The 2004 MLS SuperDraft, held in Charlotte, North Carolina on January 16, 2004, was the fifth incarnation of the annual Major League Soccer SuperDraft. The draft was most notable at the time for the selection of one of the youngest athletes in American sporting history, Freddy Adu, with the first pick by D.C. United.

The draft also included Clint Dempsey (1st round) and teenager Michael Bradley (4th round). Both players went on to earn over 120 caps with the U.S. national team; additionally, after an initial stint in MLS, both players had successful careers in Europe, and returned to MLS as designated players.

Player selection

Columbus selected Chad Marshall 2nd overall. He is a 3x MLS Defender of the Year and 4x MLS Best XI selection. He earned 12 caps with the US Men's National Team.

New England selected Clint Dempsey 8th overall. The 2004 MLS Rookie of the Year is a 4x MLS All-Star, 3x U.S. Soccer Player of the Year, and the 2017 MLS Comeback Player of the Year. He earned 141 caps with he US Men's National Team, representing the United States at the 2006, 2010, and 2014 FIFA World Cup. With 57 goals, he and Landon Donovan are tied for most goals for the USMNT. He was elected to the National Soccer Hall of Fame in 2022.

Key

Round one

Pick #	MLS Team	Player	Position	Affiliation
1	D.C. United[R1 trade 1]	Freddy Adu*^	F	Project-40
2	Columbus Crew	Chad Marshall*†	D	Stanford University
3	Los Angeles Galaxy	Joseph Ngwenya	F	Coastal Carolina University
4	Kansas City Wizards[R1 trade 2]	Matt Taylor	F	UCLA
5	San Jose Earthquakes[R1 trade 3]	Ryan Cochrane*	D	Santa Clara University
6	Dallas Burn[R1 trade 4]	Ramón Núñez	M	SMU
7	Dallas Burn[R1 trade 5]	Clarence Goodson*	D	University of Maryland
8	New England Revolution	Clint Dempsey*^§†	M	Furman University
9	Chicago Fire[R1 trade 6]	Scott Buete	M	University of Maryland
10	San Jose Earthquakes	Steve Cronin*	GK	Santa Clara University

Round one trades

1. ↑ #1: Dallas Burn → D.C. United. 2003-11-18: D.C. United acquired this pick from Dallas in exchange for an allocation.^{[ref 1]} The trade was engineered by Major League Soccer to ensure that top draft pick Freddy Adu could play for his hometown club.
2. ↑ #4: D.C. United → Dallas Burn → Kansas City Wizards. 2004-01-16: Kansas City acquired this pick, defender Shavar Thomas, and a conditional second round selection in the 2005 MLS SuperDraft from Dallas in exchange for the #7 pick, midfielder Eric Quill, and midfielder Carey Talley.^{[ref 2]} Dallas had acquired this pick, a sixth-round 2004 SuperDraft pick, and forward Ali Curtis from D.C. United in exchange for forward Ronald Cerritos on 2003-08-19.^{[ref 3]}
3. ↑ #5: Colorado Rapids → San Jose Earthquakes. 2003-08-19: San Jose acquired this pick, a third-round selection in the 2005 MLS SuperDraft, and a fourth-round selection in the 2005 SuperDraft from Colorado in exchange for goalkeeper Joe Cannon.^{[ref 4]}
4. ↑ #6: MetroStars → Los Angeles Galaxy → Dallas Burn. 2003-07-11: Dallas acquired this pick, defender Ezra Hendrickson and forward Gavin Glinton from Los Angeles in exchange for defender Ryan Suarez, midfielder Paul Broome, midfielder Antonio Martínez, and the #11 pick (originally a conditional selection).^{[ref 5]} Los Angeles had acquired this pick from MetroStars in exchange for a second-round selection in the 2003 MLS SuperDraft on 2003-01-17.^{[ref 6]}
5. ↑ #7: Kansas City Wizards → Dallas Burn.2004-01-16: Dallas acquired this pick, midfielder Eric Quill, and midfielder Carey Talley from Kansas City in exchange for the #4 pick, defender Shavar Thomas, and a conditional second-round selection in the 2005 MLS SuperDraft.^{[ref 2]}
6. ↑ #9: Chicago Fire → New England Revolution → Chicago Fire. 2004-01-16: Chicago re-acquired this pick from New England in exchange for a player allocation due to the retirement of midfielder Peter Nowak.^{[ref 2]} Earlier in the day, New England had acquired this selection from Chicago to complete the transaction that sent Nowak from Chicago to New England on 2003-01-03. Chicago also received the #18 pick in the 2004 SuperDraft from New England to complete the trade.^{[ref 7]}

