The Houston Dynamo selected defender Kofi Sarkodie and forward Will Bruin in the first round of the 2011 MLS SuperDraft this afternoon at the Baltimore Convention Center. Sarkodie, a junior from the national champion University of Akron, was selected with the No. 7 pick. The Dynamo then completed a trade with the Portland Timbers to acquire the No. 11 pick and used it to select Bruin, a junior from Indiana University.
The first-round picks were the first for the Dynamo since 2007 and the No. 7 selection was the highest in club history. Houston’s previous highest pick was No. 8 overall in its inaugural draft of 2006, in which the Dynamo selected UCLA defender Patrick Ianni.
“We’re really happy right now,” Dynamo head coach Dominic Kinnear said. “We thought we might get one pick and that would be the end of it for us. Getting two Generation adidas players with a little bit of allocation money going the other way; I think it’s a fair trade, and we’re happy with what’s going on.”
Sarkodie, who can play outside back or outside midfield, was one of five players from the national championship Akron squad selected in the first round. He had eight goals and six assists for the Zips in 2010 from his right back position, including the game-winning goal in the national semifinal against Michigan. Sarkodie is a veteran of United States youth national teams and a current member of the U-20 national team.
Bruin scored 18 goals as a junior at Indiana University in 2010 and was named a semifinalist for the M.A.C. Hermann Trophy as the nation’s top player. The St. Louis native stands 6-foot-2 and was named the 2010 Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year. To acquire the No. 11 pick, the Dynamo traded allocation money to the Portland Timbers, who had acquired the pick from the Seattle Sounders.
Both players are classified as Generation adidas players, which means their salaries do not count against a club’s salary budget.
The Dynamo are not scheduled to have any more picks in the 2011 MLS SuperDraft but do have three picks in Tuesday’s Supplemental Draft.
The Dynamo are set to open preseason training on Monday, January 24, with their MLS regular season opener set for Saturday, March 19, against the Philadelphia Union at Robertson Stadium. Tickets are available at HoustonDynamo.com.
The Houston Dynamo are a Major League Soccer club that has won two MLS Cup championships in its first five seasons and represented the United States in international competition four consecutive years from 2007-10. For more information, log on to www.HoustonDynamo.com or call (713) 276-7500.
KOFI SARKODIE
Position: Defender
Height: 5’9” Weight: 155 lbs.
Date of Birth: March 22, 1991
Birthplace: Dayton, Ohio
Hometown: Huber Heights, Ohio
Citizenship: United States
College: Akron
How Acquired: 2011 MLS SuperDraft, 1st round (No. 7)
WILL BRUIN
Position: Forward
Height: 6’2” Weight: 194 lbs.
Date of Birth: October 24, 1989
Birthplace: St. Louis, Missouri
Hometown: St. Louis, Missouri
Citizenship: United States
College: Indiana
How Acquired: 2011 MLS SuperDraft, 1st round (No. 11)
