2021 MLS Draft Rankings: Version 1.0

by TopDrawerSoccer

January 15, 2021

The 2021 edition of the MLS Draft is set to go ahead on January 21.

This despite the fact that all but a handful of college programs played in the fall, which predominately featured ACC teams and a few others.

MLS announced a list of 176 players eligible, which featured an interesting group of names. Included in it are players that competed in the 2019 college season, but went on to sign contracts with USL Championship or League One teams. It's unclear how exactly that will work, as it will be dependent on each player's contract and whether or not that they structured to let them leave for a training camp opportunity for an MLS shot.

As an example, Josh Bauer signed a deal with Birmingham Legion, but a source confirmed that it is structured to allow him to compete for a spot on an MLS team. The other players to watch in this scenario are all included in the TDS Top 50: Joshua Penn (Indiana), Daniel Steedman (Virginia), Nicky Hernandez (SMU) and Aedan Stanley (Duke). At the very least, players like that could have their MLS rights drafted at some point.

Three Generation adidas signees were also introduced, as Philip Mayaka, Calvin Harris and Daniel Pereira make the jump from ACC programs. All three will require international roster spots, but could develop into quality players in the league. Surveying the talent pool, there's not a Daryl Dike-level talent in the mix either -- none of these players jump out as potentially attracting interest from overseas teams. Andrea Ueland could potentially join the GA class prior to next week's draft.

Below is the Top 50 rankings for the draft, compiled in consulation with The Soccer Syndicate.

Rank	Player	Position	School
1	Philip Mayaka*	M	Clemson
2	Calvin Harris*	F	Wake Forest
3	Josh Bauer	D	New Hampshire
4	Daniel Pereira*	M	Virginia Tech
5	David Egbo	F	Akron
6	Nabi Kibunguchy	D	UC Davis
7	Aime Mabika	D	Kentucky
8	Rio Hope-Gund	D	Georgetown
9	Matt Di Rosa	D	Maryland
10	Rodney Michael	M/F	UC Santa Barbara
11	Joshua Penn	F	Indy Eleven
12	Kimarni Smith	F	Clemson
13	Aedan Stanley	D	Unattached
14	Luther Archimede	F	Syracuse
15	Daniel Steedman	M	Atlanta United 2
16	Joshua Drack	D	Denver
17	Logan Panchot	D	Stanford
18	Edward Kizza	F	Pittsburgh
19	Irakoze Donasiyano	M	Virginia
20	Danny Trejo	F	CSUN
21	Spencer Glass	D	Indiana
22	Giuseppe Barone	M	Michigan State
23	Derek Dodson	F	Georgetown
24	Justin Malou	D	Clemson
25	Nicky Hernandez	M	North Texas SC
26	Kristofer Strickler	F	Virginia Tech
27	Jon-Talen Maples	D	SMU
28	Alexander Dexter	F	Pittsburgh
29	Louis Perez	M	UCF
30	Matthew Constant	D	North Carolina
31	Jackson Ragen	D	Michigan
32	Andrew Panenberg	GK	Wake Forest
33	Lamine Conte	D	Louisville
34	Thomas Judge	D	James Madison
35	Leroy Enzugusi	M	Drake
36	Thomas Williamson	F	California
37	Avionne Flanagan	M	South Florida
38	Justin McMaster	F	Wake Forest
39	Joe Hafferty	D	Oregon State
40	Diego Gutierrez	F	Creighton
41	Ben Di Rosa	D	Maryland
42	Javain Brown	D	South Florida
43	Mitch Guitar	M	Wisconsin
44	Yoni Sorokin	M	UCF
45	Charlie Wehan	F	Stanford
46	Paul Rothrock	M	Georgetown
47	Umar Farouk Osman	F	Michigan
48	Michael DeShields	D	Wake Forest
49	Mark Winhoffer	M	Yale
50	Jacob Stensson	M	Denver