Round two

Pick #	MLS Team	Player	Position	Affiliation
11	Chicago Fire[R2 trade 1]	Leonard Griffin	D	UCLA
12	Columbus Crew	Chris Wingert	D	St. John's University
13	Los Angeles Galaxy	Josh Gardner*	M	University of Cincinnati
14	Los Angeles Galaxy[R2 trade 2]	Ned Grabavoy*	M	Indiana University
15	Colorado Rapids	Adolfo Gregorio	M	UCLA
16	Colorado Rapids[R2 trade 3]	Adrian Cann	D	University of Louisville
17	Kansas City Wizards	Will Hesmer	GK	Wake Forest University
18	MetroStars[R2 trade 4]	Seth Stammler	D	University of Maryland
19	Chicago Fire	Matt Pickens	GK	SMS (now Missouri State)
20	Chicago Fire[R2 trade 5]	Sumed Ibrahim	M	University of Maryland

Round two trades

1. ↑ #11: Dallas Burn → Los Angeles Galaxy → MetroStars → Chicago Fire. 2004-01-14: Chicago acquired this pick, originally a conditional selection, from MetroStars to complete the trade for coach Bob Bradley.^{[ref 8]} Chicago had previously acquired forward Rodrigo Faria as compensation for MetroStars hiring Bradley on 2002-10-22. MetroStars had acquired this pick from Los Angeles in exchange for a first-round selection in the 2005 MLS SuperDraft and future considerations earlier on 2004-01-14.^{[ref 8]} Los Angeles had acquired this pick, defender Ryan Suarez, midfielder Paul Broome, and midfielder Antonio Martínez from Dallas in exchange for the #6 pick, defender Ezra Hendrickson and forward Gavin Glinton on 2003-07-11.^{[ref 9]}
2. ↑ #14: D.C. United → Chicago Fire → Los Angeles Galaxy. 2004-01-16: Los Angeles acquired this pick from Chicago in exchange for the lowest of LA's three first-round selections in the 2005 MLS SuperDraft.^{[ref 2]} Chicago had acquired this pick from D.C. United in exchange for forward Hristo Stoitchkov on 2003-01-27.^{[ref 10]}
3. ↑ #16: MetroStars → Columbus Crew → Colorado Rapids. 2004-01-14: Colorado acquired this pick and a conditional selection in the 2005 MLS SuperDraft from Columbus in exchange for defender Robin Fraser.^{[ref 11]} Columbus had acquired this pick and defender Nelson Akwari from MetroStars in exchange for the #17 pick in the 2003 MLS SuperDraft on 2003-01-17.^{[ref 6]}
4. ↑ #18: New England Revolution → Chicago Fire → MetroStars. 2004-01-16: MetroStars acquired this pick from Chicago in exchange for a natural second-round selection in the 2005 MLS SuperDraft.^{[ref 2]} Earlier in the day, Chicago had acquired this pick from New England in exchange for the #9 pick to complete the transaction that sent midfielder Peter Nowak from Chicago to New England on 2003-01-03.^{[ref 7]}
5. ↑ #20: San Jose Earthquakes → Chicago Fire. 2003-08-20: Chicago acquired this pick, originally a conditional selection, from San Jose in exchange for forward Rodrigo Faria.^{[ref 12]}

