The Seattle Sounders picked two former Ballard FC players in the MLS SuperDraft on Thursday. Having sent their first-round pick to FC Dallas as part of the Paul Arriola trade last offseason, the Sounders selected midfielder Joe Dale with the 51st overall pick and goalkeeper Stockton Short with the 81st overall pick.
Dale, 21, is coming off a junior year with the University of Washington in which he played a significant part in helping the Huskies win the national championship. Dale finished the season with two goals and five assists while playing at least 50 minutes in all six of UW’s games during the NCAA Tournament. With Ballard last year, he was second on the team with six goals.
According to American Soccer Analysis’ model, Dale grades out as a good shooter with some quality 1v1 abilities. As a junior, he’ll also have the opportunity to return to UW for another year with the Sounders retaining his MLS rights for two more years.
Short is coming off a season at Utah Tech in which he only played six games, but had been a starter in the two previous campaigns. He followed that up with a solid showing at Ballard over the summer, where he helped lead them to the Western Conference and NW Division titles.
Other players with local ties who were drafted included UW’s Richie Aman (No. 9, D.C. United), Zach Ramsey (No. 17, Vancouver Whitecaps), Asher Hestad (No. 56, Colorado Rapids) and Connor Lofy (No. 89, Whitecaps); Seattle University’s Yeider Zuluaga (No. 59, Whitecaps); and Ballard FC’s Austin Brummett (No. 78, Houston Dynamo).
