New York City FC selected Malachi Jones in the first round of the 2024 MLS SuperDraft.
Jones is a 20-year-old forward and currently is a sophomore at Lipscomb University in Nashville, Tenn.
That’s the same school that produced the No 1 overall pick in this year’s SuperDraft, Tyrese Spicer, who was selected by Toronto FC. Two college teammates from Tennessee selected in the Top 10, an interesting SuperDraft quirk.
Jones scored five goals and had 12 assists in 18 games for Lipscomb in 2023. He entered college after being named the 2022 Tennessee Soccer Player of the Year and in total during his college years has scored 12 goals and tallied 15 assists in 35 appearances for Lipscomb.
NYCFC traded their second-round pick to Real Salt Lake last year in order to sign PSV Eindhoven midfielder Richy Ledezma to a one-year loan. Ledezma will return to Eindhoven after the loan ends on Decemberber 31, 2023.
New York selected forward Taylor Calheira from the University of Maryland in the third round. Calheira was the #66 pick overall.
This was the first year in MLS SuperDraft history that college underclassmen were eligible to be selected, as the league announced changes to its draft eligibility back on Halloween. Previously, only players who were collegiate seniors and above, along with Generation adidas signings, were eligible for selection.
NYCFC had the #8 pick overall this year, which it used on Jones. It was the first time the club had a Top 10 selection since 2017, when the club selected Jonathan Lewis with the #3 pick. In 2016, NYCFC traded for #1 pick Jack Harrison.
New York City has some significant holes to fill in their roster ahead of the 20024 season — the club need a striker, left-back, creative midfielder, defensive midfielder, and central defender. NYCFC were presumed to use the SuperDraft to choose a player they can develop, not a starter who is expected compete for minutes in the season opener—which seems to be the case with the young sophomore they’ve chosen in Malachi Jones.
Last year, NYCFC selected Rutgers striker MD Myers in the third round of the SuperDraft. Myers went on to score 19 goals for NYCFC II and was the joint-winner of the MLS NEXT Pro Golden Boot. In 2022, New York City selected Kevin O’Toole with the #34 pick in the second round. The Princeton University graduate fought his way onto the Senior Team that year, and became a regular starter at the end of the 2023 season.
NYCFC SuperDraft Picks by Year
Year | Name | Pos | Overall Pick | Signed | App w/ NYCFC? | Current Club |
2024 | Malachi Jones | F | #8 | – | – | Lipscomb University |
2024 | Taylor Calheira | F | #66 | – | – | University of Maryland |
2023 | Malcolm Johnston | M | #26 | No | – | Whitecaps FC 2 |
2023 | Braudílio Rodrigues | F | #55 | No | – | Tacoma Defiance |
2023 | MD Myers | F | #66 | Yes | No | NYCFC II |
2022 | Kevin O'Toole * | F | #34 | Yes | Yes | NYCFC |
2022 | Kingsford Adjei | F | #56 | No | – | South Georgia Tormenta |
2022 | El Mahdi Youssoufi | F | #84 | Yes | No | Without Club |
2021 | Ben Di Rosa | D | #44 | No | – | St. Louis City 2 |
2021 | Vuk Latinovich | D | #71 | Yes | Yes | GS Ilioupolis |
2020 | Jesus Perez | M | #22 | No | – | Chicago FC |
2020 | Felicien Dumas | D | #48 | No | – | Indy Eleven |
2019 | Luis Barraza * | GK | #12 | Yes | Yes | NYCFC |
2019 | Abdi Mohamed | D | #43 | Yes | No | Columbus Crew 2 |
2018 | Jeff Caldwell | GK | #19 | Yes | No | Retired |
2018 | AJ Paterson | M | #42 | No | – | Birmingham Legion |
2018 | Alex Bumpus | D | #52 | No | – | Without Club |
2017 | Jonathan Lewis | F | #3 | Yes | Yes | Colorado Rapids |
2017 | Jalen Brown | F | #38 | No | – | Stumptown Athletic |
2017 | Chris Wingate | M | #54 | No | – | Without Club |
2016 | Jack Harrison | F | #1 ** | Yes | Yes | Everton Football Club |
2015 | Khiry Shelton | F | #2 | Yes | Yes | Sporting Kansas City |
2015 | Connor Brandt | M | #23 | Yes | Yes | Retired |
2015 | Andre Rawls | GK | #44 | Yes | No | Retired |
