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Toronto FC picked Lipscomb University winger Tyrese Spicer first overall Tuesday in the MLS SuperDraft.
The 23-year-old from Trinidad and Tobago was a United Soccer Coaches first-team all-American, the Atlantic Sun ConferencePlayer of the Year and a semifinalist for the MAC Hermann Trophy this year.
Spicer led the ASUN with 14 goals and added three assists for a conference-leading 31 points. He had 29 goals and 18 assists in 57 career appearances for Lipscomb, which is based in Nashville.
“Tyrese possesses a unique combination of technical and physical qualities that align with our player profile and tactical blueprint,” Toronto GM Jason Hernandez said in a statement. “He also has a resilient mindset and a drive to improve, which makes him a great fit for TFC. “
Spicer scored in 10 consecutive matches to open the 2023 season and finished the regular season as the ASUN leader in goals, points, shots on goal, goals per game, points per game and game-winning goals, and led the NCAA in goals per game.
Spicer offers Toronto versatility in that he can play on both wings as well up front. He also can play wingback.
He believes his time is now.
“I would like to come into the first team,” he said from the family home in Trincity, Trinidad. “I think I’m good enough to have an impact on it. I know the transition from NCAA level to MLS level is going to be a jump. And I’m going to have take a few weeks to adjust to the transition and the fast pace and the high IQ of these players.
“But I trust in myself. I’m confident always in myself. I can feed off of these pros and they can guide me and take me under their wing.”
Shoutout JT 💙🗣️ <a href=”https://twitter.com/MapleLeafs?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@MapleLeafs</a> <br><br>Welcome to the Reds, Tyrese 🔴 <a href=”https://t.co/KxJaoBogqu”>pic.twitter.com/KxJaoBogqu</a>
—@TorontoFC
Some had wondered whether TFC might stay local and pick Canadian forward Kimani Stewart-Baynes. The Toronto native, who turns 19 on Jan. 17, was named Big Ten Freshman of the Year after scoring three goals and adding seven assists in 14 matches for the University of Maryland.
But Toronto opted for the six-foot-one 153-pound Spicer, with Maple Leafs captain John Tavares announcing the pick.
Duke midfielder Wayne Frederick went second to Colorado with FC Dallas trading up to pick third to take Oregon State forward Logan Farrington, one of a handful of players to sign a contract with the league before the draft.
Spicer’s Lispcomb teammate Malachi Jones, a forward, went eighth overall to New York City FC.
CF Montreal took UCLA defender Grayson Doody with the 10th pick. The native of Hermosa Beach, Calif., appeared in 57 games for the Bruins with 61 starts.
A former surfing aficionado, Doody played for the Los Angeles Galaxy academy team as a freshman before focusing on his high school team.
The Whitecaps traded their first-round pick (16th overall) to Real Salt Lake in a February deal to acquire the rights to forward Sergio Cordova. Vancouver, which also gave RSL up to $300,000 US in general allocation money, subsequently transferred the Venezuelan to Turkey’s Alanyaspor in September after 19 league appearances.
Widening talent pool
The league has widened the talent pool this year, opening the door to sophomores and juniors with close to 400 players eligible in the three-round draft.
Stewart-Baynes and University of Virginia freshman forward Stephen Annor Gyamfi both signed Generation Adidas deals with the league, making them even more attractive given their contracts will not count against the salary cap of the team they go to.
Stewart-Baynes’ 10 combined goals and assists were the most by a Maryland freshman since current Portland Timbers midfielder Eryk Williamson totalled 11 in 2015.
Stewart-Baynes, who spent the 2022 season with Vaughan Azzurri’s under-19 team, signed a developmental contact with the CPL’s Halifax Wanderers in March. League rules allow clubs to sign up to four such contracts with Canadian under-18 players, who can appear in up to six matches in a season.
Halifax coach Patrice Gheiser pointed to Stewart-Baynes’ “electric pace.”
“We call him ‘Iceman’ because his finishing is so prolific,” said Gheiser, who coached Stewart-Baynes for four years with Vaughan before Halifax. “We say he has ice in his veins. And generally when he plays, he doesn’t feel much pressure.
“If the right team gets their hands on him, they’ll be able to do something magic with him.”
History of No. 1 picks in Toronto
Eight Canadians went in last year’s draft, including four in the first round led by Montreal’s Moise Bombito, a University of New Hampshire defender taken third overall by the Colorado Rapids.
It had been 10 years since Toronto FC last held the top pick in the MLS SuperDraft and the club traded away that selection. New England, the beneficiary of that deal, used it to select Andrew Farrell.
The veteran defender remains with the Revolution and now leads all MLS players in regular-season minutes (28,724), appearances (327) and starts (322).
Toronto traded away its first-round picks in 2018, 2022 and 2023.
Ahead of its inaugural season, Toronto FC took midfielder Maurice Edu with the first overall pick of the 2007 draft.
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