2021 MLS expansion draft

{{Short description|Player draft for MLS teams}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2023}}

{{Infobox expansion draft

| name = 2021 MLS Expansion Draft

| date = December 14, 2021

| overall = 5

| rounds = 5

| expansion_teams = Charlotte FC

| expansion_season = 2022

| prev = 2020

| next = 2022

}}

The 2021 MLS Expansion Draft was a special draft for the Major League Soccer expansion team Charlotte FC that was held on December 14, 2021. The list of exposed players was revealed on December 13, 2021.{{cite web|url=https://www.mlssoccer.com/news/2021-mls-expansion-draft-eligible-player-list|title=2021 MLS Expansion Draft Eligible Player List|website=mlssoccer.com|date=December 13, 2021|accessdate=December 13, 2021}} The picks were made on December 14, 2021 at 7:00 PM ET with Charlotte selecting McKinze Gaines, Anton Walkes, Joseph Mora, Tristan Blackmon, and Ismael Tajouri-Shradi.{{cite web|url=https://www.mlssoccer.com/news/2021-expansion-draft-results-charlotte-fc-makes-picks-ahead-of-inaugural-season|title=2021 Expansion Draft results: Charlotte FC makes picks ahead of inaugural season|website=mlssoccer.com|date=December 14, 2021|accessdate=December 14, 2021}}

Format

Teams who had players selected in the 2020 MLS Expansion Draft are exempt. These teams are San Jose Earthquakes, New York Red Bulls, Nashville SC, LA Galaxy, and Orlando City SC. All other teams from the 2021 season are subject to the draft. These teams have 12 protection slots that they may apply to any draft eligible player on their senior, supplemental, and reserve rosters. Players who have not graduated from Generation Adidas, and homegrown players age 25 and under as of the end of the 2021 season are not eligible for the draft. Players with contracts expiring at the end of the season, designated players, and players with no-trade clauses are part of a team's roster and are eligible for the draft. In the case of player's with no-trade clauses, a team must use one of their protection slots for that player. If a team has a players selected in the draft, that team becomes exempt from any further picks in the draft. The expansion team, Charlotte FC was given 5 picks for the draft.{{cite web|url=https://www.mlssoccer.com/news/2021-mls-expansion-draft-rules-procedures|title=2021 MLS Expansion Draft Rules & Procedures|date=19 November 2021|work=mlssoccer.com|access-date=15 November 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221113045306/https://www.mlssoccer.com/news/2021-mls-expansion-draft-rules-procedures|archive-date=13 November 2022}}

Expansion Draft picks

class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;
style="width:5%"| Pick

!style="width:11%"|MLS team

!style="width:13%"|Player

!style="width:13%"|Previous team

!style="width:15%"|Notes

1

| style="background: #0082CA" rowspan="5"| {{colored link|white|Charlotte FC}}

| McKinze Gaines

| Austin FC

|

2

| Anton Walkes

| Atlanta United FC

|

3

| Joseph Mora

| D.C. United

|

4

| Tristan Blackmon

| Los Angeles FC

| Traded to Vancouver Whitecaps FC in exchange for $475,000 of General Allocation Money.{{cite web|url=https://www.mlssoccer.com/news/vancouver-whitecaps-acquire-defender-tristan-blackmon-in-expansion-draft-trade|title=Vancouver Whitecaps acquire defender Tristan Blackmon in Expansion Draft trade|author=Jonathan Sigal|website=mlssoccer.com|date=December 14, 2021|accessdate=December 14, 2021}}

5

| Ismael Tajouri-Shradi

| New York City FC

| Traded to Los Angeles FC in exchange for $400,000 of General Allocation Money.{{cite web|url=https://www.mlssoccer.com/news/lafc-trade-for-ismael-tajouri-shradi-via-2021-mls-expansion-draft|title=LAFC land forward Ismael Tajouri-Shradi via Expansion Draft trade|website=mlssoccer.com|date=December 14, 2021|accessdate=December 14, 2021}}

Team-by-team-breakdown

=[[Atlanta United FC]]=

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
Exposed
Mo Adams
Mikey Ambrose
Josh Bauer
Jürgen Damm
Alex DeJohn
Ronald Hernández
Emerson Hyndman
Alec Kann
Erik López
Ben Lundgaard
Jake Mulraney
Amar Sejdič
Erick Torres
style="background: #0082CA|{{colored link|white|Anton Walkes}}

=[[Austin FC]]=

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
Exposed
style="background: #0082CA|{{colored link|white|McKinze Gaines}}
Jon Gallagher
Danny Hoesen
Hector Jiménez
Freddy Kleemann
Kekuta Manneh
Will Pulisic
Aaron Schoenfeld
Brady Scott
Ulises Segura
Aedan Stanley
Jared Stroud
Ben Sweat
Andrew Tarbell

=[[Chicago Fire FC]]=

=[[FC Cincinnati]]=

=[[Colorado Rapids]]=

=[[Columbus Crew]]=

=[[D.C. United]]=

=[[FC Dallas]]=

=[[Houston Dynamo FC]]=

=[[Los Angeles FC]]=

=[[Inter Miami CF]]=

=[[Minnesota United FC]]=

=[[CF Montréal]]=

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
Exposed
Sebastian Breza
Rudy Camacho
Bjørn Johnsen
Mustafa Kizza
Ismaël Koné
Emanuel Maciel
Aljaž Struna
Ballou Tabla
Róbert Thorkelsson
Victor Wanyama

=[[New England Revolution]]=

=[[New York City FC]]=

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
Exposed
Malte Amundsen
Vuk Latinovich
Jesús Medina
Alexandru Mitriță
Cody Mizell
Maximiliano Moralez
Tony Rocha
style="background: #0082CA|{{colored link|white|Ismael Tajouri-Shradi}}
Guðmundur Þórarinsson
Anton Tinnerholm
Juan Pablo Torres
Gedion Zelalem

=[[Philadelphia Union]]=

=[[Portland Timbers]]=

=[[Real Salt Lake]]=

=[[Seattle Sounders FC]]=

=[[Sporting Kansas City]]=

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
Exposed
Amadou Dia
Luís Martins
Roberto Punčec
Ilie Sánchez
Graham Smith

=[[Toronto FC]]=

=[[Vancouver Whitecaps FC]]=

References

{{Reflist}}