MLS draft
When: Noon today
Where: Baltimore
TV: ESPN2 (first round), MLSsoccer.com (second, third rounds)
Scouting report: Kofi Sarkodie of Huber Heights is projected as a top-five pick. Sarkodie, a fullback, helped Akron win the NCAA Division I men's soccer title in December. The report on Sarkodie is that scouts and coaches like his ability to move forward, but he'll have to spend more time defending at the pro level. Speed, ball-handling and a solid passing touch are all MLS caliber.
Awards: Soccer America's player of the year, Hermann Trophy semifinalist (national player of the year award), ESPN Academic All-American of the Year, first-team All-American.
It won’t come in time to help today, but Kofi Sarkodie figures the first thing he’ll buy after signing a Major League Soccer contract is a new cell phone.
Sarkodie discovered an upgrade was in order after his Akron Zips won the NCAA Division I men’s soccer championship in December.
“There were so many text messages and so many calls, it was crazy,” said Sarkodie, who grew up in Huber Heights and played his freshman high school season at Carroll. “(I had so many) I had to pick and choose which ones to text back.”
Congratulations and well wishes from friends and family should again be in abundance today. Sarkodie is projected as a top-five pick in today’s draft in Baltimore (noon, ESPN2). MLSsoccer.com’s three-person expert panel has the speedy fullback going to California’s Chivas USA with the fourth pick. The Columbus Crew pick No. 12.
“I don’t really have a preference,” said Sarkodie, also projected to be one of three Zips taken in the first four picks. “Of course, being able to play for the Crew would be amazing. Being close to home with all the fan support, being close to Akron where I made my soccer career would be fantastic.
“To be honest, anywhere I’m playing and having the ability to develop my professional career is where I want to be at.”
Sarkodie, a junior biology major at Akron who carries close to a 3.96 grade-point average, said he has about a year and a half left before graduating. Entering MLS as a Generation adidas player enables him to continue his studies and develop his pro career. His salary also does not count against the cap.
At Akron, Sarkodie helped the Zips (22-1-2) win their first national championship in any sport with a 1-0 victory against Louisville. Akron lost to Virginia in a penalty-kick shootout in the 2009 title game.
“It was our sole driving force. Last year when we lost the title game we pretty much made a promise to ourselves that we were going to win it this year,” said Sarkodie, who was a semifinalist for the Hermann Trophy given to the nation’s top player.
“It was almost a feeling of relief. We did it. A couple days after it was like, ‘Wow, we’re national champions.’ ... It wasn’t until a couple days later that we really understood the magnitude of what we had just done.”
Today is another in a list of soccer accomplishments for the Sarkodie family. Kwame, 25, is playing for the Cincinnati Kings of the Professional Arena Soccer League and is looking to go overseas for a trial. Ofori, 22 — who was a fourth-round pick by Kansas City in last year’s MLS draft — plans on going on trial to teams in Germany and Belgium. And sister Mimi, who turns 13 next week, could trump them all.
“We have so many different attributes,” Sarkodie said. “To me, Ofori is one of the most brilliant defenders I’ve ever played against. Kwame’s talent level, he’s the most skillful out of all of us. I kind of feed off both of them. I think Mimi feeds off all three of us, so that’s why I think she’s going to be the best.”
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2400, ext. 6991, or gbilling@DaytonDailyNews.com
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