This is my, now annual, look at the MLS combine teams. These teams will face each other over the course of two matches, beginning tomorrow. I'm looking to evaluate which players are best served by their assignments, and pick out the players who could shine.
TEAM X
Team X has no Generation Adidas (talented underclassmen, handpicked, and signed by MLS with special contractual perks) players on it. However, it does feature three of the draft's four most talented seniors. Andre Shiniyashiki was one of the best college players last year, and led the league by scoring (and points) with 28 goals. However, he's undersized at 5'9", and plays a premium position that MLS teams usually look elsewhere for. He needs to have a good combine to prove that he has the ability to score at the next level. Luckily for him, he'll have the best senior playmaker behind him, Sergio Rivas. Rivas was a very good college player, but college central playmakers aren't often valued in the draft. He'll have to prove he can handle a position on the wing, because I don't think he has the grit to slide into a box-to-box role. Callum Montgomery completes the elite senior triumvirate. He's the best defender in the draft, and he's left-footed. That means his named will be called very early the day of the draft. He'll look to stabilize an otherwise solid, but less than spectacular defense, which includes center backs Roy Boateng and Brendan McDonough, right back, Rece Buckmaster, and left back, Chase Gasper. Boateng is likely the best prospect in that group. In the midfield, Camden Riley is an interesting prospect to watch. TopDrawerSoccer's Travis Clark describes him as, "a talented attacker who can score and create goals" while, Ives Galarcep (of goal.com and SBIsoccer) lists him as a defensive midfielder on his big board. Without the athleticism to play wide, Riley will probably have to make it as a #8 in MLS. Riley is one to keep an eye on for the next week, I think there's some similarities between he and Julian Gressel. Anderson Asiedu is likely to be the defensive midfielder in a 4-3-3 lineup. Joining Shinyashiki up front is a trio of decent prospects: Amir Bashti, Don Tchilao, and Shinya Kadono. Bashti and Tchilao are former Pac-12 rivals (Bashti attended Stanford, Tchilao went to Oregon State). They both had good seasons (Tchilao had seven goals and nine assists, Bashti had seven goals and six assists); Tchilao is the bigger and more physical of the two.
*It looks like Andre Shinyashiki has been signed by MLS. That makes me really excited, because it makes me believe at least one team believes Shinyashiki is good enough to make their roster this year. Shinyashiki is from Brazil and would use an international roster spot.
Top players on my watch list:
- D C.Montgomery
- F A.Shiniyashiki
- M S.Rivas
- M C.Riley
- M/F A.Bashti
- F D.Tchilao
TEAM COPA
Team Copa is highlighted by two Generation Adidas forwards, the best senior midfielder in the draft, and a solid defense, which includes the most interesting goalie in the draft, Dayne St. Clair. St. Clair just won a national title with Maryland, and has signed with MLS as a Generation Adidas contact. His position as a GA goalkeeper is an interesting one. I heard Bobby Warshaw on the podcast, ExtraTime Radio, say that it would be very advantageous for a team to take St. Clair as a GA player, and take advantage of his contract exceptions, and he would retain GA status basically until he was ready to become the starter. JJ Williams and Griffin Dorsey will be the players to watch on the frontline. Both are Generation Adidas players. Williams is a massive striker (6'4) from Kentucky. He will garner attention for his size and ability to lead the line. He scored 18 goals last season. Dorsey is a winger from Indiana, and has played with the youth national teams, and has been called up to the U-20 team by Tab Ramos. Dorsey should be in a good position to provide service to the best target man in the draft. Another forward worth watching is Sebastian Elney, who was a teammate of St. Clair at Maryland. Janos Loebe could lineup on the left side of the midfield, but Ives Galarcep has him listed as a LB on his big board. It'll be interesting to see where he's placed on the team. Loebe finished last season with seven goals and eleven assists. The midfield will revolve around Brad Dunwell. Dunwell could be a top-five pick. He was the leader of one of the nation's best teams, Wake Forest. Dunwell sets the tone and pace of play for his team in the midfield, but he doesn't have great ability going forward. He'll have to prove he has the ball-winning ability to be a #6 in MLS. Playing beside Dunwell will be Joey Piatczyc. Piatczyc is a #10 out of West Virginia who will have to prove he can play as a #8 in MLS. He's in a good spot playing with Dunwell, as Dunwell will give Piatczyc the freedom to go forward. The backline is anchored by James Hauser-Ramsey and Scott DeVoss. The 6'3" Hauser-Ramsey is the better prospect of the two entering the combine. Abdi Mohamed will flank the two center backs on the right. He's one of several really good right back prospects in the combine, and should get opportunities to go forward. On the left is one of the best LB prospects, Marcello Borges. I see this team as a 442. I think Williams should succeed with good attackers like Dorsey and Piatczyc. The fullbacks should be able to move forward freely with a pair of good center backs, and Dunwell providing cover. I'm a little worried about Loebe. LB could be his best shot of a MLS career, but he has Borges and Dylan Greenberg fighting for minutes there already.
