Hamady Diop among San Diego FC's expansion draft picks

San Diego FC selected five players, including 2023 MLS SuperDraft No. 1 overall pick Hamady Diop, in the 2024 MLS Expansion Draft on Wednesday as it prepares for its inaugural 2025 season.

Three of the selections -- Diop, Heine Gikling Bruseth and Jasper Loffelsend -- will remain with San Diego, while the other two picks, Thiago Andrade and Hosei Kijima, were traded for assets.

Clubs that had a player selected will receive $50,000 in General Allocation Money.

Diop, 22, a versatile defender from Senegal, has played in four games for Charlotte FC and spent the second half of 2024 on loan in Serbia. He is entering his third professional season.

Loffelsend, a 27-year-old Germany native, has played three seasons in MLS with Real Salt Lake (2022-23) and the Colorado Rapids (2024). In 69 matches from 2022-24, he recorded two goals and eight assists while playing fullback and midfield.

Bruseth has yet to play an MLS match and is a member of MLS' U22 Initiative roster. The 20-year-old Norwegian midfielder joined Orlando City this summer from top-flight side Kristiansund BK in Norway.

Andrade, who helped NYFYC win the MLS Cup in 2021, was dealt to Toronto FC for the No. 9 pick in the 2025 MLS SuperDraft along with $250,000 in General Allocation Money and a sell-on percentage in any future move. The 24-year-old Brazilian produced 12 goals and five assists with NYCYC in 71 games from 2021-23. He spent this season on loan in China.

Kijima, a 22-year-old Japanese midfielder, was sent to D.C. United for $400,000 in General Allocation Money. The No. 17 overall pick in the 2023 MLS SuperDraft, he totaled four points (two goals, two assists) in 21 appearances for St. Louis City across all competitions this year.

San Diego FC, which will play home games at San Diego State's football stadium, will become the 30th team in MLS in 2025. The club has six players under contract so far, headlined by Mexican winger Hirving "Chucky" Lozano.

--Field Level Media