NASHVILLE, Tenn. (Dec. 14, 2020) – Nashville Soccer Club announced today the list of protected players who will be exempt from selection during the 2020 MLS Expansion Draft set to take place at 5 p.m. CT on Tuesday, Dec. 15.
The players protected by Nashville are:
PLAYER |
POSITION |
|---|---|
Tah Brian Anunga |
Midfielder |
Jhonder Cádiz |
Forward |
Aníbal Godoy |
Midfielder |
Alistair Johnston |
Defender |
Randall Leal |
Midfielder |
Daniel Lovitz |
Defender |
Dax McCarty |
Midfielder |
Hany Mukhtar |
Midfielder |
Daniel Ríos |
Forward |
Dave Romney |
Defender |
Joe Willis |
Goalkeeper |
Walker Zimmerman |
Defender |
In addition to these 12 players, Generation adidas and homegrown players are automatically protected which makes Jack Maher, Generation adidas player, and homegrowns Handwalla Bwana, Derrick Jones and Alex Muyl exempt from selection in the 2020 MLS Expansion Draft.
If a member from Nashville’s unprotected list is selected by Austin FC, Nashville SC will then be eliminated from the 2020 Expansion Draft and may not lose any further players. If Nashville were to lose a player to Austin FC, the club would receive $50,000 in General Allocation Money and be exempt from the 2021 MLS Expansion Draft.
As one of the expansion teams in 2020, Nashville SC selected five players during the 2019 MLS Expansion Draft: Abu Danladi, Zarek Valentin, Jalil Anibaba, Brandon Vázquez and Jimmy Medranda. Moments after selecting Valentin and Vázquez, Nashville SC traded Valentin to the Houston Dynamo in exchange for Goalkeeper Joe Willis, and Vázquez to FC Cincinnati for $150,000 in 2020 Targeted Allocation Money.
Full information regarding the MLS Expansion Draft process as well as a full list of rules and procedures can be found here.
Be sure to follow Nashville SC by visiting www.NashvilleSC.com and the club’s social channels on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.
