Indianapolis, IN (Sports Network) - The New England Revolution traded up to get the first overall pick in Thursday's MLS SuperDraft and proceeded to select standout defender Andrew Farrell from the University of Louisville.
New England was slated to make the fourth overall pick but announced a trade with Toronto FC on Wednesday that helped the two sides swap picks in addition to the Revs sending allocation to the Canadian club.
The Revs used the upgrade to take Farrell, who was widely touted as the most MLS-ready talent available at the draft.
"We're very pleased to add Andrew to the Revolution," General Manager Michael Burns said. "We believe he is the best player available in this draft class and proactively made the deal with Toronto to move up the draft order so we could ensure he was available when we picked. We're looking forward to getting him into camp with us and getting him acclimated to the Revolution. We believe he has a very bright future with our club and in this league."
Farrell signed a Generation Adidas contract with the league prior to the draft and has been automatically added to New England's roster. Because of the nature of Generation Adidas contracts, his salary will not count against the Revolution's cap.
New England also selected striker Donnie Smith from UNC-Charlotte (21st overall), striker Luke Spencer from Xavier (23rd overall) and goalkeeper Luis Soffner from Indiana (36th overall).
Chivas USA surprised no one with the second overall pick in the draft. Jose Luis Sanchez Sola, the club's new head coach, announced earlier in the week that the Goats would take Carlos Alvarez. With the first pick out of the way, Chivas stayed on track and selected the University of Connecticut midfielder, who joins the club on a Generation Adidas contract.
Toronto selected Boston College midfielder Kyle Bekker with the third overall pick and proceeded to trade away the fourth pick to Vancouver Whitecaps FC. The 'Caps took a pair of strikers with the fourth and fifth picks, selecting Kekuta Manneh from the Austin Aztex and Erik Hurtado from Santa Clara University.
