Sounders add 175k General Allocation Money and two players via the 2023 MLS Draft

Mostly set with starters and rotational talent when healthy, the Seattle Sounders used the 2023 MLS Draft to refill their allocation money coffers. Instead of drafting at #9, GM Craig Waibel sent that pick to expansion side St. Louis CITY SC for the 59th pick and $175,000 of General Allocation Money.

That trade likely lifts the Sounders to about a million dollars of budget space via GAM, TAM and open salary budget space.

With the 38th pick Waibel selected Norwegian forward Eythor Bjørgolfsson out of the University of Kentucky. Bjørgolfsson also played in USL League Two with Vermont Green. He scored 10 goals and assisted twice in his senior year. With Vermont he had 6 goals and an assist in 10 appearances. He was a semifinalist for the MAC Hermann Trophy.

With the pick acquired via trade with St. Louis, Seattle picked Blake Bowen. From San Clemente, California, Bowen played high school ball and with several SoCal clubs before going to the Pac-12 with San Diego State University.

Bowen played mostly as a midfielder in college, earning Second Team all Pac-12 honors as a senior. He may wind up tested as a full back as a pro, especially with Seattle’s depth in the midfield.