Chicago takes Harrison with 1st pick; trades him to NYCFC
The Chicago Fire selected midfielder Jack Harrison of Wake Forest with the first overall pick in the MLS SuperDraft, then traded him to New York City FC.
Harrison, a former Manchester United academy player from England, was the ACC offensive player of the year last year as a freshman with the Demon Deacons, with eight goals and 11 assists. At 19 he was the youngest player in Thursday's draft.
The Fire traded Harrison to NYCFC for the fourth pick in the draft and selected Stanford's Brandon Vincent, a left back who is currently in the U.S. national team's January training camp.
"I know it sounds corny, but they say that America is the land of opportunity, and for me it's been nothing but that," Harrison said when he was selected.
PHILLY'S HAUL: The Colorado Rapids traded the No. 2 pick to Philadelphia for allocation money, giving the Union the second, third and sixth picks. The Union took a pair of Georgetown defenders, Joshua Yaro and Keegan Rosenberry. With the sixth pick (acquired in a December trade with Houston), Philly took midfielder Fabian Herbers of Creighton. The team also got defender Taylor Washington of George Mason with the No. 23 pick.
ROUNDING OUT THE TOP 5: With the No. 5 pick, Real Salt Lake got North Carolina midfielder Omar Holness.
MAGEE RETURNS: Before the draft started Thursday, the Los Angeles Galaxy announced they had signed MLS veteran free agent Mike Magee. The 31-year-old forward has spent the last three seasons with the Fire. Magee was named MLS MVP in 2013 while with the Galaxy, scoring 21 goals with seven assists. In 13 MLS seasons, Magee has 64 goals and 34 assists.
Later Thursday, the Galaxy announced the signing of forward Emmanuel Boateng of Ghana, who played last season with Helsingborgs IF in Sweden.
That was it for the day for the Galaxy, who didn't have a pick in the first two rounds.
HELLO FREE AGENCY: In addition to the draft process, this is the first year of free agency for MLS. Players who were either out of a contract at the end of the season or didn't have their option picked up, and are at least 28 years old with a minimum of eight years in the league, were eligible.
In addition to Magee, other free agents who have signed contracts this week include midfielder Ned Grabavoy, picked up by the Portland Timbers, and Jalil Anibaba, signed by the Houston Dynamo. The Galaxy also re-signed free-agent forward Alan Gordon.
STEAL OF THE DRAFT?: The Timbers, the defending MLS Cup champions, took Syracuse striker Ben Polk with the 20th overall pick in the draft. Polk has had an interesting and circuitous path to MLS: He was born in Arizona but with a dad in the Air Force he moved as a child to Saudi Arabia. He later moved to England with his mother, but she was unable to properly care for him and a friend's family took him in.
Taking advantage of a program for young players in England, he landed at Genesee Community College in New York. After a stint at Herkimer College, he played his final season at Syracuse. He finished the 2015 season with 12 goals and four assists, and the Orange advanced to the NCAA College Cup.
Draft analysts said that not only is Polk a proven commodity on the field, his background shows he's resilient and dedicated.
GONE BUT NOT FORGOTTEN: With the last pick in the second round, the Columbus Crew selected forward Marshall Hollingsworth of Wheaton College. The catch? The Crew got the pick in a 2014 trade with Chivas USA, a team that doesn't exist anymore.
TO BE CONTINUED: The final two rounds of the SuperDraft will be held on Jan. 19 via conference call.