This Friday, December 20, the 2025 MLS SuperDraft was conducted, and San Diego FC added five new players to the event.

SDFC had the No. 1 overall pick in the draft and selected midfielder Manu Duah from the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Duah made UC Santa Barbara history as he became the first UC Santa Barbara athlete to be selected in a professional sports draft. Duah only played a single season with the Gauchos, where he played 14 games and was really impressed with his work on the defensive side of the sphere.

The 19-year-old midfielder has a commanding physical presence, standing in at 6-foot-4, and has plenty of potential to grow as a player. SDFC head coach Mikey Varas talked about Duah and his potential. “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. He can be a player that dominates MLS in a few years”, said Varas.

With the first overall pick in the 2025 MLS SuperDraft, @sandiegofc select UCSB midfielder Manu Duah. 🤝 pic.twitter.com/oauL0c4jKC

— Major League Soccer (@MLS) December 20, 2024

Some comparisons are already being made to legendary Spanish midfielder Sergio Busquets with Duah’s physical presence and style of play. Manu Duah seemed eager for the major opportunity to play in Major League Soccer and talked about his new teammate, Hirving “Chucky” Lozano.

“I want to get to the place that he is; that’s the dream. Play just like he did, get to the high level that he did. I’m ready to learn from him, just to know everything, how he got there”, said Manu Duah.

San Diego FC did make some transactions in this draft, trading away the ninth overall pick to Charlotte in exchange for the 17th overall pick and $100,000 in GAM. SDFC then went on to trade that 17th pick to New York City in exchange of the 24th overall pick and $75,000 in GAM.

With that 24th overall pick, San Diego selected defender Ian Pilcher from UNC Charlotte. With the 31st pick in the SuperDraft, SDFC picked up defender Harrison Bertos from the University of Washington.

The penultimate pick of the draft for the Southern California club was San Diego native Sammy Kanaan from USD with the 56th pick. Finally, selected with the 61st pick in the 2025 MLS SuperDraft, SDFC picked forward Donovan Sessoms from Sacramento State.

The draft was a success for San Diego FC as vital General Allocation Money was acquired along with a very talented No. 1 pick in Manu Duah. The transition to Major League Soccer for these players often has to be fast, given how young players are expected to adapt to the professional scene in world football.

It will be interesting to see just how many of these players end up having minutes for San Diego FC in the upcoming MLS season.

Francisco Velasco

Francisco, 26, Chula Vista/Tijuana. I have been a Padres fan all my life, did most of the series previews and recaps in the Padres’ 2016 season for EVT. Now I focus more on the local soccer scene. Tijuana Xolos, San Diego Loyal, San Diego Wave.