MLS SuperDraft 2025 preview: Three players Rapids could target with one of their seven picks

The Colorado Rapids are just about draft-ready.

The club, which has been slowly amassing picks ahead of Friday’s MLS SuperDraft, is slated to make the No. 8 overall selection and has seven total picks. With that flexibility, the Rapids could get active in the draft-day trade market.

Along with the eighth pick, the Rapids have two more first-rounders at Nos. 16 and 26, which they could package to move up or down based on who is available. The remaining picks are Nos. 38, 62, 68 and 75.

Historically, the Rapids have not drafted for immediate need and most picks do not get significant first-team minutes in their first season. Last year, the Rapids’ draft haul of four players combined for just 623 MLS minutes.

Most draft picks stay with Rapids 2 for at least a season or two while the club evaluates their long-term value for the first team or a potential transfer. The same four players combined for nearly 4,000 MLS NEXT Pro minutes.

There are some exceptions, like Moïse Bombito, a Canadian center back from New Hampshire taken No. 3 in the 2023 SuperDraft whose skill, IQ, speed and usage shot up almost immediately. He was a regular feature his rookie year, then started 17 of 18 matches in 2024 before fetching an MLS record transfer fee of $7.7 million from Ligue 1 squad OGC Nice.

Each of the last two years, the Rapids have selected a player involved in the Generation Adidas campaign, a partnership between MLS and Adidas that picks top collegiate underclassmen and youth national team players to sign contracts and go through the SuperDraft.

They could continue that trend this year with a top-10 pick. In total, there are five GA players in the draft, including a pre-signed senior (Max Floriani, St. Louis).

The Rapids have a deep scouting department that puts weeks of work into the draft. With seven picks, the stacks of paper were taller and scouting film sessions longer than usual.

The draft will begin on Friday at noon, with MLS expansion club San Diego FC set to make the first selection. Here are three players who could hear their names called by the Rapids on Friday:

Alex Harris

So. | F | Cornell 

One of two Big Red Bears on this list, Alex Harris is one of the five Generation Adidas players available. If the Rapids were to take a GA player, Harris may be the one.

One of just two sophomores to be named a MAC Hermann Award finalist for the nation’s best college player, Harris logged 19 goals and five assists in a breakout 2024 campaign.

His hat trick against Dartmouth sums up his versatility in the final third: a first-time rocket from 15 yards to the top right corner; a calm finish past two defenders and the keeper down low from an awkward angle; and a touch, control and 360-degree second-touch finish past the keeper.

The Rapids tend to focus their draft picks on players they think have the most upside regardless of position. Harris, particularly with his youth, fits the mold.

Alioune Ka

Sr. | F | Cornell

What Harris’s teammate Ka lacks in speed, he makes up for in size and strength. His ability to position himself and a good motor makes for a good pressing forward — a combination the Rapids typically look for.

Ka’s sturdy 6-foot-1 frame jumps out on the tape, but so does his eye for passing. He’s not always the one to find a goal scorer — he’s only had six assists in four years — but he can find overlapping and underlapping runs that unlock a dangerous chance.

If college soccer counted hockey assists, his assist numbers could easily be in the double digits. In 2024, he racked up a career-high eight goals to go with three assists.

His best game this year was in the first round of the NCAA Tournament when he scored two flashy goals in a two-goal comeback against Fordham.

Trevor Wright

RS-Jr. | D | Denver

The Rapids can’t get enough big, smart center backs. Good thing they’ve got one available for selection right down the road.

If a team were to pick Wright, it wouldn’t be until a later round. But stack the 6-foot-3 Castle Rock native’s experience with anyone in the country, and he’s probably got them beat.

Though he lost his 2023 season to injury, he’s started in all 63 matches he’s played over his three seasons at DU and was one of the biggest pieces in a defense that ranked eighth in goals against average (.775 goals against per game) this fall.

He was also one of the Pios’ main targets on set pieces, scoring off a corner in the NCAA Tournament in a 3-0 win over Gardner-Webb. Through three seasons, Wright scored seven goals and provided four assists.

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