City SC midfielder Indiana Vassilev holds on to his protective face mask while being challenged by LA Galaxy defender John Nelson on Sunday, Sept. 1, 2024, at CityPark.
Two years ago, St. Louis City SC picked up some key pieces of its inaugural roster in the MLS expansion draft. Among the team’s picks were forward Niko Gioacchini, who would be the team’s co-leading scorer, midfielder Indiana Vassilev and John Nelson, the team’s starting left back for the first portion of the season.
On Wednesday, City SC will be on the other side of that draft as San Diego FC, the league’s 30th team, chooses five players from the rosters of the league’s other 29 teams.
The math says there’s a 5-in-6 probability that City SC passes through the event intact. Clubs get to protect 12 players on their rosters, with Homegrown players exempt. No team can lose more than one player, and teams that lose a player will receive $50,000 in general allocation money. The draft selections will be announced at 9:30 p.m. Wednesday.
But the math also said that City SC had to leave some players unprotected, with some strategic moves made so other players could be protected. For instance, City SC didn’t protect veteran center back Joakim Nilsson, on the theory that San Diego wouldn’t use a pick on a player who has missed more than half of the past two seasons to injury. Likewise, it didn’t protect Celio Pompeu or Tomas Ostrak, both of whom are coming off serious injuries.
People are also reading…
The full list of players City SC left unprotected: Njabulo Blom (who is on loan to a club in South Africa), Jake Girdwood-Reich, Kyle Hiebert, Hosei Kijima, John Klein (whose option was not picked up by the team), Ben Lundt, Jake Nerwinski (who is out of contract and a free agent), Nilsson, Christian Olivares, Ostrak, Selmir Pidro, Pompeu, Jayden Reid, Nokkvi Thorisson, Akil Watts, Michael Wentzel and Josh Yaro.
The list includes some promising young players in Girdwood-Reich and Kijima, though they may not have shown enough yet if San Diego is looking for player who can start on opening day, and center backs Hiebert and Yaro, who both have had extensive experience over the past two seasons. Yaro is also a known commodity in San Diego, having played for a USL Championship team there.
The 12 protected players were Rasmus Alm, Simon Becher, Roman Burki, Chris Durkin, Marcel Hartel, Jannes Horn, Henry Kessler, Klauss, Eduard Lowen, Cedric Teuchert, Tomas Totland and Vassilev. Homegrown players Miguel Perez, Caden Glover, Tyson Pearce and Mykhi Joyner were automatically protected. Recently acquired center back Timo Baumgartl is on neither list because his transfer paperwork and visa haven’t been finalized yet, so he’s not officially on the roster.
In addition to Gioacchini, Vassilev and Nelson, City SC’s other expansion draft selections were Jonathan Bell, who had undergone offseason sports hernia surgery and never caught up (and who was not protected by his current club, Seattle, and is available again), and Jake La Cava, a forward who was immediately traded to Inter Miami for general allocation money. That was also the day City SC acquired Tim Parker in a trade with Houston (again for allocation money).
SLU’s Floriani headed to College Showcase
The league announced its invitees to the MLS College Showcase, the league’s college combine in advance of the draft, which starts Thursday in San Diego.
On the list is SLU defender Max Floriani, and SLU coach Kevin Kalish will oversee one of the teams at the combine. Also invited was Indiana defender Jansen Miller, who went to Parkway West and played for the St. Louis FC academy team.
The MLS draft is Dec. 20. On Tuesday, Philadelphia traded all of its draft picks for the next three seasons to Colorado in exchange for allocation money, a move that highlights how some teams with productive academies don’t see the college draft is a major contributor to its roster.
Front office honors for City SC
City SC won four off-the-field honors from the league, the most of any club.
It won the community impact club award for its efforts to reach zero-waste status at first-team matches, with more than 90% of CityPark waste diverted away from landfills; the match presentation award for its game-day activities; the digital activation award for its campaign to promote how people have dealt with mental struggles; and an award for its security.
CityPark also received the Prix Versailles World Title as the world’s most beautiful sports venue.
