NASHVILLE SC WILL PICK UP TO FIVE PLAYERS FOR ITS MLS ROSTER ON NOVEMBER 19
NEW YORK – The next steps in the construction of Nashville SC’s MLS roster are almost here.
Major League Soccer announced on Thursday that the 2019 MLS Expansion Draft will take place on Tuesday, November 19. In addition, the 2019 MLS Expansion Priority Draft will take place on Sunday, October 6, kicking off the final day of the 2019 MLS regular season, dubbed Decision Day.
The Expansion Draft will allow each of the two 2020 expansion franchises, Nashville SC and Inter Miami CF, to bolster their inaugural MLS rosters by selecting up to five current players from other MLS teams. Each current MLS team may protect up to 12 rostered players from inclusion on the eligible players list.
“The Expansion Draft plays a major role in roster construction,” said Nashville SC General Manager Mike Jacobs. “All teams will have a balance of players with experiences both domestically here in the U.S. as well as players abroad, and the potential of adding key personnel with practical experience from within our league is critical of a club’s success.”
Five teams are exempt from having a player selected because each had lost a player last season to FC Cincinnati. Those five include D.C. United, Vancouver Whitecaps FC, FC Dallas, Houston Dynamo and New York Red Bulls.
The complete list of players left unprotected in the 2019 MLS Expansion Draft will be released on Saturday, November 16. Notable former Expansion Draft picks include LAFC’s Latif Blessing and Tyler Miller, as well as FC Cincinnati’s Darren Mattocks and Roland Lamah.
Click here for the full 2019 MLS Expansion Draft rules and procedures.
Leading up to the Expansion Draft, Nashville and Miami will also participate in the 2019 MLS Expansion Priority Draft on October 6 live from midtown Manhattan. This event will begin with a coin toss, which will determine which club receives the first pick among five available player acquisition methods for expansion teams. Following the first pick, the teams will alternate through subsequent selections until all roster-building mechanisms have been picked.
The five acquisitions methods available for selection are as follows:
1. No.1 pick in 2019 MLS Expansion Draft
2. No.1 pick in 2020 MLS SuperDraft presented by adidas
3. No.1 position in Allocation Ranking Order
4. Penultimate position in MLS Re-Entry and End-of-Year Waiver Order
5. Penultimate position in Discovery Player Ranking
Nashville SC CEO Ian Ayre and General Manager Mike Jacobs will participate in the Expansion Priority Draft, which will be broadcast as part of MLSsoccer.com’s “Matchday Central: Decision Day presented by AT&T Pregame Show.”
