For the third time in four years, FCD drafted a player from Oregon State University in the first round of the MLS SuperDraft.
Dallas called the name of sophomore defender Enzo Newman with the 11th overall pick Friday afternoon. The 19-year-old defender will follow the well-trodden path from Corvallis, Oregon to Frisco, Texas just like midfielder Tsiki Ntsabeleng (2022), forward Logan Farrington (2024) and defender Turner Humphrey (2024) before him.
A California native, Newman played in the Murrieta Soccer Academy where he competed in the 2022 MLS NEXT All-Star alongside FC Dallas Academy standout Malachi Molina. Although an attacking midfielder in his youth, Newman converted to right back at Oregon State and contributed six assists in 21 starts over two seasons. He was also recently named an Academic All-American and included in the All-WCC Second Team following his sophomore season.
“Enzo comes from a great program at Oregon State and he’s a young right back with a big future,” said FC Dallas head coach Eric Quill. “We're a club that develops players so I think he's coming to the right club for him. We have big plans for him and once we get him in for preseason to see his growth, I can see great things coming from him.”
In the second round, Dallas selected Indiana University forward Sam Sarver with the 41st overall pick. The 21-year-old featured 90 times and scored 24 goals and added 22 assists en route to back-to-back third-team All-America selections. Prior to joining the Hoosiers, Sarver played in the Columbus Crew academy and was capped by the U17 U.S. Men’s National Team.
“Sam is a good kid I know from Columbus and he's done a great job at Indiana,” Quill said. "He’s very dynamic, plays anywhere in the top three positions, and he's got a big personality, which you have to have at the highest level. You need to have belief in yourself, and he definitely has a big belief in himself so I'm looking forward to Sam joining this club.”
Dallas closed out their draft by selecting Mohamed “Momo” Cisset from Penn State. A 6-foot-2 center back, Cisset competed in the 2024 Olympics with Mali in between his two collegiate seasons. During his high school days, Cisset played as midfielder at the Soccer Institute at Montverde Academy in Florida before converting to center back at Penn State.
“Momo is just a great talent,” Quill said. “He's a left footed center back out of Penn State, played in national team games, so that experience is going to serve him well. All in all, we couldn't have asked for a better day from our picks.”
“We're very happy with the outcome of the draft,” said Chief Soccer Office André Zanotta. “The three players that we selected were all very high on our list and we were lucky enough that they were all available. We cannot wait to have them here to start training and see how they fit in our team and joining the group.”
