University of New Hampshire's Moise Bambito, of Montreal, carries the ball in this undated handout photo. Bambito was named to the Generation Adidas class ahead of Wednesdays MLS SuperDraft. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO, Stu Horne, UNH Athletics *MANDATORY CREDIT*
Canadian defender Moise Bombito, a junior defender at the University of New Hampshire, is one of eight players named to the Generation Adidas class ahead of Wednesday’s MLS SuperDraft.
Generation Adidas is a joint program between Major League Soccer and Adidas that sees top collegiate underclassmen and youth national team players signed by MLS to Generation Adidas contracts and made available in the draft. Generation Adidas players are attractive commodities because their initial salaries do not count against a team’s salary cap.
Past Canadian Generation Adidas players include Cyle Larin (taken first overall in the 2015 draft), Tajon Buchanan (No. 9, 2019), Richie Laryea (No. 7, 2016) and Dayne St. Clair(No. 7, 2019).
Bombito was named 2022 America East Defender of the Year and a second-team all-American selection, after helping lead a defence that ranked third in the NCAA with a 0.5 goals against average. The Montreal native started his collegiate career at Iowa Western Community College where he won the NJCAA National Championship in 2021.
Bombito, a semifinalist for the MAC Hermann Trophy, attended the recent MLS College Showcase.
He was third on New Hampshire with four goals and tied for second with two game-winners. The Wildcats posted 11 shutouts and outscored the opposition 38-12.
Other members of the Generation Adidas class are defender Joey Akpunonu ofBowling Green State,midfielder/forward Joshua Bolma of Maryland, forward C.J. Fodrey of San Diego State, midfielder/forward Shakur Mohammed of Duke, midfielder Owen O’Malley of Creighton, forward Ilijah Paul of Washington and defender Joey Skinner of Clemson.
There are 364 players eligible for selection in Wednesday’s three-round draft.
Expansion St. Louis FC has the first overall pick with D.C. United going second.
Toronto FC traded away its third-overall pick in July to Colorado to obtain Canadian international midfielder Mark-Anthony Kaye.
The San Jose Earthquakes pick fourth, followed by the Houston Dynamo.
Vancouver has two first-round selections – the 13th overall pick and 29th, obtained from Los Angeles FC in an October 2020 trade.
CF Montreal picks 25th in the first round. It also has a second-round pick (54th overall) and two in the third round (75th via a January trade with Orlando and 83rd).
Toronto (32nd and 61st) and Vancouver (42nd and 71st) both have picks in the second and third rounds.
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 19, 2022.
