Expansion San Diego FC make Manu Duah No. 1 pick in MLS draft

Field Level Media|published: Fri 20th December, 17:28 2024

May 18, 2023; San Diego, CA, USA; San Diego FC chief executive officer Tom Penn speaks during a press conference at Snapdragon Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Orlando Ramirez-Imagn Images

UC Santa Barbara midfielder Manu Duah was selected No. 1 overall by San Diego FC in Friday's 2025 MLS SuperDraft, making him the first draft pick in the expansion club's history.

Duah, a native of Ghana, played one season for the Gauchos and helped them notch six clean sheets in his 14 matches. He had one assist but mainly projects as a stellar defensive midfielder.

"With Manu, it was very, very obvious that this is a player with tremendous potential. A player who's already good but can improve a lot," coach Mikey Varas told reporters in a virtual press conference. "He can be a player who dominates MLS in a few years."

The entire three-round, 90-pick college draft was held Friday afternoon.

The San Jose Earthquakes picked second overall after finishing last in the league standings in 2024 and drafted Saint Louis defender Max Floriani. The Chicago Fire took Wisconsin forward Dean Boltz at No. 3.

The Colorado Rapids traded up to No. 4 with Sporting Kansas City and took Cornell forward Alex Harris. The Earthquakes made a deal with the New England Revolution to move to No. 5 and used their second pick of the day on San Francisco defender Reid Roberts.

--Field Level Media