MLS Mock Draft 2016: Union select Vincent, Holness and Doyle

Few college soccer players have seen their stock rise as rapidly in the past month as Stanford left back Brandon Vincent.

The senior helped lead the Cardinal to their first ever national title in mid-December and received his first U.S. national team call-up just last week. He also signed a senior contract with the league last week and has seen his name move up multiple mock draft lists.

For the SB Nation mock draft, he ended up going to the Union with the third pick. Left back has been a position of need for the Union for several seasons now so drafting Vincent third makes sense (reports that Abu Danladi could still be signed to a Generation adidas deal would certainly change that).

Vincent would provide the Union with a solid left back who can be dangerous in the attack, has leadership qualities and experience playing in central defense his first two years at Stanford so he's a solid pick at No. 3.

With the sixth pick of the draft, we selected North Carolina junior midfielder Omar Holness. The Jamaican international is leaving college early as part of the Generation adidas class. While his college numbers might be alarming when considering him as an attacking option, Holness has impressed during his time in Chapel Hill in ways that don't always show up in a box score.

A 60-yard run and goal - that beat former Union youth player Zack Steffen - during his freshman year served as his introduction to the college game. It was one of only four goals he scored in his college career but it does show an impressive combination of size, speed, and skill that make him a worthwhile selection in the top 10.

With the third and final pick of the mock draft (it went two rounds), we selected Ohio State senior defender Liam Doyle.

As much as I hate talking about a player's height, Doyle's size is an obvious strength. His 6-foot-4, 200-pound frame has made him a nightmare to defend on set pieces. The ones he wasn't taking, at least. Doyle was the type of player in college who was difficult to nail down to a position because he spent a lot of time on the offensive side of the field and covered a lot of ground in the back as a centerback. Steve Birnbaum was that kind of player at California too and he's done pretty well for himself at the next level.

The England native can be lumbering at times at the back so it remains to be seen what kind of impact he would have on the first team. He would most likely compete for a starting job at Bethlehem his first year.

That rounds out our picks for this year's mock draft. We'll find out Thursday just how spectacularly wrong we were.