Surprising picks from Charlotte FC ahead of inaugural season

Charlotte FC is building their roster for their debut during the 2022 Major League Soccer campaign and on Tuesday they selected the first five players in the Expansion Draft. They had a list of eligible players that was given to them on Monday and they could only draft one player per club.

Los Angeles Galaxy, Nashville SC, New York Red Bulls, Orlando City SC and San Jose Earthquakes were exempt because Austin FC selected one player from each team during last year’s draft. Charlotte only drafted players from Austing FC, Atlanta United, DC United, LAFC and NYCFC.

Charlotte’s five draft picks

Orrin McKinze Gaines was drafted first from Austin FC and he played 205 minutes during the 2021 regular season. Charlotte see’s potential in the 23-year-old striker and he scored his first MLS goal in Austin’s 2-0 win against the Los Angeles Galaxy.

Anton Walkes from Atlanta United went second during the 2021 Expansion Draft. The 24-year-old has 64 MLS career starts and he has proven to be a solid center back during his time in the league. Prior to arriving to Major League Soccer he signed with Tottenham in 2013, but he never played with the first team.

Joseph Mora from DC United went third in the draft. Charlotte chose another proven defender ahead of their inaugural season and he has 97 appearances in four seasons with DC. At 28-years-old he has also made six appearances with the Costa Rica national team since making his debut in 2018.

The third selection was Tristan Blackmon from LAFC, but he was traded to Vancouver Whitecaps for $350,999 in 2022 General Allocation Money (GAM) and $125,000 in 2023 GAM. This trade will bring in financial resources as they need to continue building their roster.

The fifth and last selection was Ismael Tjouri-Shradi from New York City FC, but he was immediately traded to Los Angeles FC. This way Charlotte will receive $400,000 in General Allocation Money in 2022.