The 2021 MLS SuperDraft was the 22nd edition of the SuperDraft conducted by Major League Soccer. The SuperDraft is held every January prior to the start of the MLS season. The 2020 SuperDraft was the first held exclusively via conference call and web streaming. The Draft was once again held virtually, and began on January 21, 2021 at 2:00 p.m. Eastern Time, and consisted of three rounds (shortened from four rounds in prior years). Compensatory picks were conveyed to teams that received fourth-round picks via trades.

Format

The SuperDraft format has remained constant throughout its history and closely resembles that of the

NFL Draft The National Football League Draft, also called the NFL Draft or (officially) the Player Selection Meeting, is an annual event which serves as the league's most common source of player recruitment. Each team is given a position in the drafting o ...

: #Any

expansion teams An expansion team is a new team in a sports league, usually from a city that has not hosted a team in that league before, formed with the intention of satisfying the demand for a local team from a population in a new area. Sporting leagues also ...

receive the first picks. MLS has announced that

Austin FC Austin FC is an American professional soccer club based in Austin, Texas. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. Founded in 2018, the club began play in the 2021 season. Their home stadium is Q2 ...

would begin play as an expansion team in 2021. #Non-playoff clubs receive the next picks in reverse order of prior season finish. #Teams that made the

MLS Cup Playoffs The MLS Cup Playoffs is the annual postseason elimination tournament of Major League Soccer. The final match of the tournament is the MLS Cup, the league's championship game. Under the current format adopted for the 2019 season, 14 teams quali ...

are then ordered by which round of the playoffs they are eliminated. #The winners of the

MLS Cup The MLS Cup is the annual championship game of Major League Soccer (MLS) and the culmination of the MLS Cup Playoffs. The game is held in November and pits the winner of the Eastern Conference Final against the winner of the Western Conferen ...

are given the last selection, and the losers the penultimate selection.

Player selection

Round 1

Round 2

Round 3

Compensatory picks

The draft was shortened to three rounds, from four rounds as in prior years. Compensatory picks were awarded to clubs that had acquired fourth round picks via earlier trades.

2021 SuperDraft trades

;Round 1 ;Round 2 ;Round 3 ;Compensatory picks

Notable undrafted players

Homegrown players

Players who signed outside of MLS

This is a list of eligible players who signed in leagues outside of MLS prior to the SuperDraft

Other notable players

Summary

Selections by college athletic conference

Schools with multiple draft selections

References

{{2021 MLS SuperDraft Major League Soccer drafts

MLS SuperDraft The MLS SuperDraft is an annual college draft for teams of Major League Soccer in the United States and Canada. It takes place in January and is used by teams to select players who have graduated from college or otherwise been signed by the l ...

2021 Major League Soccer season

Mls Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...