RSL selects UCLA midfielder with No. 3 pick

RSL has already made a splash this offseason by trading Alecko Eskandarian and Atiba Harris, in addition to agreeing in principal to contracts with an American defender playing abroad, an Argentine midfielder and a Colombian defender.

On Friday, it has already added three more elements to its 2008 roster overhaul.

The fourth-year Major League Soccer club selected UCLA midfielder Tony Beltran with the No. 3 overall pick in the 2008 SuperDraft, followed by Old Dominion defender David Horst at No. 14 and U.S. Under-17 National Team forward Alex Nimo at No. 17.

Beltran is a 5-foot-9 junior midfielder out of UCLA, and a member of the Generation adidas program. As a member of the Generation adidas program, his salary will not count toward RSL's approximate $2.1 million salary cap in 2008.

Mock drafts had Real Salt Lake going with defender Julius James out of Connecticut, but instead the club decided to shore up its midfield with Beltran. The Claremont, Calif., native played his freshman year at St. John's before transferring to UCLA for his sophomore and junior seasons. In 2006 he started 21 games, finishing with one assist. Last year he started 21 matches adding two assists.

RSL has one pick remaining, No. 37 overall.

Kansas City opened the draft by selecting UCLA midfielder Chance Myers, a member of the Generation adidas program. The No. 1 pick originally belonged to San Jose, but it dealt the pick to the Wizards in exchange for veteran defender Nick Garcia.

Brek Shea, a 6-foot-3, 180-pound midfielder, went No. 2 to FC Dallas. Shea is a member of the U.S. Under-17 National Team, and is regarded as a very fast wide midfielder.

Horst will provide immediate depth for RSL at center back, checking in at 6-foot-4 and 200 pounds. He was a four-year starter at Old Dominion.

Nimo, 17, is a native or Portland, Ore., and was a Parade All-American high school player last year. At 5-foot-5, he isn't a very big forward, but his resume is impressive already at such a young age. He started in all four games for the U.S. at last summer's FIFA U-17 World Cup.

2008 MLS SuperDraft

First Round

1. Kansas City — Chance Myers, MF, UCLA

2. FC Dallas — Brek Shea, MF/DF., U-17 National Team

3. Real Salt Lake — Tony Beltran, MF/DF., UCLA