1996 MLS College Draft

The 1996 Major League Soccer College Draft was held on March 4, 1996, in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

History

As Major League Soccer prepared for its first season, the league began stocking teams with players. As the teams were being created at the same time, the league adopted a measured approach to building rosters. First, the league allocated four "big name" players to each team. Then on February 6 and 7, 1996, the league held its 1996 MLS Inaugural Player Draft. Over sixteen rounds, teams selected players from any source. Then on March 4, 1996, the league held a three-round draft of collegiate players. The 1996 MLS Supplemental Draft was held later the same day.

^	Denotes player who has been inducted to the US Soccer Hall of Fame

*	Denotes player who has been selected for an MLS Best XI team

Round 1

Pick #	MLS team	Player	Position	Affiliation
1	Kansas City Wiz^{[R1 trade 1]}	Matt McKeon	M	St. Louis University
2	D.C. United^{[R1 trade 2]}	Eddie Pope	D	University of North Carolina
3	Dallas Burn^{[R1 trade 3]}	Brandon Pollard	D	University of Virginia
4	Tampa Bay Mutiny	Adam Frye	D	UCLA
5	Kansas City Wiz	Chris Snitko	GK	UCLA
6	New England Revolution	Paul Keegan	F	Boston College
7	Los Angeles Galaxy	Guillermo Jara	F	University of San Diego
8	Dallas Burn	Jeff Cassar	GK	Florida International University
9	Colorado Rapids	Mike Gentile	M	University of Wisconsin–Madison
10	Columbus Crew	Mac Cozier	F	UNC-Charlotte

Round 1 trades

^ #1: D.C. United → Kansas City Wiz. 3 March 1996: Kansas City Wiz acquired this first-round pick and goalkeeper Garth Lagerwey from D.C. United in exchange for goalkeeper Jeff Causey.^{[ref 1]}
^ #2: New York/New Jersey MetroStars → D.C. United. 3 March 1996: D.C. United acquired this first-round selection from New York/New Jersey MetroStars in exchange for first-round (#1) and third-round (#21) picks in the 1996 MLS Supplemental Draft.^{[ref 1]}
^ #3: San Jose Clash → New York/New Jersey MetroStars → Dallas Burn. 4 March 1996: Dallas Burn acquired this first-round selection from New York/New Jersey MetroStars in exchange for a first-round pick (#8) in the 1996 MLS Supplemental Draft.^{[ref 2]} On 26 February 1996, in the first trade in league history, New York/New Jersey had acquired this first-round pick and midfielder Rhett Harty from San Jose Clash in exchange for defender Troy Dayak.^{[ref 3]}

Round 2

Pick #	MLS team	Player	Position	Affiliation
11	New York/New Jersey MetroStars^{[R2 trade 1]}	Scott Lamphear	D	University of Wisconsin–Madison
12	New York/New Jersey MetroStars	Miles Joseph	F	Clemson University
13	San Jose Clash	Derick Brownell	F	Santa Clara University
14	Tampa Bay Mutiny	Casey Sweeney	M	Butler University
15	Kansas City Wiz	Diego Gutierrez	M	Rockhurst University
16	New England Revolution	Imad Baba	M	Clemson University
17	Los Angeles Galaxy	Greg Vanney	M	UCLA
18	Tampa Bay Mutiny^{[R2 trade 2]}	Steve Ralston	M	Florida International University
19	Colorado Rapids	Paul Grafer	GK	William & Mary College
20	Columbus Crew	Ricci Greenwood	F	Seattle Pacific University

Round 2 trades

^ #11: D.C. United → New York/New Jersey MetroStars. 4 March 1996: New York/New Jersey MetroStars acquired this second-round pick, a second-round selection (#11) in the 1996 MLS Supplemental Draft, and goalkeeper Matthew Olson from D.C. United in exchange for a first-round pick (#8) in the 1996 Supplemental Draft.^{[ref 2]}
^ #18: Dallas Burn → Tampa Bay Mutiny. 4 March 1996: Tampa Bay Mutiny acquired this second-round pick from Dallas Burn in exchange for a second-round selection (#14) in the 1996 MLS Supplemental Draft.^{[ref 2]}

Round 3

Pick #	MLS team	Player	Position	Affiliation
21	D.C. United	Jesse Marsch	M	Princeton University
22	New York/New Jersey MetroStars	Hamisi Amani-Dove	F	Rutgers University
23	San Jose Clash	Eddie Lewis	F	UCLA
24	Tampa Bay Mutiny	Nate Daligcon	D	Seattle Pacific University
25	Kansas City Wiz	Dion Sebwe	D	Park University
26	New England Revolution	Paulo Dos Santos	M	University of Rhode Island
27	Los Angeles Galaxy	Ante Razov	F	UCLA
28	Dallas Burn	Brandon Cavitt	M	Sacramento State University
29	Colorado Rapids	PASS
30	Columbus Crew	Todd Miller	M	Westminster College

Round 3 trades

No trades reported.

