MLS announces 2017 Generation adidas class

The pool for the upcoming MLS SuperDraft became a little clearer on Wednesday with the announcement of five underclassmen who will enter the draft as members of the Generation adidas class.

The class includes three American college players in UCLA duo Abu Danladi and Jackson Yueill, Syracuse central defender Miles Robinson, and Canadian duo Adonijah Reid and Shamit Shome.

The league also announced on Wednesday the signing of seniors Brandon Aubrey (Notre Dame), Julian Gressel (Providence), Zeiko Lewis (Boston College) and Brian Wright (Vermont).

Former Duke forward Jeremy Ebobisse signed a deal with the league ahead of what would have been his junior season in Durham last fall and will likely be a top five draft pick.

The two Canadians are the first to sign under a new Generation adidas Canada program. Reid, 18, is a member of the Canadian Youth National Team and Shome is a 19-year-old who made 26 appearances for FC Edmonton in the NASL last year.

In related news, eight additional college seniors have been invited to the MLS Combine, including Jalen Brown (Xavier), Stefan Cleveland (Louisville), Matej Dekovic (Charlotte), Marcus Epps (USF), Tucker Hume (North Carolina), Iman Mafi (Clemson), Joe Vetle Rimstad (Radford) and Andrew Wheeler-Omiunu (Harvard).

While the Philadelphia Union drafted two from the Generation adidas class last year in No. 2 pick Joshua Yaro and No. 6 pick Fabian Herbers, it’s unlikely any from this year’s class will be heading to Chester. Barring a trade, the Union’s earliest pick in this year’s draft will be the 33rd overall pick in the second round.

As it stands, this year’s GA class would be tied with 2015 for the smallest in the program’s history, which dates back to 1997 when it was known as Project 40. Last year’s class had seven with two players - Fabian Herbers and Omar Holness - being added after the initial announcement of five players.