FC Dallas had quite a busy day, moving up and adding picks in the 2026 MLS SuperDraft, and came away with the MLS rights for six new players
“We were aggressive (in the draft) for a couple reasons,” said FC Dallas President Dan Hunt. “We have some open roster spots on our supplemental roster, which makes sense to fill with good college draft picks, especially when you can get top talent. This is a really talented group of players, and we listened to the staff talk about them over the last couple of weeks so I think we filled a lot of needs here.”
As a reminder, the bulk of these players in year one will spend a lot of time with North Texas SC, even if some of them are on the MLS roster. To quote the club, “North Texas SC head coach John Gall, who attends the annual MLS College Showcase to scout prospects, is heavily involved in the draft process.”
As a reminder, “All Generation adidas players are Supplemental Roster players during the initial guaranteed term of their contract.”
2nd Overall – Ricky Louis, Forward, Georgia Southern
A Generation adidas contract sophomore – no cap hit – out of Georgia Southern. Born in Haiti but raised in Fort Myers. Listed at 6’2″ and 175 lbs, 20 years of age, 2025 First-Team All Sun Belt. More of a winger than a 9. Born in Haiti, but raised in Florida (domestic player).
Two seasons in college, 33 games, 31 starts, 12 goals, and 6 assists. (8g, 3a in 17 games this year).
3rd Overall – Nicholas Simmonds, Forward, Virginia
A Generation adidas contract freshman – no cap hit – out of Virginia. MAC Hermann Trophy Semifinalist, First-Team All-ACC, ACC Freshman of the Year, and ACC All-Tournament Team. His dad played pro soccer in MLS and USL. 6’4″ and 195 lbs. Simmonds was just the third Cavalier freshman in school history to earn first-team All-American honors. He’s also been a Jamaican U17 and U20, but has dual US eligibility (domestic player).
This season: 10 goals, 5 assists in 19 starts. Wore the 7 at UVA but plays as a 9. 19 years old.
Important note: Any underclassmen selected after this point could return to school.
16th Overall – Niklas Herceg, Goalkeeper, Vermont
FCD needed a keeper, so it’s no shock to see them draft one. Herceg is 6’6″ and a Herman Semifinalist. The native German made 36 starts in 2 seasons with a collective 0.71 GAA and an 81.9% save pct. Played for VfL Vichttal in Germany. 22 years old.
2024 NCAA Champion as a freshman. All-ECAC First Team in 2025, 2nd Team in 2024.
“The three players we got in the first round were the exact players that we wanted going into this draft,” said FC Dallas Chief Soccer Officer/Sporting Director André Zanotta. “Ricky (Louis) really impressed us, especially at the combine. I think he was the best player in the combine so we’re so excited to see him with us now. (Nicholas) Simmonds, he’s a natural goal scorer, so bringing a domestic No. nine with his size, his athleticism, I see a bright, bright future for him. And Niklas Herceg is the best college goalkeeper, and he’s from a very good school of goalkeepers in Germany. We can’t wait to have all three of them with us in preseason and moving forward in 2026.”
40th Overall – Edouard Nys, Attacking Mid, Illinois Chicago
A 5-foot-8, 145-pound junior from Belgium, Nys was named Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year and Forward of the Year with 16 goals and 5 assists. Prior to the one season at UIC, Nys played two seasons at Northeast CC, where he had 48 goals and 49 assists. Nys came out of the KVK Westhoek youth system. 21 years old.
Former FC Dallas striker Aleksey Korol is on the UIC staff as Associate Head Coach.
44th Overall – Umberto Pela, Holding Mid, Virginia
The senior holding mid from Italy was a two-time captain at Virginia. Formally, he was with Como 19-7 in Italy. Named Third Team All-ACC in 2025 and Third Team All-American. 5’11” and 165 lbs. Career at Virginia: 57 games, 54 starts, 5 goals, and 8 assists. 22 years old.
66th Overall – Olayinka Ogunleye, Center Back, Louisville
Coming in at 6 feet 4 inches and 190 pounds, Ogunleye certainly has the physical profile. The Illinois native sophomore played in 29 games, making 28 starts with 2 goals and 1 assist. Played with Socker FC in MLS Next. 19 years old. Lefty.
Draft Day Moves
Dallas was active on SuperDraft Day, the club acquired Red Bull New York’s 12th overall pick in exchange for $100,000 in General Allocation Money ($50,000 in 2026 GAM, $50,000 in 2027 GAM) and the 21st overall pick.
FC Dallas then traded the 12th overall pick alongside $400,000 GAM ($350,000 in 2026 GAM; $50,000 in 2027 GAM) with Atlanta United FC to move up to the second overall pick and selected Georgia Southern University standout Ricardo Louis.
In the second round, FC Dallas traded $75,000 2027 GAM with the Colorado Rapids for the 40th and 44th overall picks, which Dallas used to select Edouard Nys and Umberto Pelà.