BALTIMORE, Md. – The Portland Timbers selected forward/winger Ben Polk from Syracuse University and midfielder/winger Neco Brett from Robert Morris University in the first two rounds of the 2016 MLS SuperDraft today at the Baltimore Convention Center in Baltimore, Md. The final rounds – three and four – of the 2016 MLS SuperDraft will be held Tuesday, Jan. 19, via conference call.
Polk, 23, was selected with the No. 20 overall pick in the first round by the Timbers. Polk helped lead Syracuse to the NCAA College Cup, tallying 12 goals and four assists in 22 matches (all starts). A 2015 NSCAA First-Team All-South Region selection, Polk was named Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Tournament MVP and finished the season ranked 17th in the nation in goals (12) and led the Orange in points (28). Syracuse saw their season end in a penalty kick shootout in the national semifinals on Dec. 11. Prior to playing for Syracuse, Polk starred for Herkimer College in upstate New York, where he was a NSCAA Junior College DIII All-American and Region III Player of the Year, scoring 33 goals during the 2014 campaign. In two years at Herkimer College, Polk registered 46 goals and nine assists in 34 matches.
A native of Kingston, Jamaica, who has garnered experience with the Jamaica U-17 and U-20 Men’s National Team, Brett, 23, was Portland’s only pick in the second round (No. 40 overall). The midfielder/winger registered 42 goals and 16 assists in four seasons with Robert Morris University, including tallying 13 goals and five assists during his senior season in 2015 in which he ranked tied for seventh in the nation in goal-scoring and was named an NSCAA Third-Team All-American and the Northeastern Conference Player of the Year. Brett, who ranks second all-time in career goals for the Colonials, finished among the top players nationally in goals scored during his sophomore and junior seasons, ending the 2014 campaign tied for first in the nation with 15 goals among all Division I players.
Ben Polk
Position: Forward
Height: 5-9
Weight: 175
Born: Sept. 19, 1992, in Phoenix, Ariz.
College: Syracuse University
Citizenship: United States/England
Neco Brett
Position: Winger
Height: 5-8
Weight: 165
Born: March 22, 1992, in Kingston, Jamaica
College: Robert Morris University
Citizenship: Jamaica