References

^ ^a ^b "2014 SuperDraft Book" (PDF). Major League Soccer. Retrieved December 4, 2014.
^ ^a ^b ^c "MLS: Transactions". Soccer America. March 4, 1996. Retrieved December 4, 2014.
^ Yannis, Alex (February 27, 1996). "Soccer Report". New York Times. Retrieved December 4, 2014.

[2] #1: D.C. United → Kansas City Wiz. 3 March 1996: Kansas City Wiz acquired this first-round pick and goalkeeper Garth Lagerwey from D.C. United in exchange for goalkeeper Jeff Causey.^{[ref 1]}

[3] #2: New York/New Jersey MetroStars → D.C. United. 3 March 1996: D.C. United acquired this first-round selection from New York/New Jersey MetroStars in exchange for first-round (#1) and third-round (#21) picks in the 1996 MLS Supplemental Draft.^{[ref 1]}

[6] #3: San Jose Clash → New York/New Jersey MetroStars → Dallas Burn. 4 March 1996: Dallas Burn acquired this first-round selection from New York/New Jersey MetroStars in exchange for a first-round pick (#8) in the 1996 MLS Supplemental Draft.^{[ref 2]} On 26 February 1996, in the first trade in league history, New York/New Jersey had acquired this first-round pick and midfielder Rhett Harty from San Jose Clash in exchange for defender Troy Dayak.^{[ref 3]}

[7] #11: D.C. United → New York/New Jersey MetroStars. 4 March 1996: New York/New Jersey MetroStars acquired this second-round pick, a second-round selection (#11) in the 1996 MLS Supplemental Draft, and goalkeeper Matthew Olson from D.C. United in exchange for a first-round pick (#8) in the 1996 Supplemental Draft.^{[ref 2]}

[8] #18: Dallas Burn → Tampa Bay Mutiny. 4 March 1996: Tampa Bay Mutiny acquired this second-round pick from Dallas Burn in exchange for a second-round selection (#14) in the 1996 MLS Supplemental Draft.^{[ref 2]}

[Pick1-1] "2014 SuperDraft Book" (PDF). Major League Soccer. Retrieved December 4, 2014.

[Trades-4] "MLS: Transactions". Soccer America. March 4, 1996. Retrieved December 4, 2014.

[Harty-5] Yannis, Alex (February 27, 1996). "Soccer Report". New York Times. Retrieved December 4, 2014.

[R1 trade 1]

[R1 trade 2]

[R1 trade 3]

[ref 1]

[ref 2]

[ref 3]

[R2 trade 1]

[R2 trade 2]

v t e Major League Soccer
Seasons 2024 season Records and statistics 400 or more appearances 100 or more goals Hat-tricks Players Association Rivalry cups History Timeline Expansion U.S. Soccer Canada Soccer
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Future teams	San Diego FC (2025)
Former teams	Tampa Bay Mutiny (1996–2001) Miami Fusion (1998–2001) Chivas USA (2005–2014)
Personnel	Foreign players National team players International slots Designated Players Homegrown Players Generation Adidas Cup Transfers Coaches Owners Professional Referee Organization
Competition	MLS Cup Playoffs Finals Trophy Supporters' Shield SuperDraft Stadiums Attendance Television Broadcasters All-Star Game MLS Cup
Associated competitions	All-Star Game MLS Next CONCACAF Champions Cup Campeones Cup Leagues Cup U.S. Open Cup Canadian Championship Reserve League eMLS Cup MLS is Back Tournament MLS Next MLS Next Pro
Other	Generation Adidas Performance in Champions Cup Hall of Fame Valuations Central Division (2000–2001)
Category Portal Multimedia

v t e Major League Soccer drafts
MLS Inaugural Draft (1996)	Allocation Player Draft
MLS College Drafts (1996–1999)	1996 1997 1998 1999
MLS supplemental drafts (1996–2013)	1996 1997 1998 1999 2003 2005 2006 2007 2008 2011 2012 2013
MLS SuperDrafts (2000–present)	2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025
MLS contraction drafts (2002, 2014)	Allocation 2002 Dispersal 2002 Dispersal 2014
MLS expansion drafts (1997–present)	1997 2004 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2014 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
MLS Re-Entry Drafts (2010–present)	2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023