CAL SOUTH’S WYNNE #1 IN MLS SUPERDRAFT
OTHER CAL SOUTH PICKS: #’s 2, 5, 9, 19 & 37

January 23, 2006 (Philadelphia) – Marvell Wynne, the fleet-footed UCLA defender and top-flight Cal South ODP player, was chosen as the No. 1 pick in Friday’s Major League Soccer SuperDraft in Philadelphia. Along with Wynne, five other former Cal South players were picked in the draft overall, with Cal South locking up four picks in the Top Ten alone.

Marvell Wynne, who spent most of his Cal South tenure with the San Diego Surf and played last season with Hotspurs USA, was fully expected to be picked immediately in the first round of the SuperDraft by Chivas USA, landing him an MLS gig close to his Southern California home. Minutes before the draft began, however, the MetroStars enacted a trade with Chivas, taking the first pick in exchange for their own No. 5 first round pick and defender Jason Hernandez. Needless to say, the MetroStars jumped at the opportunity to grab Wynne for their team. Wynne’s sterling play at back helped spur UCLA on to becoming one of the top ranked defensive units in the country, earning a #1 ranking in shutout percentage, and earning Wynne First Team All-American honors.

The Kansas City Wizards used their #4 pick to obtain 18-year old forward Yura Movsisyan, a native of Baku, Azerbaijan, who grew up in Pasadena and played his Cal South soccer with the Arsenal FC.

Chivas USA still managed to select a Cal South ODP first round prospect of their own, using their now No. 5 pick to select former Huntington Beach forward Sacha Kljestan. Kljestan, like Wynne, impressed many in his stint with the National Team U-20’s at the FIFA World Championships earlier this year, and won this year’s Big East Offensive Player of the Year award as a junior at Seton Hall, where he tallied 33 points on 9 goals and a school-record 15 assists.

Rounding out the Top Ten picks, former Cal South forward Kei Kamara was selected ninth by the Columbus Crew. An All-American sophomore at Cal State Dominguez Hills, Kamara spent his formative years on the Manhattan Beach Hurricanes (now the South Bay Soccer Club), and this season led his college in goals, assists, points and game-winning goals.

The second round of the SuperDraft found former Cal South ODP defender Tyson Wahl, who was selected 19th overall, going to the Kansas City Wizards, making him their second Cal South pick. Wahl won a U18 state championship in 2002 with the Irvine Strikers, and has spent time in both the U-17 and U-20 National Team camps, playing in the U-17 World Championship in 2001.

In a nice bit of irony, forward Jonathan Bornstein, Wynne’s teammate at UCLA, was taken first in the fourth round by Chivas USA, and will now likely be playing alongside their 5th pick Kljestan. Bornstein, overall the 37th pick, played his youth club ball with the Irvine Strikers, winning the Golden Boot award in 2002 as he led his Strikers U-17 squad to a USYS National Championship.