Seven, that’s right, seven Long Island Rough Riders were selected in the MLS SuperDraft on Friday.
They were Sam Sarver, Jansen Miller, Nico Cavallo, Nick Dang, Kieran Chandler, CJ Williams and Jacob Woznicki.
In the order of selection:
Miller, graduate student defender at Indiana University, was chosen by Sporting Kansas City as the eighth overall pick. Miller played with the 2023 Rough Riders’ team. He recently completed his third season at IU in 2024 after transferring from Xavier University before the 2022 season. In 50 appearances, Miller helped the Hoosiers keep 13 clean sheets. He finished with two goals and five assists. Last month Miller scored the golden goal in IU’s NCAA Division I second round 2-1 win over Akron.
Sarver, a senior who played with Long Island during its march to the USL League Two final in 2022, was taken by FC Dallas as the 41st overall pick in the second round. A senior defender at Indiana University, Sarver played and started in 20 matches this past season, scoring five goals and assisting eight. He helped Indiana win the Big Ten regular season title. He was named to the All-Big Ten first team in 2024. Sarver is a product of the Columbus Crew youth academy.
Only two picks later, Chandler was chosen by Minnesota United. The University of Connecticut defender played on the 2024 Riders squad. The Simsbury, Conn. native started all 18 matches for the Huskies this fall, providing four assists in almost 1,400 minutes. He also was named to the All-Big East third team for the second consecutive year. Across the past two seasons at UConn, the defender mad 32 starts. At the youth level, Chandler played for MLS NEXT club Oakwood SC. Chandler was also an invitee that participated in the 2024 MLS College Showcase.
Dang, a junior at the University of Virginia who competed with the Rough Riders in 2023, was taken by Real Salt Lake at the 49th overall selection, in the second round. A native of Valley Stream, N.Y., Williams started 15 of the 16 games he appeared in, anchoring the back line. Williams logged 1,200 minutes, playing the full 90 minutes in nine contests, including the 1-0 shutout victory over No. 8 University of North Carolina in the regular season finale.
Woznicki, a graduate student at Hofstra University, was grabbed by the MLS Cup champion LA Galaxy as the 60th selection, on the final pick of the second round. He performed with the Rough Riders this past season. Woznicki became the eighth Hofstra player selected in the MLS Draft, joining Gary Flood (2007), Michael Todd (2007), Joseph Holland (2017), Sean Nealis (2019), Matthew Vowinkel (2021), Ryan Carmichael (2023), and Eliot Goldthorp (2023). All of those players competed for the Riders.
Williams, junior defender who played at Boston College, was drafted by the New England Revolution, as the 65th overall pick. William played for the 2024 Rough Riders team. A native of Valley Stream, N.Y., Williams started 15 of the 16 games he appeared in, anchoring the back line for the Eagles. Williams logged 1200 minutes, playing the full 90 minutes in nine contests, including the 1-0 shutout victory over No. 8 North Carolina in the regular season finale. Williams has 41 starts in 46 games played over the course of three seasons, logging 3,635 minutes with one goal.
And Cavallo, a graduate student defender at UCLA, was selected by New York City FC as the 88th draft choice. Ninety players were taken by 30 teams over three rounds. A native of Richmond, Va. Cavallo started all 19 of the Bruins’ matches this fall. He earned a spot on the All-Big Ten second team. Utilized primarily at outside back, the transfer student tallied one goal and two assists. Cavallo played a team-high 1,640 minutes. His lone goal of the season came in UCLA’s 3-0 win at Rutgers, while both of his assists came against Big Ten opposition
Written by Michael Lewis