NEW YORK – Once an extravaganza and a mainstay of the United Soccer Coaches convention, the next Major League Soccer SuperDraft will be held a week prior to the convention Thursday, Jan. 9 at noon ET.

And it won’t be in front of an audience.

The draft will be conducted during a jointly produced MLS and ESPN show. The show will stream live on Twitter, with a Twitter Event Card that includes the live stream and real-time highlights from the event. The live stream will feature cameras embedded with players and club decision-makers for draftee reactions, live look-ins on club draft rooms and instant engagement from fans on Twitter during the first round.

Additional content and analysis will be provided across MLS league and club digital and social channels. The draft also will stream live on the ESPN App, YouTube and Facebook.

Inter Miami CF and Nashville SC, the 2020 MLS expansion clubs, will have the top selections in the draft, with Inter Miami CF owning two of the top three picks, the first and third, and Nashville SC selecting second overall.

“The MLS SuperDraft … is an important opportunity for MLS clubs to acquire top talent from the collegiate game as well as promising youth internationals,” said Todd Durbin, MLS executive vice president, competition and player relations. “The new format will enhance the experience for players and fans, while maintaining the traditional competitive aspects of the SuperDraft.”

The draft will be conducted in four rounds with 26 players selected in each round. To streamline the process, clubs now will be permitted three minutes, instead of four in previous years, to make their player selections, and there will be no intermission between rounds.

The eligible player list for the draft will be announced Monday, Dec. 30, following the 2019 MLS College Showcase this Friday through Sunday.

The showcase occurs in conjunction with the 2019 men’s College Cup and is a closed-door scouting event that has been sanctioned by the NCAA.

Homegrown-eligible underclassmen players – young talents developed by MLS club academies – will not participate in the showcase.

Front Row Soccer editor Michael Lewis has covered 13 World Cups (eight men, five women), seven Olympics and 25 MLS Cups. He has written about New York City FC, New York Cosmos, the New York Red Bulls and both U.S. national teams for Newsday and has penned a soccer history column for the Guardian.com. Lewis, who has been honored by the Press Club of Long Island and National Soccer Coaches Association of America, is the former editor of BigAppleSoccer.com. He has written seven books about the beautiful game and has published ALIVE AND KICKING The incredible but true story of the Rochester Lancers. It is available at Amazon.com.