MLS SuperDraft Recap: UCSB midfielder Manu Duah goes No. 1 to San Diego FC

NEW YORK – With the first overall selection in MLS SuperDraft 2025, expansion club San Diego FC selected University of California, Santa Barbara midfielder Manu Duah. Duah was previously announced as a Generation adidas signing ahead of MLS SuperDraft 2025 and is the first SuperDraft selection in San Diego FC history. (FULL RESULTS)

A native of Ghana, Duah started all 14 games he played in for the Gauchos as the side went 8-3-3 during those matches. He produced his first collegiate assist on August 29 against the University of Missouri–Kansas City. Duah previously starred in MLS NEXT for Santa Barbara Soccer Club, helping them reach the MLS NEXT Cup Playoffs in the U19 age group. Duah joins fellow Gaucho Christian Ramírez (Columbus Crew), Michael Boxall (Minnesota United FC), and Emmanuel Boateng (New England Revolution) in MLS.

Duah is the first No. 1 pick out of the University of California, Santa Barbara in MLS SuperDraft history and is the third Gaucho to be selected in the top five of the SuperDraft, joining Ciaran O’Brien (No. 5 overall pick by Colorado Rapids, 2008) and Luis Silva (No. 4 overall pick by Toronto FC, 2012). Santa Barbara is the 14th different university to have a player taken with the No. 1 pick in SuperDraft history and the fourth different school with the top selection in the last four years.

With the second overall pick, the San Jose Earthquakes selected pre-signed senior Max Floriani, a defender out of Saint Louis University. Chicago Fire FC took Generation adidas signing forward Dean Boltz out of the University of Wisconsin with the No. 3 overall pick, followed by forward Alex Harris of Cornell University and Generation adidas going to the Colorado Rapids with the No. 4 overall pick, which was acquired from Sporting Kansas City. The New England Revolution traded the fifth overall pick to San Jose, who selected defender Reid Roberts from the University of San Francisco to round out the top five.

Emil Jaaskelainen, the leading goal scorer in NCAA Division I men’s soccer in 2024, was selected No. 7 overall by St. Louis CITY SC. The former Akron Zips star scored 23 times in 2024 and was named a MAC Hermann Trophy Finalist, given to the NCAA Division I National Player of the Year, earlier this week. Emil’s father, Jussi, made 530 appearances with the Bolton Wanderers from 1997 through 2012, had a Premier League stop with West Ham United Wanderers during a two-decade goalkeeping career in England, and played 56 international matches representing Finland.

The first round of MLS SuperDraft 2025 featured 13 trades, including five of the top nine selections. Twenty-seven different schools had players selected in the first round, with three – Oregon State, Connecticut, and Vermont – each having two players selected. After winning the NCAA Division I Men’s National Championship on Monday, Vermont Catamounts went back-to-back in the first round when Sydney Wathuta (No. 16 to Colorado) and Max Murray (No. 17 to New York City FC) were selected.

The Colorado Rapids orchestrated two trades to get to the No. 4 and No. 6 overall picks and led the league with five selections in the first round: Alex Harris (No. 4, Cornell and Generation adidas), Matthew Senanou (No. 6, Xavier), Efetobo Aror (No. 12, Portland), Sydney Wathuta (No. 16, Vermont), and Joshua Copeland (No. 26, Detroit Mercy).

Overall, the Rapids selected nine players in MLS SuperDraft 2025. This marked the second consecutive year that Colorado selected multiple players in the top six picks, after taking Wayne Frederick (No. 2 overall) and Kimani Stewart-Baynes (No. 4) in the first round of last year’s draft.

Real Salt Lake selected eight players overall, including four players in the opening round – Jesus Barea of Missouri State (No. 19), Max Kerkvliet of Connecticut (No. 21), Lineker Rodrigues Dos Santos of Marshall (No. 29), and Sergi Solans of Oregon State (No. 30).

Of the first 15 picks in the MLS SuperDraft, nine of those played in MLS NEXT, including three of the first five selections – Duah (No. 1, Santa Barbara Soccer Club), Boltz (No. 3, Sockers FC Chicago), and Roberts (No. 5, Real Colorado). Thirty-five players selected in the SuperDraft previously played with current MLS NEXT affiliated clubs.

MLS SuperDraft 2025 featured an expanded eligible player pool for the second consecutive year, as players who are currently collegiate sophomores, juniors, seniors, and above were eligible for selection. The 2025 SuperDraft featured 48 players selected who were collegiate freshman, sophomores, or juniors. Overall, players from 56 colleges and universities were represented in the 90 selections overall, led by four from Wake Forest University.