PORTLAND, Ore. – The Portland Timbers added four more players Tuesday in the MLS Supplemental Draft, just hours after announcing the signing of Colombian defender Hanyer Mosquera.
It was another busy draft day for general manager Gavin Wilkinson – Portland traded forward Kenny Cooper before last week’s SuperDraft – giving the club a starkly different identity than the one it ended the 2011 season with.
With the eighth pick in each of the Supplemental draft’s four rounds, the Timbers selected defender Ryan Kawulok, midfielder Miquel Ibarra (above), goalkeeper Doug Herrick and midfielder Logan McDaniel, who will all be non-roster invitees when preseason training camp starts Monday.
“We selected four young and talented players,” Wilkinson said. “Each of them excelled for their respective college teams.”
Portland’s first pick went on a player well known to the franchise, as University of Portland product Kawulok was also a member of the Portland Timbers U-23s.
“We know Ryan well, having played the last two years for our development team, the Timbers U-23s,” Wilkinson said. “We look forward to getting them in for preseason to compete for a roster spot.”
Kawulok, 22, started all 20 games and registered two goals and two assists for the University of Portland as a senior in 2011. A native of Fort Collins, Colo., Kawulok was a four-year starter for the Pilots, compiling all-West Coast Conference honors all four seasons, including first-team selections in 2010 and 2011. Following his senior season, he was named the WCC Defender of the Year, becoming just the second Pilot to land that award.
The talented defender appeared in 34 matches and scored five goals for the Timbers’ development team. He also earned consecutive PDL All-Western Conference honors.
The Timbers rounded out their draft picks with three other hugely talented individuals. Ibarra, a winger from the University of California-Irvine, recorded nine goals and eight assists over 23 games during his senior season in 2011. Goalkeeper Herrick, from St. Mary’s College, recorded a single-season school record 10 shutouts in 23 games to lead the Gaels to the WCC championship and the Elite Eight of the NCAA tournament. Midfielder McDaniel finished his senior season at Loyola Marymount University tied for the team lead with five assists and received all-West Coast Conference accolades in 2011.
Dan Itel covers the Timbers for MLSsoccer.com. Email him at dcitel@hotmail.com