Round three

Pick #	MLS Team	Player	Position	Affiliation
21	MetroStars[R3 trade 1]	Zach Wells	GK	UCLA
22	Los Angeles Galaxy[R3 trade 2]	Memo Arzate	M	UC Santa Barbara
23	New England Revolution[R3 trade 3]	Jeremiah White	F	Wake Forest University
24	D.C. United[R3 trade 4]	Kevin Ara	M	Harvard University
25	Colorado Rapids[R3 trade 5]	Kevin Taylor	D	University of Michigan
26	MetroStars	Olivier Occéan	F	So. Connecticut State University
27	San Jose Earthquakes[R3 trade 6]	Mike Wilson	M	Stanford University
28	Chicago Fire[R3 trade 7]	Khari Stephenson	M	Williams College
29	Dallas Burn[R3 trade 8]	Ty Maurin	M	UCLA
30	San Jose Earthquakes	Lindon Pecorelli	M	University of Connecticut

Round three trades

1. ↑ #21: Dallas Burn → MetroStars. 2003-12-03: MetroStars acquired this pick and defender Tenywa Bonseu from Dallas in exchange for defender Steve Jolley.^{[ref 13]}
2. ↑ #22: Columbus Crew → Los Angeles Galaxy. 2003-07-31: Los Angeles acquired this pick, originally a conditional selection, from Columbus in exchange for forward Alex Pineda Chacon.^{[ref 9]}
3. ↑ #23: Los Angeles Galaxy → New England Revolution. 2003-08-08: New England acquired this pick (originally a conditional selection) and a conditional 2005 MLS SuperDraft pick from Los Angeles in exchange for the rights to forward Diego Serna. The 2005 pick was contingent on Serna remaining with Los Angeles in 2004. This condition was not met so LA kept its 2005 pick.
4. ↑ #24: D.C. United → Kansas City Wizards → D.C. United. 2004-01-16: D.C. United re-acquired this pick from Kansas City in exchange for D.C. United's natural second-round and third-round selections in the 2005 MLS SuperDraft.^{[ref 2]} On 2002-07-29, Kansas City had acquired this selection and a second-round pick in the 2003 MLS SuperDraft from D.C. United in exchange for a Discovery Pick.^{[ref 14]}
5. ↑ #25: Colorado Rapids → Columbus Crew → Colorado Rapids. 2004-01-16: Colorado re-acquired this pick from Columbus in exchange for the rights to defender Steven Herdsman and the conditional pick in the 2005 MLS SuperDraft that was traded to Columbus in the Robin Fraser trade two days earlier (see pick #16 above).^{[ref 2]} Columbus had acquired this pick and the #58 pick in the 2003 MLS SuperDraft from Colorado in exchange for the #27 pick in the 2003 SuperDraft on 2003-01-17.^{[ref 15]}
6. ↑ #27: Kansas City Wizards → San Jose Earthquakes. 2003-01-17: San Jose acquired this pick, originally a conditional selection, and a second-round selection in the 2003 MLS SuperDraft from Kansas City in exchange for defender Jimmy Conrad.^{[ref 16]}
7. ↑ #28: New England Revolution → Chicago Fire. 2003-01-03: It is believed, though not confirmed, that this is the conditional pick received by Chicago from New England in exchange for midfielder Peter Nowak.
8. ↑ #29: Chicago Fire → Dallas Burn. 2003-01-17: Dallas acquired this pick from Chicago in exchange for the #35 pick in the 2003 MLS SuperDraft.^{[ref 16]}

Round four

The MetroStars selected Michael Bradley 36th overall. the 3x MLS All-Star, was named the 2015 U.S. Soccer Player of the Year. He's earned 151 caps with the US Men's National Team and was selected to the 2010, and 2014 FIFA World Cup squads.

Pick #	MLS Team	Player	Position	Affiliation
31	Dallas Burn	David Wagenfuhr	D	Creighton University
32	Columbus Crew	Jamal Sutton	F	SMS (now Missouri State)
33	Los Angeles Galaxy	David McGill	M	UC Santa Barbara
34	D.C. United	Josh Gros^	M	Rutgers University
35	Colorado Rapids	Kevin Richards	D	University of Notre Dame
36	MetroStars	Michael Bradley*^	M	Project-40
37	Kansas City Wizards	Jay Alberts	M	Yale University
38	Chicago Fire[R4 trade 1]	Denny Clanton	D	University of Dayton
39	Chicago Fire	Phil Hucles	D	The College of William & Mary
40	San Jose Earthquakes	Marin Pusek	M	UAB