Top players on my watch list:
- F JJ Williams
- M B.Dunwell
- G D.St. Clair
- F G.Dorsey
- D A.Mohamed
- M J.Piatczyc
- D M.Borges
TEAM NEMEZIZ
Team Nemeziz lacks a truly exciting prospect (they may not have a top-10 player according to many draft boards). However, they are solid throughout. The best prospect entering the combine is left back, Akeem Ward. Fullback is a position of strength in this draft, and Ward will need to show his two-way potential to emerge from the pack. Speaking of that fullback depth, Nemeziz may have the best set of fullbacks of any combine team. Logan Gdula, Wake Forest, will start on the right, opposite Ward. Gdula will be one of the best fullbacks going forward in the draft. He tallied fourteen assists during the college season. He has the talent to be the first fullback taken in the draft, especially if he proves himself on the defensive side during the combine. Playing in central defense will be some combination of Alex Comsia, Prosper Figbe, and Lennart Hein. Figbe and Lennan would cost a team an international roster spot, so don't expect either to be on an MLS squad next season. Comsia is a little undersize for a center back, but a good combine could boost his stock. The midfield should be very solid for Nemeziz. Tommy McCabe is the best ball-winning midfielder entering the combine. Then there's Amar Sejdic, the captain of the national champions, Maryland. He's another college #10 that will have prove he can be a #8. Sejdic is a player who could fly up boards over the next week. He's good on the ball, and has the intangibles; if he proves effective playing in a deeper role he (like Joey Piatczyz for "X") could make a Gressel-esqe impact in MLS. Geoff Dee and Hassani Dotson are both more holding midfielders, and will look to separate themselves in the combine. DeJuan Jones is the archetype speedy winger that gets moved to a fullback position at the combine, i.e. Brandon Bye and Mark Segbers in 2018. Jones is another player who could drastically improve his draft stock if he shows defensive acumen (and if his speed proves to be the best in the draft). Unfortunately or Jones, Gdula is also on his team, and I don't know how many minutes at RB the coach will take from him. The front line will be led by Santino Patino. Patino is a #9, who scored twelve goals during the college season. He'll be the primary focus on offense, so we should get a good look at him during the combine. Patino is joined upfront by Abdou Mbacke Thiam of UConn. Thiam scored fourteen goals during the season. Thiam is behind Patino on experts' draft rankings right now. Tucker Bone is a winger. He should get ample playing time, and has a couple of productive #9s to feed. Nemeziz lacks a Generation Adidas player, but they are a balanced team. I expect them to play 433. They're fullbacks and central midfield are strengths.
Top players on my watch list:
- D A.Ward
- F S.Patino
- M T.McCabe
- M A.Sejdic
- D L.Gdula
- F/D D.Jones
- F/M T.Bone
Team Predator
Team Predator leads all teams with four Generation Adidas players, which means, there will be a lot of focus on this team. They may have the three best prospects currently in the draft in fact: Frankie Amaya, Tajon Buchanan, and Siad Haji. Frankie Amaya is the youngest player in the draft, but he's supremely talented, and has played for the youth national teams. Again, Amaya is very young (he won't turn 19 until September), and he's also very small (just 5'4"). A team probably isn't drafting Amaya for this season. Said Haji is one of the best playmakers in the draft. He's capable of playing on the wing in addition to playing centrally. He should go very high. Tajon Buchanan is the man who stands to benefit from Haji's skills. Buchanan is a sophomore from Syracuse. Syracuse has now produced a Generation Adidas player in each of the last five years (Buchanan, Mo Adams, Miles Robinson, Julian Buscher, and Alex Bono). Buchanan will be tried out both in a central role and out wide. He's one of the most versatile strikers in the draft. Predator's fourth GA is left back, John Nelson. Nelson seems like the overshadowed member of the GA class, but MLS teams always need domestic left-footed defenders. Joining Nelson on the backline are center backs, Kamal Miller and Wouter Verstaaten. Those two are solid CB prospects who will be trying to emerge as the top center back after Callum Montgomery. Andrew Samuels is yet another national championship winner at Maryland. He's a defensive midfielder that may be called in to play right back. Joel Rydstrand of Creighton and Javi Perez of Pittsburgh will round out the midfield. Ryan Sierakowski is a #9 from Michigan State, and he may get the opportunity to play between Haji and Buchanan at some point; that could be very beneficial to his draft stock. Team Predator has some of the most exciting players at the combine. However, I'm little worried that this team will be outmatched in the midfield. Thankfully the backline should be steady with two of the better center backs at the combine.
Top players on my watch list:
- F T.Buchanan
- M S.Haji
- M F.Amaya
- D J.Nelson
- D K.Miller
- D W.Verstraaten
- M/D A.Samuels
- F R.Sierakowski
That's my take on how these teams look. I'll check back in after the games today. It's a double header beginning at 12:30pm EST (Youtube, Facebook, Mlssoccer).
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