Patrick Seagrist was the 10th overall pick in the draft. (Photo courtesy of the Red Bulls)
HARRISON, N.J. – Following a trade with Chicago Fire FC to move up to the 10th overall pick, the Red Bulls selected Marquette University defender Patrick Seagrist in the MLS SuperDraft on Thursday. The Red Bulls traded $100K in General Allocation Money for for the pick.
The Red Bulls wrapped up the first round with Louisville forward Cherif Dieye (Pronunciation: Sha-REEF JAY) as the 15th overall selection.
New York selected UC-Davis goalkeeper Wallis Lapsley with the 10th pick in the second round (36th overall). With the 41st pick, the Red Bulls chose Wright State forward Deri Corfe.
The 6-foot, 170-lb. Seagrist was a four-year letter winner as he capped of his Golden Eagle career with a team-best seven assists. The Streamwood, Ill. native earned All-Big East first team honors in 2018 and 2019. He started 63 of the 65 matches he played in and recorded six goals and 16 assists as a defender.
Dieye, a native of Dakar, Senegal, became Louisville’s 23rd player chosen in the draft. He was the seventh Louisville player to be drafted in the first round. The 5-9, 150-lb. Dieye led the team in every offensive statistic in 2019. He led the Cards with seven goals, including three game-winners. He dished out six assists for 17 points and also led the team with 79 shots and 36 shots on goal. Dieye was named to the United Soccer Coaches All-South Region second team and the USC Scholar All-South Region second team.
With the 6-5, 205-lb. Lapsley in goal the last four years, the Aggies advanced to the championship game of the Big West Tournament in his sophomore, junior and senior seasons, won two Big West regular season titles and the program’s inaugural Big West Tournament championship this fall.
The Aggies earned a first round bye this year as the NCAA Division I’s No. 14 seed and the right to host second round game for the first time..
By collecting a career-high nine shutouts, the Seattle native set a career program record with 21 clean sheets. His 0.89 career goals-against average was a Division I-era program record and the second-lowest all-time figure. By finishing with a .784 career save percentage and 35 wins, Lapsley set school standards in both categories.
In addition to posting a 0.63 GAA, his .809 save percentage was No. 1 among his BWC counterparts in 2019. Among all goalkeepers in the nation, he ranked No. 6 and No. 9 respectively.
The 6-foot, 178-lb. Corfe’s selection marked the fifth time in program history that a Wright State player had been drafted. Prior attending the school, Corfe played in the Manchester City FC organization for six years.
In 2019, Corfe appeared in 21 matches (20 starts), recording 1,769 minutes and contributing 13 goals and eight assists. That included the game-winning goal during the first round of the Division I at Notre Dame as Wright State recorded a 3-2 victory, its first postseason win in program history.
He helped Wright State earn a Horizon League Championship title as it reached the Division I second round for the first time in program history. Corfe was named to the United Soccer Coaches All-North Region first team along with First Team All-Horizon League.
