Orlando City will pick first in Expansion Draft, NYCFC has top Allocation spot

Orlando City will pick first in the MLS Expansion Draft on Dec. 10 and MLS SuperDraft on Jan. 16, 2015, while New York City will have the top Allocation spot. These were the main items up for grabs when MLS hosted a livestream for its “Expansion Priority Draft” on Wednesday and it was about as weird as all that sounds.

Yes, MLS just held a draft to determine the order of its various drafts. Thus is the crazy and often confusing world of Major League Soccer where virtually nothing is as straightforward as it may first appear.

Just how confusing were the proceedings, even NYC FC head coach Jason Kreis made a somewhat regrettable mistake when he chose to go first in the Discovery Ranking when he meant to pick having the top USL Pro/NASL Priority Player Ranking. (Here’s a full explanation of what exactly happened there.)

Once the dust had fully settled, these were the results of the priority draft:

1. MLS Expansion Draft: Pick 1 goes to Orlando City SC, Pick 2 goes to New York City FC
2. Allocation Ranking: Pick 1 goes to New York City FC, Pick 2 goes to Orlando City SC
3. MLS SuperDraft: Pick 1 goes to Orlando City SC, Pick 2 goes to New York City FC
4. Discovery Ranking: Pick 20 goes to New York City FC, Pick 21 goes to Orlando City SC
5. USL PRO/NASL Player Priority Ranking: Pick 1 goes to Orlando City SC, Pick 2 goes to New York City FC
6. Waiver/Re-Entry Draft Ranking: Pick 20 goes to New York City FC, Pick 21 goes to Orlando City SC
7. Lottery Ranking: Pick 20 goes to Orlando City SC, Pick 21 goes to New York City FC
8. Designated Player Ranking: Pick 1 goes to New York City FC, Pick 2 goes to Orlando City SC

Considering there’s only one spot of difference between any of these things, it’s probably a bit ridiculous to declare a winner or loser. Still, having the spectacle live-streamed and hosted by MLS Crown Prince Jimmy Conrad certainly made for some entertaining moments. Now, let’s get back to soccer.