North Carolina State University defender Nikola Markovic was the first pick by D.C. United in the 2026 MLS SuperDraft on Thursday, Dec. 18.
This is the third time that D.C. United has made the No. 1 overall pick in the MLS SuperDraft. The previous No. 1 picks were Freddy Adu in 2004 and Alecko Eskandarian in 2003. D.C. United went on to win MLS Cup in 2004, the last league title for D.C.
Markovic – the first No. 1 overall MLS draft pick from N.C. State – helped the Wolfpack reach its second-ever College Cup, where N.C. State was defeated by Washington, 3-2, on an overtime golden goal in the championship game. Markovic earned first-team All-America honors in 2025, becoming NC State’s first first-team selection since 1992.
After D.C. United’s selection of Markovic, FC Dallas used the next two picks on Georgia Southern forward Ricky Louis and Virginia forward Nicholas Simmonds. Clemson midfielder Kwaku Agyabeng went No. 4 overall to Sporting Kansas City, while Orlando City made Wake Forest forward Harvey Sarajian the No. 5 selection.
There were three rounds and 90 total selections in the 2026 MLS SuperDraft. Here is a recap of all of the selections:
2026 MLS SuperDraft first-round picks
D.C. United — Nikola Markovic, defender, NC State
FC Dallas (from Atlanta United) — Ricky Louis, forward, Georgia Southern
FC Dallas (from CF Montreal) — Nicholas Simmonds, forward, Virginia
Sporting Kansas City — Kwaku Agyabeng, midfielder, Clemson
Orlando City (from LA Galaxy) — Harvey Sarajian, forward, Wake Forest
Colorado Rapids (from Toronto FC) — Mamadou Billo Diop, forward, Colorado Rapids 2
St. Louis City SC — Zack Lillington, defender, UC Davis
D.C. United (from New England Revolution) —Richie Aman, forward, Washington
Orlando City (from Houston Dynamo) — Nolan Miller, defender, Michigan
Colorado Rapids — Mitchell Baker, forward, Georgetown
Houston Dynamo (from San Jose Earthquakes) — Joe Highfield, forward, Portland
Atlanta United (from Red Bull New York through FC Dallas) — Enzo Dovlo, defender, UNC Greensboro
Real Salt Lake — Lukas Magnason, defender, Clemson
Orlando City — Jaylen Yearwood, defender, North Florida
Portland Timbers — Justin McLean, forward, NC State
FC Dallas — Niklas Herceg, goalkeeper, Vermont
Vancouver Whitecaps FC (from Austin FC) — Zach Ramsey, midfielder, Washington
Chicago Fire FC — Jack Sandmeyer, midfielder, North Carolina
Sporting Kansas City (from Columbus Crew through Colorado Rapids) — Nikos Clarke-Tosczak, defender, Portland
Orlando City (from Nashville SC) — Issah Haruna, midfielder, UNC Greensboro
Red Bull New York (from Seattle Sounders through FC Dallas) — Tomas Hut, goalkeeper, Syracuse
Charlotte FC — Will Cleary, defender, Stanford
Minnesota United FC — Jaylinn Mitchell, forward, SMU
Los Angeles FC — Giuliano Fravolini Whitchurch, defender, Princeton
Real Salt Lake (from FC Cincinnati) — Dylan Kropp, defender, North Carolina
Colorado Rapids (from Philadelphia Union) — Wahabu Musah, forward, Clemson
New York City FC — Ransford Gyan, forward, Clemson
San Diego FC — Martin Luala, M, Grand Canyon
Vancouver Whitecaps FC — Daniel Lugo, forward, High Point
Inter Miami CF — Abdel Talabi, defender, Bryant
2026 MLS SuperDraft second-round picks
D.C. United — Isaac Emojong, midfielder, Utah Valley
Inter Miami CF (from Atlanta United) — Kenan Hot, midfielder, Duke
Real Salt Lake (from CF Montreal) — Tre Wright, defender, UCLA
Sporting Kansas City — Sadam Masereka, forward, Maryland
LA Galaxy — Palmer Bank, defender, Stanford
