Major League Soccer completed the first two rounds of the 2015 MLS SuperDraft Thursday afternoon at the Philadelphia Convention Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Sporting KC used its three first round selections on University of California - Berkeley midfielder Connor Hallisey, University of Akron defender Saad Adbul-Salaam and Clemson University defender Amadou Dia.
Following the two rounds, we spoke with TopDrawerSoccer.com's Travis Clark to get his thoughts on Sporting KC's selections and the draft as a whole.
Jonathan Kaplan: What were your overall thoughts of today's draft? Any major surprises?
Travis Clark: I think that there was the normal amount of surprise you could expect from the MLS SuperDraft. There were fewer trades than last year, and maybe it was a surprise to see Generation adidas players drop, but more uncertainty around younger players like Cristian Roldan and Conor Donovan saw them slip.
JK: What can Sporting KC fans expect from Connor Hallisey?
TC: Connor is a great fit for the way Sporting KC tries to play the game. A true left winger, he is coming off a great season for a Cal team that continues to churn out accomplished pro prospects under head coach Kevin Grimes. Not sure if he'd be ready to come and start immediately, but he's someone that could potentially contribute this year. A dynamic player who can challenge players on the dribble, he showed the ability to both score and create last fall. The next step is showing he can do that consistently against MLS defenders.
JK: Saad Abdul-Salaam comes from a long line of attacking right backs coming out of Akron. Does he share any similarities with his predecessors (Kofi Sarkodie, DeAndre Yedlin, etc.)?
TC: Abdul-Salaam is probably a little less polished than guys like Sarkodie or Yedlin were coming out of Akron (and both of those guys needed work). He showed glimpses of a very promising player at times at Akron, though struggled to be consistent. He is definitely lethal running from his right back spot, but also needs to shore up his one-v-one defending -- just like the aforementioned Akron alumni.
JK: Amadou Dia is a player who TopDrawerSoccer.com did not have being drafted in the final Mock Draft. Give us your synopsis of his game and how he fits at the MLS level.
TC: Dia was a little bit of a surprise on draft day, as he was one of the non-combine invitees to get selected earlier in the day. It's not that surprising, though, as teams tend to lean on guys they know and have scouted well. Dia showed consistency and versatility as an athletic player with good one-v-one defending skills who could potentially provide depth to SKC.
JK: When you look at the needs of Sporting KC heading into Thursday, how would you sum up the first two rounds of their Draft?
TC: While acknowledging that Sporting is also looking elsewhere for potential players, they did pretty well in terms of locating players on draft day to boost depth. Hallisey could play up front as a left forward, while Abdul-Salaam and Dia add depth at the back. All-in-all, it's a good haul, at least in the immediate aftermath.
