Freshman Manu Duah, a standout holding midfielder for the UC Santa Barbara men’s soccer team, was selected as the No. 1 pick in the Major League Soccer SuperDraft on Friday.
Duah was picked by the expansion club San Diego FC.
The 6-foot-4 highly skilled player from Ghana is the first student athlete at UCSB to be selected first overall in a professional sports league draft. He is the fifth Gaucho soccer player in the last 10 years and the 32nd overall to be drafted by an MLS club.
“It really, really means a lot to me,” Duah said of being the first overall pick. “From all the hard work, I never, never could have dreamed that I’m going to be the number one pick, but through God everything is possible, and now that I’m here, the job is not done yet.
“It’s a new chapter; I need to focus and work hard on that. I’m really, really excited, I never thought that I would have gotten here.”
The 19-year-old Duah, a graduate of Dunn School of Los Olivos and a product of the Santa Barbara Soccer Club’s MLSNext program, was one of four players to sign a Generation adidas deal with MLS prior to the draft.
The talented midfielder should be a key piece as San Diego FC builds its roster ahead of its inaugural season in 2025.
“With Manu, it was very, very obvious that this is a player with tremendous potential. A player who’s already good but can improve a lot,” SDFC head coach Mikey Varas told reporters after the pick. “He can be a player who dominates MLS in a few years.”
San Diego FC opens the 2025 MLS season against the MLS Cup-champion L.A. Galaxy on Feb. 23.
UCSB coach Tim Vom Steeg said the selection of Duah as the No. 1 pick “is a testament to his talent as well as the collective play of the entire team this season. History was made today not just for our program but for the entire athletic department. We wish him the very best as he takes the next step on his soccer journey.”
Soccer player Luis Silva and baseball’s Dillon Tate shared the previous honor of highest draft selection any UCSB student-athlete. Silva was picked fourth overall by Toronto FC in the 2012 MLS SuperDraft and Tate was the overall fourth pick by the Texas Rangers in the 2015 Major League Baseball Draft.
Gaucho soccer alumnus Michael Boxall was selected first overall in the 2011 MLS Supplemental Draft, which followed the three rounds of the SuperDraft and is considered a secondary draft.
Dunn School is celebrating Duah’s success. He is the school’s second No. 1 MLS draft pick, joining Abu Danladi, who was taken No. 1 by Minnesota United in 2017 after starring at Dunn and UCLA. Danladi also hails from Ghana.
“Having two No. 1 picks in the MLS Draft is an extraordinary achievement for Dunn School and speaks to the strength of our soccer program,” said Dunn Head of School Kaylan Balaven. “Manu and Abu represent the very best of what our school strives for: developing well-rounded individuals who excel in their passions and inspire others.”
#1 in the MLS SuperDraft!! Congratulations, Manu! ⚽️ #GoGauchos! https://t.co/rxF2e0BVRX
— Kelly Barsky (@KellyBarskyUCSB) December 20, 2024
Duah played in 14 matches this season, with the Gauchos going 8-3-3 in those matches, including six clean sheets. His play helped UCSB beat UCLA, 1-0, in overtime in the first round of the NCAA Tournament and rally to draw with Stanford (2-2) in the second round. UCSB lost on penalty kicks.
His composure on the ball, field awareness, range of coverage on the pitch and adeptness to start attacks while under pressure impressed scouts.
Varas told MLSSoccer.com that Duah’s tactical and physical attributes remind him of Spain and FC Barcelona legend Sergio Busquets, who now plays for Inter Miami in MLS.
“He’s my favorite player,” Duah said of Busquets in an interview with MLSSoccer.com. ”I like his style of play. And that’s the most that I really get from him, by learning how he plays.
“One more thing that I’ve added is I’m more athletic than Busquets, that’s the only difference. But he’s really, really good. I like his style of play, I like how they build through him. So I like teams that really, really like building through the 6.”
Varas, formerly an assistant with the U.S. Men’s National Team, said Duah’s “talent is really high, and he’s a young player. He’s done great in his college career, the next step is to see how he adapts. We’re not going to limit anybody’s story before we’re out on the pitch together.
“Ultimately, what we have found is it takes a bit of time to adapt from the college game to the pro game because of how often the training is and how intense the training is. But what we know for sure is we have a top player in Manu, and we’ll have a very individualized plan for him to make sure we get him performing for the team at the right moment and with a ton of confidence.”
UCSB senior forward Alexis Ledoux was not taken in the three-round SuperDraft.
