The Seattle Sounders will partake in their ninth MLS SuperDraft on Friday, Jan. 13. Seattle will have the 16th selection via a trade with New York City FC in January 2015, as well as the 22nd overall and final pick of the second round because of its MLS Cup win. Follow the Sounders' SuperDraft picks live.
Let’s take a look now at how each of the Sounders’ first-round picks fared in MLS.
2009: Steve Zakuani (No. 1)
The Sounders received the first overall pick prior to their inaugural MLS season in 2009, and they selected the consensus top prospect in the draft.
A member of Generation adidas, attacker Steve Zakuani led the nation in scoring in his sophomore season at Akron, racking up 20 goals and 47 points over just 23 matches. His production carried over to the professional level in his rookie season, as he was a finalist for MLS Rookie of the Year. He recorded four goals and four assists in 24 starts to lead all rookies in both categories.
Zakuani scored 10 goals and added six assists in his sophomore campaign and was budding into one of the league’s bright young stars. But in 2011, just six games into his third season, Zakuani sustained a right fibula and tibia break, sidelining him for 14 months.
Zakuani would only play 10 more regular-season games over the next two seasons before being selected in Stage 1 of the 2013 MLS Re-Entry Draft by the Portland Timbers. He recorded three assists in 17 appearances in 2014 before retiring from the sport at just 26.
2010: David Estrada (No. 11)
The Sounders selected midfielder David Estrada with the 11th pick in 2010. He earned first-team All-Pac 10 honors as a senior at UCLA and finished his Bruins career with 22 goals and 14 assists.
It took Estrada more than two years to find his footing in Seattle. He appeared in just six total matches in the 2010 and ’11 seasons, logging fewer than 200 total minutes. He had a breakout season of sorts in 2012, scoring seven goals across all competitions.
Estrada missed some time in 2013 with an ankle sprain and eye injury, he did not record a point and only started in four matches.
Estrada would only appear in one match for the Sounders in 2014. Seattle sent him on two different loan spells to the Charlotte Eagles and the Atlanta Silverbacks before trading him outright to D.C. United that August.
Estrada recorded two assists in nine regular-season matches for United at the end of 2014, but that would be his final MLS contributions. He spent the 2015 season with Sacramento Republic and the Orange County Blues of the USL before joining the Charlotte Independence this past year. He scored six goals and added two assists in 30 matches for Charlotte in 2016.
2011: None
The Sounders traded the No. 11 selection and one international spot to Portland for the Timbers’ second-round pick and allocation money.
2012: Andrew Duran (No. 15)
The Sounders selected Creighton defender Andrew Duran with the 15th pick in 2012. Duran was a second-team All-American and the Missouri Valley Conference Defender of the Year.
Duran ultimately did not make a single appearance for Seattle. He underwent knee right knee surgery to repair a medial meniscus tear on March 9, 2012, before being loaned to the Atlanta Silverbacks in June. Duran tore his ACL after just seven matches with Atlanta.
The Sounders waived Duran in 2013, and he has been out of professional soccer since.
2013: Eriq Zavaleta (No. 10)
Seattle selected Indiana University striker Eriq Zavaleta with the 10th pick in 2013. He scored 28 goals in two years in Bloomington and was the unanimous selection for Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year in his final season. He led the Hoosiers to their eighth national championship in 2012 en route to being named a third-team All-American.
Zavaleta made just five appearances for Seattle in his rookie season, which included a stint on loan at the San Antonio Scorpions. The Sounders sent him on a year-long loan to Chivas USA in 2014 before ultimately trading his rights to Toronto FC in 2015 for TFC’s second-round pick in the 2016 draft. The Sounders would draft defender Tony Alfaro with that pick.
2014: Damion Lowe (No. 8)
The Sounders selected University of Hartford defender Damion Lowe with the eighth pick in 2014. Lowe spent three seasons in Hartford, tallying eight goals in 44 matches and earning multiple America East honors.
Lowe, like Duran, did not make a single appearance in his two seasons in Seattle. The Jamaican international spent the 2015 season with Seattle Sounders FC 2 before going on a year-long loan to Minnesota United FC.
The Sounders opted not to exercise his contract last month.
2015: Cristian Roldan (No. 16)
The Sounders selected University of Washington midfielder Cristian Roldan with the 16th pick in 2015. Along with Zakuani, Roldan has already proven to be one of the best selections in franchise history.
Roldan, who was projected to be drafted higher but ended up slipping to No. 16, scored 10 goals and added seven assists in 41 appearances for the Huskies. He earned third-team All-American honors as a sophomore after being named the National and Pac-12 Freshman of the Year.
Roldan has four goals and four assists in 39 starts over his two professional seasons. He came into his own in 2016 starting in defensive midfield alongside Osvaldo Alonso and proved himself to be one of the league’s best young holding midfielders.
MLS named Roldan to its annual “24 Under 24” list highlighting the league’s best players under 24 years old. His play has even garnered the attention of United States national team head coach Bruce Arena, who expects Roldan could be a part of the USMNT in 2017.
2016: None
The Sounders traded the 15th pick and general allocation money in 2016 to the Chicago Fire in exchange for defender Joevin Jones.
The Trinidadian had a fantastic first year in Seattle in what was just his second professional season. He started 29 matches and logged over 2,500 minutes, scoring twice and adding three assists in the regular season.
Jones was an even bigger part of the Sounders’ run to the MLS Cup. He started all six postseason games and had three crucial assists, including the cross on Nelson Valdez’s late goal against Sporting Kansas City in the Knockout Round.
