Five U.S. U-23 national team members were selected in the first round of Major League Soccer’s 1999 College Draft. As expected, D.C. United, who obtained the No. 1 overall pick last year when the two-time MLS Cup champion sent forward Raul Diaz Arce to New England, selected midfielder Jason Moore from Virginia. U-23 standouts who were also selected include Indiana midfielder Lazo Alavanja with the No. 4 overall pick by Dallas, Portland forward Chris Brown (No. 5 overall by Kansas City), Virginia defender Matt Chulis (No. 9 overall by Columbus) and Duke defender Evan Whitfield (No. 11 overall by Chicago). A host of teams looked to add firepower up top, as five of the first eight players selected were strikers. After Moore went No. 1 and the Miami Fusion took Duke midfielder Jay Heaps with the second pick, five of the next six selections have proven to have a knack for goalscoring. Joining Brown in that select list are Creighton forward Richard Mulrooney (San Jose, No. 3 overall), UConn striker Bobby Rhine (Dallas, No. 6 overall), Fordham threat John Wolyniec (MetroStars, No. 7 overall) and Lehigh University sniper Andrew Mittendorf (Colorado, No. 8 overall). Three Project-40 assignments were also made today: Indiana’s Dema Kovalenko was assigned to Dallas and immediately traded to Chicago for the picks that turned out to be Hoosier Lazo Alavanja and SMU product Paul Broome; UConn’s Mauricio Rocha was assigned to the Miami Fusion; and American’s Antonio Otero was assigned to Colorado and immediately dealt to D.C. United in exchange for one of D.C.’s first-round picks in the 2000 college draft. Several other trades were made, as Miami traded a second-round pick and defender Matt Kmosko to Columbus for a first-round pick in the 2000 College Draft. The Fusion then sent that pick to the Kansas City Wizards in a deal that saw the two clubs swap first-round picks in today’s College Draft, with Miami selecting Jay Heaps with the No. 2 overall pick.
1999 MLS College Draft
FIRST ROUND | Pick/Team | Player | Pos. | College |
| 1. D.C. United | Jason Moore | MF | Virginia |
| 2. (a) Miami | Jay Heaps | MF | Duke |
| 3. San Jose | Richard Mulrooney | F | Creighton |
| 4. (b) Dallas | Lazo Alavanja | MF | Indiana |
| 5. (a) Kansas City | Chris Brown | F | Portland |
| 6. Dallas | Bobby Rhine | F | Connecticut |
| 7. MetroStars | John Wolyniec | F | Fordham |
| 8. Colorado | Andrew Mittendorf | F | Lehigh |
| 9. Columbus | Matt Chulis | D | Virginia |
| 10. Los Angeles | Tony Soto | D | SMU |
| 11. Chicago | Evan Whitfield | D | Duke |
| 12. (b) Dallas | Paul Broome | MF | SMU |
SECOND ROUND | Pick/Team | Player | Pos. | College |
| 1. Los Angeles | Seth George | F | UCLA |
| 2. Kansas City | John Wilson | D | Clemson |
| 3. San Jose | Wojtek Krakowiak | F | Clemson |
| 4. (c) MetroStars | Kevin Knight | MF | James Madison |
| 5. D.C. United | Keith Beach | MF | Maryland |
| 6. (d) Columbus | Jeff Bilyk | MF | Clemson |
| 7. Miami | Jeremy Aldrich | D | Butler |
| 8. Colorado | Tom Poltl | MF | UCLA |
| 9. San Jose | Jamie Clark | D | Stanford |
| 10. Los Angeles | Sam Franklin | MF | Virginia |
| 11. Chicago | Greg Sutton | GK | St. Lawrence |
| 12. Dallas | Darren Warham | D | Lynn |
THIRD ROUND | Pick/Team | Player | Pos. | College |
| 1. New England | Leighton O’Brien | MF | San Diego |
| 2. Kansas City | Kevin Kalish | D | Saint Louis |
| 3. San Jose | Todd Duncan | D | San Jose State |
| 4. D.C. United | David Hayes | F | Wingate |
| 5. MetroStars | Jim Manganello | MF | Wheaton (Mass.) |
| 6. Dallas | Andrew Parrish | D | Indiana |
| 7. MetroStars | Eric Kvello | F | Georgetown |
| 8. Colorado | Bobby Meyer | D | Dartmouth |
| 9. Columbus | Randy Merkel | D | Maryland |
| 10. Los Angeles | PASS |
| 11. Dallas | Aaron Lewis | MF | Western Baptist |
| 12. Chicago | Stefani Miglioranzi | MF | St. John’s |
(a) Miami traded the No. 5 overall pick and Columbus’ first-round pick in the 2000 College Draft (via Miami) to Kansas City for the No. 2 overall pick. (b) Dallas obtained the No. 4 and No. 12 overall picks from Chicago in exchange for the rights to Project-40 forward Dema Kovalenko. (c) Tampa Bay traded its second-round pick (No. 16 overall) to New England for a second-round pick in the 2000 Supplemental Draft; New England then traded the pick to the MetroStars for two second-round picks in the 2000 College Draft. (d) Miami traded the No. 18 overall pick and defender Matt Kmosko to Columbus for the Crew’s first-round pick in the 2000 College Draft. (Miami then sent that pick to Kansas City in their first-round trade.)
