2004 MLS SuperDraft

• 2004 SuperDraft Picks >

The youngest player in modern professional team sports, 14-year-old Freddy Adu, was selected on Friday by D.C. United with the No. 1 selection in the 2004 MLS SuperDraft at the Charlotte Convention Center in Charlotte, North Carolina. For the second consecutive year the 2004 MLS SuperDraft was held in conjunction with the 57th Annual National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) Convention.

“I’ve been a fan of D.C. since I’ve been in this country and that’s why I’m just extremely excited to be playing with them,” Adu said. “Hopefully, I can do something to help the team get back to its winning ways, because it is a winning team. The first few years, D.C. was the team to beat. I still think that we have the talent and the team to win year-in, year-out. Things don’t always go the way that we want them to. Hopefully, I can do something to help the team.”

Adu, a resident of Potomac, MD, was the first of six Nike Project-40 players selected in the first round of the 2004 SuperDraft. The Dallas Burn and San Jose Earthquakes each had two selections in the first round with the Burn picking Dallas native Ramon Nunez (No. 6) and defender Clarence Goodson (No. 7) while San Jose tabbed two Santa Clara University products: Ryan Cochrane (No. 5) and goalkeeper Steve Cronin (No. 10). The University of Maryland matched Santa Clara with two players selected in the first round as Goodson (No. 7 – Dallas) and midfielder Scott Buete (No. 9 – Chicago) were among the picks.

Two trades were made involving three first round selections. Kansas City sent midfielders Eric Quill and Carey Talley along with the No. 7 pick to the Dallas Burn in exchange for defender Shavar Thomas, the No. 4 selection and a conditional second round selection in the 2005 SuperDraft. The New England Revolution and Chicago Fire engaged in the second trade of the morning with the Fire acquiring the No. 9 pick in exchange for a player allocation spot attributable to Peter Nowak’s retirement. The two trades during the first round were the first of seven on the day (two in each of the first three rounds and one in the sixth and last round). All involved an exchange of SuperDraft picks except for one in the third round which saw Columbus also acquire the rights to former Rapids defender Steven Herdsman.

Among other highlights of the SuperDraft:

(a) The Chicago Fire led all team with 10 selections in the SuperDraft followed by the Los Angeles Galaxy (8). Four teams made six selections, the Dallas Burn made five while D.C. United and the New England Revolution had a SuperDraft low of four picks each;

(b) 42 colleges were represented on the day with Project-40 players Adu (No. 1) and Michael Bradley (No. 36) being the only players in the SuperDraft without college experience;

(c) Bradley was selected in the fourth round by the MetroStars (No. 36 overall) and will play for his father, Head Coach Bob Bradley. It marks the first father/son tandem on the same team in MLS history with the last one in the New York metropolitan area being Yogi and Dale Berra with the 1985 Yankees;

(d) 21 states were represented (California contributing a high of 11 players) while eight countries were also represented (Zimbabwe, Canada, Ghana, New Zealand, Jamaica, Ireland, Bermuda, Wales).

Legendary college soccer head coach Jerry Yeagley, who retired in 2003 after capturing his sixth NCAA title with Indiana University, was recognized at the SuperDraft by MLS Commissioner Don Garber for his contributions to the game. Yeagley, who started Indiana’s soccer program in 1973, retired as the winningest head coach in NCAA history. The 2004 SuperDraft featured an overflow crowd of coaches and fans from around the country who were in attendance the NSCAA Convention.

For the first time in MLS’ nine-year history, the League’s annual SuperDraft was also telecast live by FOX Sports World, which enters the second season of a four-year partnership with MLS in 2004.