He was one of 60 players from across the country who participated in the MLS Adidas Player Draft Combine in Orlando last week, and NYFC selected him with the 19th pick of the second round (42nd overall).
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“AJ Paterson deserves all that is coming his way,” WSU head coach Bryan Davis said. “My father once told me ‘every great thing that’s been earned requires risk.’ AJ took a risk committing to an exciting yet growing program, leaving Florida for Ohio. He let us coach him the whole way, and here he is today, a second-round pick in the SuperDraft.
“It couldn’t of happened to a better man, and I am excited to see him progress in his future,” Davis added.
Paterson appeared in 76 games with 47 starts during his WSU career.
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He follows former Raiders teammates Jake Stovall and Peguy Ngatcha as MLS SuperDraft selections. The Seattle Sounders took Stovall in the third round of the 2017 draft, while theh Colorado Rapids drafted Ngatcha in the fourth round last year.
The only other WSU player to be drafted by an MLS team was Winston Marshall, a third-round pick of the FC Dallas Burn in 2005.
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