University of North Carolina Athletics
Three Tar Heels Taken in MLS SuperDraft
January 14, 2005 | Men's Soccer
Jan. 14, 2005
BALTIMORE - North Carolina forward Jamie Watson was taken with the 13th overall selection by Real Salt Lake, and forward/midfielder Marcus Storey was grabbed with the 20th pick by the Columbus Crew, giving the Tar Heels two of the top 20 selections in the 2005 Major League Soccer SuperDraft Friday at the Baltimore Convention Center. Senior defender Tim Merritt went with the 48th - and final - pick of the draft to D.C. United.
Watson, who just completed his sophomore season at Carolina and signed with MLS as a part of the Generation adidas program, was the first pick of the second round (13th overall) by Real Salt Lake, one of the league's two expansion teams. A member of the U.S. Under-20 National Team pool, Watson had 12 goals and nine assists in 40 games at Carolina. He was the 2003 Atlantic Coast Conference Freshman of the Year and earned second-team all-league honors as a collegiate rookie. Watson earned a spot of the all-tournament team at the 2004 ACC Championship. He shared the Tar Heel scoring lead each of the last two seasons.
Generation adidas is the league's new youth player development program designed to identify and nurture the elite youth soccer talent in the United States. Watson was one of 12 players to sign with the league in the first year of the program.
Seven spots after Watson went, Storey was taken with the eighth pick in the second round (20th overall) by the Columbus Crew. Storey, who scored three goals at last week's MLS Combine, was a two-time first-team All-ACC selection and scored 29 goals at Carolina, which ranks eighth in program history. Storey also added 21 career assists. He was the 2001 ACC Freshman of the Year and helped the Tar Heels to the NCAA title that season at Crew Stadium. Storey shared the UNC scoring lead with Watson in each of the last two seasons. Storey will join former UNC teammate David Testo with the Crew.
Taken with the 12th pick of round four, Merritt was a two-time second-team All-ACC selection at defender for Carolina. Also a strong finisher, Merritt scored 10 goals and had 11 assists for 31 points over his collegiate career. The Tar Heel co-captain had a career-best 10 points in 2004. A member of the 2001 national title team, Merritt joins former teammate David Stokes with D.C. United.
Carolina was one of only five schools to have three players selected. Wake Forest had four player chosen, while UNC, Indiana, Notre Dame and UCLA each had three taken.
Watson and Storey mark the first Tar Heels taken in the MLS SuperDraft since Stokes, Logan Pause and Matt Crawford were selected in the 2003 draft.
