PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – The Portland Timbers selected forward and Generation adidas member Schillo Tshuma from the University of Maryland, defender Taylor Peay from the University of Washington and midfielder Aaron Long from the University of California-Riverside in the first two rounds of the 2014 MLS SuperDraft today held at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia.
Portland selected Tshuma with the No. 17 overall pick in the first round. Peay and Long were selected No. 26 and No. 36 overall, respectively, in the second round. The final rounds – three and four – of the 2014 MLS SuperDraft will be held Tuesday, Jan. 21, via conference call.
“We are very pleased with how things went,” said Timbers head coach Caleb Porter. “You don’t always know with the picks you have how it is going to go and how the dominos are going to fall. We feel very good about what we were able to pick up in the draft – a player in three different positions. We feel like we have a very experienced team, a lot of depth. So we were looking for players that we could bring along and players who fit the way we play and we got that in all three. I’m looking forward to working with these players and having the opportunity to develop them, as this is a very important part of our club mission and to our succession planning.”
Tshuma, 21, recorded 16 goals and three assists in 49 career games over two collegiate seasons at the University of Maryland. A native of Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, he helped the Terrapins reach the NCAA 2013 College Cup final against Notre Dame. An All-Atlantic Coast Conference second-team selection as a sophomore in 2013, Tshuma was the second-leading scorer for Maryland last season, scoring six goals and one assist in 25 appearances (all starts). Moving from Zimbabwe to the Washington, D.C., suburbs in 2008 as part of a partnership between Grassroots Soccer and Episcopal High School in Alexandria, Va., Tshuma was named to the ACC All-Freshman Team in 2012 after notching 10 goals and two assists in his first collegiate season.
Peay, 22, was a key member of the University of Washington defensive unit for four seasons, making 70 appearances (56 starts) from 2010-13. Peay garnered All-Pac 12 first-team honors in 2013 after helping the Huskies defense concede just 17 goals while earning the Pac-12 championship and a berth to the NCAA tournament. A Salt Lake City native, Peay registered a career-high six goals during his senior season, earning NSCAA National Player of the Week honors on Sept. 10, 2013, after recording four goals in back-to-back wins against Santa Clara and the University of Portland.
Long, 21, registered 13 goals and five assists as a four-year starter at the University of California-Riverside from 2010-13. A two-time Big West All-Conference selection, Long finished as the Highlanders’ leading scorer as a junior in 2012 with 13 points (6g, 1a) and ended his senior season tied for the team lead in goals scored in 2013. A native of Oak Hills, Calif., Long played in 71 career matches (66 starts) for UC-Riverside.
Schillo Tshuma
Pronunciation: SHEE-lo CHOO-ma
Position: Forward
Height: 5-10
Weight: 160
Born: Sept. 21, 1992
Hometown: Bulawayo, Zimbabwe
College: University of Maryland
Taylor Peay
Pronunciation: pay
Position: Defender
Height: 6-2
Weight: 180
Born: Sept. 5, 1991
Hometown: Salt Lake City, Utah
College: University of Washington
Aaron Long
Position: Midfielder
Height: 6-1
Weight: 175
Born: Oct. 12, 1992
Hometown: Oak Hills, Calif.
College: UC-Riverside