Round four trades

1. ↑ #38: New England Revolution → Chicago Fire. 2003-04-11: Chicago acquired this pick from New England in exchange for the rights to midfielder Jason Moore.^{[ref 17]}

Round five

Pick #	MLS Team	Player	Position	Affiliation
41	Columbus Crew[R5 trade 1]	Adom Crew	M	Brown University
42	Columbus Crew	Luke Vercollone	M	Seton Hall University
43	Los Angeles Galaxy	Jason Perry	D	Oakland University
44	D.C. United	Kevin Hudson	M	SMU
45	Colorado Rapids	Gary Sullivan	D	Adelphi University
46	MetroStars	Johnny David	M	Fairleigh Dickinson University
47	Kansas City Wizards	Justin Detter	F	University of Notre Dame
48	Kansas City Wizards[R5 trade 2]	Ryan Barber	D	UMKC
49	Chicago Fire	Ian Pilarski	M	Cornell University
50	San Jose Earthquakes	Tighe Dombrowski	M	UW-Milwaukee

Round five trades

1. ↑ #41: Dallas Burn → Columbus Crew. Must Confirm. 2003-08-20: Columbus acquired this pick, originally a conditional selection, from Dallas in exchange for defender Brian Dunseth.
2. ↑ #48: New England Revolution → Kansas City Wizards. 2003-08-20: Kansas City acquired this pick (originally a conditional selection), forward Chris Brown, and forward Darío Fabbro from New England in exchange for forward Wolde Harris and midfielder Jorge Vázquez.^{[ref 18]}

Round six

The LA Galaxy selected Alan Gordon 53rd overall. Gordon won 2 MLS Cups and a U.S. Open Cup with the Galaxy and a Supporters' Shield with the San Jose Earthquakes.

Pick #	MLS Team	Player	Position	Affiliation
51	Chicago Fire[R6 trade 1]	Ryan McGowan	M	Seton Hall University
52	Columbus Crew	Matthew Haefner	GK	University of Pennsylvania
53	Los Angeles Galaxy	Alan Gordon	F	Oregon State University
54	Dallas Burn[R6 trade 2]	Edwin Miranda	D	Cal State Northridge
55	Colorado Rapids	John Pulido	M	Florida International University
56	New England Revolution[R6 trade 3]	Félix Brillant	F	Franklin Pierce College
57	Los Angeles Galaxy[R6 trade 4]	Chris Aloisi	D	Syracuse University
58	New England Revolution	Andy Dorman	M	Boston University
59	Chicago Fire	Tony McManus	D	UAB
60	MetroStars[R6 trade 5]	Jeff Parke	D	Drexel University

Round six trades

1. ↑ #51: Originally belonged to Dallas Burn → . More info needed.
2. ↑ #54: D.C. United → Dallas Burn. 2003-08-19: Dallas acquired this pick, a first-round 2004 SuperDraft pick, and forward Ali Curtis from D.C. United in exchange for forward Ronald Cerritos.^{[ref 3]}
3. ↑ #56: MetroStars → New England Revolution. 2003-01-17: New England acquired this pick from MetroStars in exchange for the #49 pick in the 2003 MLS SuperDraft.^{[ref 16]}
4. ↑ #57: Kansas City Wizards → Los Angeles Galaxy. 2003-01-17: Los Angeles acquired this pick from Kansas City in exchange for the #60 pick in the 2003 MLS SuperDraft.^{[ref 9]}
5. ↑ #60: San Jose Earthquakes → MetroStars. 2004-01-16: MetroStars acquired this pick from San Jose in exchange for a sixth-round selection in the 2005 MLS SuperDraft. As the 2005 SuperDraft was reduced to four rounds, San Jose received a second-round selection in the 2005 MLS Supplemental Draft from MetroStars to complete the trade.^{[ref 13]}

Notable undrafted players

• Clyde Simms (MF, East Carolina University) — 220 MLS appearances.
• Troy Perkins (GK, Evansville)

See also

• Draft (sports)
• Generation Adidas
• Major League Soccer
• MLS SuperDraft

References