MLS announces 2019 Generation adidas class

by Travis Clark

January 4, 2019

Seven underclassmen have officially signed Generation adidas contracts and will be available at next week's 2019 MLS Draft, the league announced on Friday.

Frankie Amaya (UCLA), Tajon Buchanan (Syracuse), Griffin Dorsey (Indiana), Siad Haji (VCU), John Nelson (North Carolina), JJ Williams (Kentucky) and Dayne St. Clair (Maryland) are the seven players to have signed on the dotted line.

Amaya and Dorsey were key contributors for their respective college teams in 2018, with the duo also missing a chunk of the season with the U.S. Under-20 Men's National Team at qualifying. Haji, an attacking winger from VCU, was the Atlantic 10 Midfielder of the Year. A force over two seasons for Syracuse, Buchanan's a forward that could potentially feature out wide in MLS.

JJ Williams emerged as one of the stories of the 2018 campaign. A native of Alabama, the 6-foot-4 forward scored 18 goals and was named to the TopDrawerSoccer.com Best XI First Team along with Haji. St. Clair, a goalkeeper from Ontario, Canada, didn't concede a goal during the NCAA tournament as the Terps won their first national championship since 2008.

Andre Shinyashiki (Denver) also inked a senior contract with the league ahead of Friday's draft, while 2019 Caribbean Combine MVP Peter-Lee Vassell, a midfielder from Jamaica, is set to compete at the combine starting on Saturday, January 5.

Below is a highlight reel for each player available.

Siad Haji