Pitchside Mock Draft

By Alex Fowler

Editor's Note: This draft is harder to judge than humanly imaginable, and I give all the credit in the world for Mr. Fowler's attempt. We shall see how it pans out. Note that New England will probably have a 2nd round draft pick at the expense of Miami as Waldo will not resign before the draft.

1.San Jose--Ed Johnson (F, US U-17)
Johnson has been called as good as Landon Donovan, only bigger (6-0, 170). Just 16 years old, he could with consistent p.t. eclipse Donovan in time. Johnson probably doesn't have enough time to claim a spot alongside the Leverkusen striker on the US team heading (with luck) to the Orient next year, but his international future is bright indeed. Joselito Vaca is a phenomenal playmaker, a position San Jose has always lacked, but Johnson has enough upside to justify passing on the 18-year-old Bolivian, especially with Dario Brose already in the San Jose side. A strikeforce of the U-17 international and Salvadoran international Ronald Cerritos could be scary indeed. An early tip to start in Germany.

2.Tampa Bay (via DC)--Tenywa Bonseu (D, Pittsburgh Riverhounds)
He isn't exactly young, but the 30-year-old Bonseu proved that he can play well in MLS in last year's playoffs, where he filled in superbly for injured Czech sweeper Lubos Kubik in Chicago. The Mutiny need a defender and a strike partner for Mamadou Diallo, and with so many young strikers in the draft (and the position of striker being one more conducive to youth and speed rather than the wisdom and intelligence required in a quality center back) they can afford to wait until their second pick at #6 to grab a front-man.

3.Columbus--Nick Downing (D, Maryland)
A former US U-20 international and arguably the top defender in the draft. Downing is on the small side and will have suffered from waiting until after his junior year to leave the college ranks, but he is a solid young defender who will fit in quite well with the Crew. He has good pace and is versatile, able to play either at sweeper or defensive midfielder. Not a future US international, but someone who should be able to start right away in Columbus.

4.Miami--Santino Quaranta (F, US U-17s)
With Diego Serna showing an ego to make Eric Wynalda proud and Brazilian journeyman Welton not getting any younger, Miami needs to bulk up on attack. They really wanted Palm Coast native Johnson, but settle for his U-17 strike partner Quaranta, a 6-0, 165 speedster out of Baltimore. Quaranta, winner of the Golden Ball as leading scorer in the prestigious Mundialito of Salerno Tournament in Italy last summer, is excellent at running at opponents and should mesh with Serna quite nicely.

5.Dallas (via Colorado)--Robert Russell (MF, Duke)
Dallas' biggest need is a defensive midfielder to complement Oscar Pareja and (occasionally) Lazo Alavanja in the center of the park. Russell, perhaps the most underrated player in the draft, is one of three quality defensive midfielders available. Because Nick Downing is already gone to Columbus and Stanford's Ryan Nelsen's MLS future is uncertain due to his European possibilities, new Burn coach Mike Jeffries makes Russell, an extremely solid player who more than makes up in consistency what he lacks in flash, his first pick as a head coach.

6.Tampa Bay (via DC, Colorado, New England)--Joselito Vaca (MF, Tahuichi)
Tampa Bay seriously considered taking Vaca with the #2 pick but decided that it was far safer to take the known quantity, Bonseu, and shore up their weak backline--especially with the ageless Carlos Valderrama showing no signs of slowing down in Tampa Bay (not that he ever showed any signs of speeding up, even in his 20s). With Vaca miraculously still available at #6, however, Tampa GM Bill Manning knows he would be a fool to pass up on the Bolivian phenom. Vaca learns his trade under Valderrama in 2001 and gradually takes over from the Colombian in 2002, the Crazy-Haired One retiring after that season to a well-earned testimonial.

7.Dallas--Brian Mullan (MF/F, Creighton)
With the middle of the field shored up, Dallas can concentrate on the wings. Mullan's speed is considerable, but is dwarfed by his workrate. While he may have some trouble adjusting to a wide midfield position, he will start immediately for Dallas and can fill in up top should Jason Kreis or Ariel Graziani go down.

8.San Jose (via New England, Tampa Bay)--Jose Burciaga (D, US U-20)
Burciaga is an incredibly speedy young left back who has the potential to make Quakes supporters forget all about Chris Gbandi's decision to stay at UConn for one more year. A former striker, Burciaga has considerable technical ability and could become one of the top young defenders in MLS.

9.Los Angeles--McKinley Tennyson (F, UCLA)
Los Angeles surprises no-one by taking Tennyson with their first selection in the draft. The huge (6-2, 195) striker has a knack for goal-scoring and, at age 22, should mature faster than U-17 phenoms Johnson, Quaranta, and Devin Barclay. He has a reputation for not living up to his potential and has been labeled as the type of player who can cost a coach his job, but this reputation did not land until Sigi Schmid left UCLA to take the Galaxy coaching job. Schmid knows how to get the best out of Tennyson, who will provide a perplexing challenge for MLS defenses alongside midget Cobi Jones.

10.San Jose (via MetroStars)--Ryan Suarez (D, San Jose State)
Suarez is a top-notch college defender. Cory Gibbs may be more skilled, but Suarez is a local boy who can shore up the center of the Quakes defense in case John Doyle does not return, as projected. A big (6-2, 175), fast player, Suarez is adaptable to either a 3-5-2 or a 4-4-2 and has been compared to Chicago marking back Carlos Bocanegra. Almost certainly a starter in San Jose.

