Colorado Rapids select three, acquire up to $175,000 in GAM in MLS SuperDraft

The Colorado Rapids lived up to their wheeling and dealing estimation erstwhile again successful the MLS Super Draft Tuesday.

After entering the time with 2 first-round picks, the Rapids opted to deal, sending the 10th wide prime to Nashville SC for $125,000 successful General Allocation Money, $50,000 successful conditional General Allocation Money and the 26th pick.

It was the 4th consecutive play successful which the Rapids made a commercialized connected draught day.

The Rapids past chose Notre Dame cardinal midfielder Mohamed Omar with their archetypal prime astatine No. 23, and followed that up with the enactment of Northern Illinois defender Anthony Markanich with the No. 26 pick.

“In this draft, we felt we were capable to get a fewer players successful our apical 10 adjacent by drafting further down,” Rapids wide manager Pádraig Smith said. “We saw worth and were capable to bring successful wealth without losing retired connected a pick.”

Omar, a 6-foot-3, 182-pound midfielder from Toronto, became the 2nd consecutive Rapids first-round prime to travel retired of the Atlantic Coast Conference, pursuing past year’s enactment of Philip Mayaka retired of Clemson astatine No. 3 overall.

Omar helped Notre Dame scope the NCAA College Cup this past play and played successful 23 games for the Fighting Irish, scoring 4 times with 1 assist. Omar started 55 games successful his Notre Dame career, with 69 appearances.

“In Omar, we saw a truly talented, technically highly proficient player,” Smith said. “He’s a large kid from a tallness basal constituent and needs to enactment connected a spot of value to go stronger. He’s got a small spot of wound to him arsenic well. When you adhd carnal qualities and that benignant of wound to an already technically proficient player, that’s truly enticing. We deliberation we tin assistance him amended and yet go a subordinate who tin marque an interaction successful MLS.”

MLS SuperDraft pundit Devon Kerr called him a “destroyer” who plays good successful the cardinal midfield.

“He knows however to agelong the game,” Kerr said. “He tin triumph balls successful the aerial … His frame, helium looks long, helium looks lanky a small bit, but helium runs close done you.”

He besides drew comparisons to chap Canadian midfielder Mark-Anthony Kaye, who the Rapids acquired for $1 cardinal successful General Allocation Money past twelvemonth from LAFC positive the No. 10 wide pick.

“Anytime you get compared to nationalist squad guys, guys who person proven themselves successful MLS, it’s an honor,” Omar told MLSSoccer.com newsman Susannah Collins during the broadcast. “I’m truly looking guardant to the accidental to being successful Colorado with (Kaye), being teammates with him and truly conscionable larn from him.”

Markanich was a four-time All-MAC honoree and started successful 67 games for the Huskies with 17 goals and 24 assists. Markanich is simply a duplicate and his brother, Nicholas, who was a second-round prime by FC Cincinnati, formed a large duo for an NIU squad that reached the 2nd circular of the NCAA Tournament.

Markanich, 6-foot-1, 165 pounds, provides further extent to the backmost line. With the Rapids re-signing Steven Beitashour and Drew Moor to one-year deals, helium volition person a accidental to larn seasoned veterans.

“We saw a bully two-way subordinate successful Markanich,” Smith said. “Obviously, near backs are highly sought aft commodity and we deliberation he’s got a bully cognition and knows what he’s doing connected some sides of the ball. It’s an charismatic combination. … To beryllium capable to larn from guys who person done it astatine the highest level, they volition each person a large influence.”

Colorado made lone 1 of its 2 second-round picks, taking El Salvadoran planetary Roberto Molina, a 20-year-old close winger, astatine No. 45 overall. Molina, who is listed astatine 5-foot-9, played 30 times past play and scored doubly for the Las Vegas Lights of the USL Championship. Molina has made 3 appearances for El Salvador’s nationalist team. The Rapids passed connected their lone third-round selection.

“We thought we were going to walk (on the 2nd round), but then, erstwhile we saw Molina was disposable we were thrilled,” Smith said. “He’s got 3 planetary caps and has already played astatine the USL level. He’s a truly interesting, tricky subordinate that we deliberation has imaginable astatine the adjacent level.”

With the No. 10 pick, Nashville SC selected a defender Ahmed Longmire of UCLA. In bid for the Rapids to person the conditional GAM of $50,000, Longmire volition person to deed pre-specified show marks successful 2022.

The lone Coloradan successful the SuperDraft, Ryan Sailor, was projected to beryllium a precocious prime and Inter Miami CF selected him astatine No. 9. Sailor played his assemblage shot astatine Washington and was a first-team All-American and the Pac-12 defender of the year. The Centennial autochthonal and Arapahoe High alum played his nine shot astatine Real Colorado.