Four Georgetown players selected in MLS SuperDraft, including two first rounders

WASHINGTON – Georgetown University had four players selected in the 2021 Major League Soccer SuperDraft on Thursday.

The first Hoya taken off the board was Derek Dodson, who was selected by Orlando City FC with the eighth overall pick. Rio Hope-Gund was also drafted by Orlando City FC at No. 19, with both players going in the first round.

Additionally, Sean O’Hearn who had previously signed a professional contract with the New England Revolution II, was picked by Minnesota United FC at No. 11 in the second round to go 38th overall and Paul Rothrock was selected at No. 64 overall at No. 10 in the third round.

Derek Dodson
Forward
Aurora, Ill. / Waubonsie Valley

• A Third Team All-American selection.
• Named First Team All-East Region.
• A First Team All-BIG EAST honoree.
• Led the team in scoring with 11 goals and eight assists for 30 points as a junior.
• Had three game winners to his credit and was 2-for-3 on penalty kicks in 2019.
• Earned a spot on the 2019 BIG EAST All-Tournament Team.
• Has 30 career goals along with eight assists in three seasons on the Hilltop.
• His 30 goals put him at No. 9 on the all-time list.
• Named team captain in 2019 and 2020.

Rio Hope-Gund
Defender
New York, N.Y. / Friends Seminary

• Started in 20 games as a junior for the Blue & Gray.
• Managed a pair of assists in 2019, both coming during the run to the national championship.
• Has tallied 24 career starts in 36 games played after moving into the lineup as a junior.
• Posted two career goals along with two assists for six points currently on the Hilltop.
• Selected as a 2020 team captain.

Sean O’Hearn
Midfielder
Mountville, Pa. / Hempfield

• Started all 24 games for the Hoyas a season ago with four assists to his credit.
• The backline combined for 13 shutouts for the year.
• A starter since his freshman year, O’Hearn appeared in 62 games with 61 starts and five assists in his time on the Hilltop.
• He was the BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week on 9/10/19 and named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll for the week of 11/8/19.
• As a rookie, O’Hearn was named to the BIG EAST All-Freshman Team.

Paul Rothrock
Midfielder
Seattle, Wash. / Lakeside School / Notre Dame

• Played in all 24 games with 13 starts to his credit in one season on the Hilltop.
• Scored four goals with seven assists for 15 points.
• Helped the Hoyas to the 2019 NCAA Championship.

MLS Draft History

• Georgetown Head Coach Brian Wiese has now had 25 players drafted or sign with an MLS club in his tenure on the Hilltop.
• He has had at least one player drafted by an MLS club every year for the past nine seasons.
• This is just the fifth time in program history that a Hoya has been selected among the top 10.
• It is the second time GU has had two first round draft picks in the same season as well as just the second occasion that two draft selections went to the same team. In 2016, the Hoyas had three first round picks with Joshua Yaro going at No. 2 and Keegan Rosenberry going at No. 3 both to the Philadelphia Union.
• Georgetown’s four draft picks ties the most in program history.

The Hoyas had a historic run last year winning the national championship with a 3-3 victory over Virginia that was decided in penalty kicks, 7-6.  GU finished the year with a mark of 20-1-3 which set the program record for wins in a season. Georgetown also boasted the program’s first three-peat, winning the BIG EAST Championship for the third-consecutive year in a 3-1 victory over Providence College at Shaw Field.

It was just the second time in program history that the squad has won both the regular season and the championship in the same year.
The squad has begun practice for the 2020-21 season which will be played in the spring. The schedule will be announced in the coming weeks.