11.Los Angeles--Shaun Tsakiris (MF, UCLA)
Galaxy coach Sigi Schmid takes his former protege Tsakiris, who will play alongside fellow Bruins Sasha Victorine and Pete Vagenas in the center of the LA midfield. Like Victorine and Vagenas, Tsakiris is not good enough to immediately claim a starting job as his own, but is a versatile player who is capable of playing just about anywhere in midfield. Tsakiris is not as good as Olympic heroes Victorine and Vagenas, both of whom have been capped for the US, but is a solid player whose UCLA heritage will make him LA's pick.

12.Kansas City--Greg Simmonds (F, Hershey Wildcats)
Another huge (6-3, 195) striker with speed, footwork, and finishing. The ideal target man for Roy Lassiter and Mo Johnston.

13.MetroStars (via San Jose)--Edson Buddle (F, Long Island Rough Riders)

14.San Jose (via DC)--Chris Carrieri (MF/F, North Carolina)

15.MetroStars (via Columbus)--Cory Gibbs (D, Brown)

16.San Jose (via Chicago, Miami)--Brent Rahim (MF, UConn)

17.Colorado--Mark Lisi (MF, Clemson)

18.Colorado--Devin Barclay (F, US U-20s)

19.Dallas--Ryan Lee (D, UCLA)

20.San Jose--Jorge Martinez (MF, San Jose State)

21.Miami (via Los Angeles)--Alberto Munoz (MF, Miami Breakers)

22.Los Angeles (via MetroStars)--Ali Curtis (MF/F, Duke)

23.San Jose (via Chicago)--Miguel Saavreda (F, Milwaukee Trade & Technical HS)

24.Kansas City--Adam Zapala (GK, Stanford)

25.Dallas (via Kansas City, San Jose)--Chris Humphreys (GK, San Jose State)

26.DC--Eddie Robinson (D, North Carolina)

27.Columbus--Fernando Ortiz Soliz (D, Tahuichi)

28.Miami--Darin Lewis (MF, UConn)

29.Chicago (via Columbus)--Dwayne DeRosario (F, Richmond Kickers)

30.Columbus (via New England)--Ryan Trout (MF, Virginia)

31.San Jose (via Dallas)--Isaias Bardales (F, San Jose State)

32.Colorado (via Tampa Bay)--Max Zieky (D, UConn)

33.Chicago (via Los Angeles)--TJ Hanning (GK, Indiana)

34.San Jose (via MetroStars)--Peter Henning (D, Creighton)

35.Kansas City (via Chicago)--Henry Ring (GK, South Carolina)

36.Kansas City--Craig Demmin (D, Rochester Rhinos)

37. San Jose--Fernando Rocha Lopez (MF, Tahuichi)

38.Miami (via DC)--Brian Namoff (MF, Bradley)

39.Columbus--Kevin Adams (D, Joe Public)

40.Miami--Kerwyn Jemmot (MF, Joe Public)

41.Colorado--Yari Allnutt (MF, Rochester Rhinos)

42.New England--Robbie Aristodemo (MF, Tulsa)

43.Dallas--Mike Potempa (D, Clemson)

44.Tampa Bay--Miguel Menduina Cortez (F, Tahuichi)

45.Los Angeles--Cory Woolfolk (F, Stanford)

46.MetroStars--Ricardo Villar (MF/F, Penn State)

47.New England (via Chicago)--Narciso Fernandes (F, Wisconsin)

48.Kansas City--Ryan Nelsen (MF, Stanford)

49.San Jose--Robert Hurtado Vaca (MF, Tahuichi)

50.DC--Paul Nagy (GK, St. Louis)

51.Columbus--Niki Budalich (MF, James Madison)

52.Miami--Brent Sancho (D, Charleston Battery)

53.New England (via Colorado)--Anthony DeLucia (D, Southern Connecticut)

54.New England--Ben Stafford (F, Wake Forest)

55.Dallas--Fernando Ortiz Solis (D, Tahuichi)

56.Tampa Bay--Renato Caetano (MF, trialist)

57.Los Angeles--Kevin Legg (MF, San Diego Flash)

58.MetroStars--Omar Chavez (D, St. John's)

59.Kansas City (via Chicago)--Michael Casale (D, Washington)

60.Kansas City--Eric Lukin (F, Illinois-Chicago)

61.San Jose--Ryan Nelsen (MF, Stanford)

62.DC--Scott Powers (MF, Brown)

63.Columbus--Adrian Serioux (D, Toronto Lynx)

64.Miami--Teofilo Cubillas (MF/F, Nova Southeastern)

65.Colorado--Sheldon Thomas (F, Orange County Waves)

66.New England--Rob Birch (D/MF, Maryland)

67.Dallas--Craig Waibel (D, Seattle Sounders)

68.Chicago (via Tampa Bay)--Bektas Bilgilisoy (F, Illinois-Springfield)

69.Los Angeles--Duncan Oughton (MF, Cal State-Fullerton)

70.MetroStars--RJ Kaszuba (F, Dayton)

71.Chicago--Matthew Bobo (D, Chicago Sockers)

72.Kansas City--Brian Loftin (F, Milwaukee Rampage)