Toronto FC — Jackson Gilman, defender, Pittsburgh
St. Louis City SC — Andrew Samuels, goalkeeper, Princeton
New England Revolution — Schinieder Mimy, defender, UCLA
Houston Dynamo FC — Calem Tommy, defender, NC State
FC Dallas (from Colorado Rapids) — Edouard Nys, midfielder, Illinois Chicago
San Jose Earthquakes — Jack Jasinski, defender, Princeton
Real Salt Lake (from Red Bull New York) — Jefferson Amaya, midfielder, High Point
St. Louis City SC (from Real Salt Lake through Orlando City) — Cooper Forcelini, midfielder, Xavier
FC Dallas (from Orlando City through Sporting Kansas City and Colorado Rapids) — Umberto Pela, midfielder, Virginia
Portland Timbers — Colin Griffith, forward, Maryland
CF Montréal (from FC Dallas) — Aidan Godinho, midfielder, Georgetown
Austin FC — Stefan Dobrijevic, forward, Akron
Real Salt Lake (from Chicago Fire) — Niklas Soerensen, defender, Pittsburgh
Columbus Crew — Tarun Karumanchi, midfielder, UCLA
Nashville SC — Max Miller, defender, Kentucky
Seattle Sounders FC — Joe Dale, midfielder, Washington
Charlotte FC — Luke Adams, defender, Tulsa
Minnesota United FC — Bardia Hormozi, forward, Princeton
Inter Miami CF (from Los Angeles FC) — Mamadi Jiana, forward, Bryant
FC Cincinnati — Ayoub Lajhar, defender, UConn
Colorado Rapids (from Philadelphia Union) — Asher Hestad, defender, Washington
New York City FC — Kevin Pierre, midfielder, Georgia Southern
San Diego FC — Remi Agunbiade, forward, Akron
Vancouver Whitecaps FC — Yeider Zuluaga, forward, Seattle
Inter Miami CF — Alex Barger, defender, Indiana
2026 MLS SuperDraft third-round picks
D.C. United — Stephane Njike, forward, Maryland
Atlanta United — Noah James, midfielder, San Diego
CF Montréal — Tate Lorentz, midfielder, Wake Forest
Sporting Kansas City — Blake D’Agostino, forward, California Baptist
LA Galaxy — Sebastian Conlon, goalkeeper, Kentucky
FC Dallas (from MTL, from Toronto FC) — Olayinka Ogunleye, defender, Louisville
Minnesota United FC (from St. Louis City SC) — Aiden Bengard, defender, Cal State-Fullerton
New England Revolution — Kyle McGowan, forward, Denver
Houston Dynamo FC — Agustin Resch, defender, Seton Hall
Colorado Rapids — Koven Johnson, midfielder, High Point
New York City FC (from San Jose Earthquakes) — Joey Mueller, midfielder, UCF
LA Galaxy (from Red Bull New York) — Jaime Amaro, midfielder, Bryant
Real Salt Lake — Brayden Beason, forward, San Diego
Orlando City — Mitch Ferguson, defender, Notre Dame
Portland Timbers — Lucas Fernandez Kim, midfielder, Oregon State
San Diego FC (from FC Dallas) — Kyle Durham, goalkeeper, UConn
Austin FC — Patrick Cayelli, midfielder, Pennsylvania
Houston Dynamo FC (from Chicago Fire) — Austin Brummett, forward, UConn
Columbus Crew — Isaac Heffess, defender, NC State
Nashville SC — Charles-Emile Brunet, midfielder, SMU
Seattle Sounders FC — Stockton Short, goalkeeper, Utah Tech
Charlotte FC — Jahiem Wickham, goalkeeper, South Florida
Minnesota United FC — Michal Mroz, goalkeeper, Evansville
Los Angeles FC — Iain Wagner, midfielder, San Diego
D.C. United (from FC Cincinnati) — Lasse Kelp, defender, Maryland
Colorado Rapids (from Philadelphia Union) — Jabari De Coteau, defender, Xavier
New York City FC — Luca Nikolai, defender, North Carolina
Houston Dynamo FC (from San Diego FC) — Gilberto Rivera, midfielder, San Jose State
Vancouver Whitecaps FC — Connor Lofy, midfielder, Washington
Inter Miami CF — Maximilian Kissel, forward, Vermont
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