FC Dallas picked a trio of college forwards in this year’s draft.
The 2023 MLS SuperDraft is in the books as FC Dallas selected a trio of forwards with their three picks, with two of them coming from Indiana University. Herbert Endeley (24th overall, Indiana University), Ryan Wittenbrink (53rd overall, Indiana University) and Kameron Lacey (82nd overall, UNC Charlotte) saw their names come up and are now FC Dallas players.
Endeley made 91 appearances and 73 starts over four seasons with Indiana University. The Blaine, Minnesota native scored 13 goals and added 20 assists with the Hoosiers while leading them to the College Cup Final in 2022. Endeley was an All-Big Ten selection every year of his collegiate career, including earning second-team All-conference honors his senior season. The forward either scored or assisted in every match during Indiana’s run to the College Cup Final.
Endeley’s teammate at IU, Wittenbrink, burst onto the scene as a senior starting 23 of 31 games and helping the Hoosiers finish the season as NCAA College Cup runners-up. He finished the season in top form as an NCAA Men’s College Cup team selection and ended up as a third-team selection on Top Drawer Soccer Best XI. The Libertyville, Illinois native scored career highs in goals (11), assists (13) and points (35) en route to a first-team All-Big Ten selection while leading the Hoosiers in every offensive category, including six game-winning goals. Wittenbrink was one of two players across the entire NCAA to score 10 goals and provide nine assists.
Lacy may be a name some youth soccer fanatics at familiar with. The 21-year old played club soccer at FC Dallas as a teenager, while also playing for Miramar United and Orlando City. In 2018, he was the leading goal scorer in the Dallas Cup. He also helped FC Dallas to a U-17 Conference Championship and Orlando City to a U-19 Conference Championship. In college, Lacy started 46 of 58 games played over his four-year Charlotte career. The Miami native totaled 17 goals and 14 assists while with the 49ers. He earned first-team All-American Conference honors after finishing his senior 2022 campaign with career highs in goals (9), assists (7) and points (25). Prior to joining Charlotte, Lacey represented Jamaica’s U-17 and U-20 national teams.
What do you make of these three picks? Surprised it was all forwards?