The Revolution selected three players in the first two rounds of the Major League Soccer SuperDraft — University of Virginia defender Henry Kessler (sixth overall), University of California defender Simon Lekressner (30th overall), and High Point University goalkeeper Keegan Meyer (43rd overall).
Revolution sporting director and head coach Bruce Arena said the team had targeted Kessler all along.
“He was absolutely our first choice of player to have,” said Arena. “If [we] picked number one, we would’ve picked him. We were excited.
“We were a little concerned after the first two picks. He could’ve gone at three, four, or five. We were trying to move up in the draft as well, but that didn’t happen. We were very fortunate he was available at number six and we jumped on it immediately. He’s a player that we think has great potential.”
The Revolution also traded the 13th overall pick to Nashville SC in exchange for $50,000 in general allocation money and up to $50,000 in additional general allocation money should Nashville’s selection meet certain performance-based metrics with the club. The draft resumes on Monday with the third and fourth rounds.
“We believe that the players that we took today in the draft will have an opportunity to play an awful lot this next year, whether it’s with the first team or the second team,” said Arena.
Arena said he feels good about the roster ahead of the start of preseason camp on Jan. 31.
““We’re pretty well set. There’s always going to be a player or two along the way that you need to consider,” said Arena. “We’re not shutting the door on anything, but we are very close to having a roster that will be around on opening day. Obviously, there’s always opportunities to make some changes.”
Clemson forward Robbie Robinson was the first overall pick by Inter Miami. He won the MAC Hermann Trophy as the nation’s top college player and was the ACC Offensive Player of the Year.