MLS Draft 2015: Sounders won't be picking in the first round

The Seattle Sounders will be without a first-round pick in the MLS SuperDraft this year. Although MLSsoccer.com ran their first mock draft with the Sounders at No. 19, Sounder at Heart has confirmed that the Sounders gave up their first-round pick as part of the Stefan Frei trade last year. The pick was originally conditional, but that condition was met as soon as the Sounders were able to sign Frei almost immediately after the trade was made.

Assuming they don't make a move up, this would be first time the Sounders have picked outside the Top 20 and just the second time they've missed out on the first round. The lowest they've previously made their first pick was in 2011, when they selected Michael Tetteh with the second pick of the second round (No. 20 overall). The Sounders' first pick in this year's draft is currently slated to be No. 27 overall, which they received from Chivas USA in the Shalrie Joseph trade last season.

Even if the Sounders are shut out from the first round, the trade that netted them Frei has to be seen as a successful one. Frei, who's still just 28, is coming off his best professional season and performed better in 2014 than any Sounders draft pick other than Steve Zakuani's 2010 campaign. Not only did Frei set a MLS record with 20 regulation wins, but he was also at his best in the U.S. Open Cup final and during the MLS Cup playoffs. It's hard to imagine anyone the Sounders getting in the first round of this year's seemingly shallow draft class outperforming what Frei has already done.