieran Chandler (FSA FC), Arik Duncan (Concorde Fire), Collin McCamy (NCFC Academy), Samy Kanaan (SDSC Surf), Demian Alvarez (PacNW), Jonah Bigger (CESA), Barzee Blama (NTH-NASA), Liam O’Gara (NC Fusion), and Drew Kerr (NCFC Academy) were all also selected.
Harris concludes his Cornell career with 71 points on 31 goals and nine assists. He finished fourth all-time in career goals, third all-time in career points, and first in penalty-kicks made (8).
As a freshman, Harris was named the 2023 Ivy League Rookie of the Year after scoring 12 goals for the Big Red, highlighted by two second half goals in Cornell’s 2-1 upset victory over defending national champions Syracuse.
Harris played in 15 games for Cornell in his freshman campaign, starting in 14 of them, and led the team in goals, points (28), shots on goal (29), and game winning goals (4). Harris also tied for first on the team with four assists. The 12-goal season was the highest for all freshmen across the country and made Harris the leader in the Ivy League for both goals and points, while also setting the single-season record for goals and points by a freshman in Cornell history.
This season, Harris followed up his phenomenal freshman year by scoring 19 goals, which ranked second in all of Division 1, and was the second most in a single-season in Cornell History. The 19 goal output saw Harris named the 2024 Ivy League Offensive Player of the Year and named as a semifinalist for the MAC Hermann Trophy.
Cornell advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament, following their 4-2 first round win over Fordham, in which Harris scored two goals.
“Alex’s career at Cornell has been nothing short of remarkable,” said Cornell Head Coach John Smith, in an official statement. “In his two seasons here he has managed to make the most difficult part of playing our sport look fairly effortless.”
Following last year’s announcement that he was named Ivy League Rookie of the Year, Harris described how the competition in the ECNL prepared him to play and be successful at a high level so quickly.
“Obviously, the ECNL is a high-level league so it prepared me, and in the Northwest Conference there were a lot of quality teams in that league,” Harris said. “It was a lot of hard challenging games week in and week out.”
Harris also credited the ECNL’s National Showcases for providing him a platform to not only compete against some of the other top players from around the country, but also to connect with and be scouted by so many great schools.
“The National Showcases were a good opportunity for me and a lot of other teammates and other players in the leagues to get in front of these college coaches and open up some opportunities to play in college,” Harris said.
When speaking with Harris after his freshman year, he said his goals going into next season were to be named Ivy League Offensive Player of the Year, be in the running for top goal scorer in the country, and ultimately said one day he would love to play pro. With his selection, Harris capped off accomplishing all three of those feats.
“I want to hopefully win Ivy League Offensive Player of the Year and maybe even be in the running for the top goal scorer in the country like I was earlier in the season,” Harris said. “For my goals in the long term, ultimately, I’d love to play pro. I think it could be a realistic option and just working towards that is something that I definitely want to do.”
Harris follows in the footsteps of Charlotte Independence SC alum Joey Skinner who was selected by Nashville SC with the 11th pick in the 2023 MLS Superdraft, after also signing a Generation Adidas contract that season.
Below is a full list of ECNL alumni selected in the 2025 MLS SuperDraft, along with the club who selected them, and their draft position.
Alex Harris (Columbia Premier formerly Washington Timbers)
4th overall – Colorado Rapids
Hakim Karamoko (Manhattan SC)
10th overall – D.C. United
Donovan Parisian (FC Arizona)
18th overall – New England Revolution
Max Kerkvliet (Albion Hurricanes FC)
21st overall – Real Salt Lake
Alec Hughes (FSA FC)
22nd overall – LAFC
Reid Fisher (Slammers FC)
23rd overall – Toronto FC
Ian Pilcher (Charlotte SA)
24th overall – San Diego FC
Roman Torres (FC Dallas)
25th overall – Minnesota United FC
Ryan Baer (Charlotte Independence)
28th overall – Seattle Sounders FC
Travis Smith Jr. (Louisville City Academy)
33th overall – Chicago Fire FC
Eric Howard (Crossfire Premier)
35th overall – New England Revolution
Kieran Chandler (FSA FC)
43rd overall – Minnesota United FC
Arik Duncan (Concorde Fire)
44th overall – CF Montreal
Collin McCamy (NCFC Academy)
54th overall – New York City FC
Samy Kanaan (SDSC Surf)
56th overall – San Diego FC
Demian Alvarez (PacNW)
58th overall – Seattle Sounders FC
Jonah Bigger (CESA)
70th overall – D.C. United
Barzee Blama (NTH-NASA)
77th overall – Charlotte FC
Liam O’Gara (NC Fusion)
79th overall – Real Salt Lake
Drew Kerr (NCFC Academy)
81st overall – Columbus Crew
*In addition to the 20 ECNL alumni selected, congratulations also to Charlotte SA, Solar SC, and UFA, who each had alumni from their club selected in the draft. Alioune Ka (Solar SC) was selected 36th overall by Nashville SC, Riley Thomas (UFA) was selected 42nd overall by Austin FC, Titus Sandy Jr. (Charlotte SA) was selected 46th overall by Orlando City SC, and Bailey Sparks (Solar SC) was selected 52nd overall by Inter Miami CF.
