Beltran is first of 4 RSL picks

With four of the first 37 picks in Friday's MLS SuperDraft — not to mention plenty of room under the salary cap and several international roster spots available — Real Salt Lake had the potential for a frantic day involving numerous trades.

Instead, the new regime kept things simple and had a banner day in its minds.

"We're very relieved to walk out of here with four players that we really, really liked," said RSL coach Jason Kreis.

With the third overall pick, Real selected UCLA midfielder/defender Anthony Beltran, followed by Old Dominion defender David Horst with the 14th pick and 17-year-old midfielder/forward Alex Nimo with the 17th pick.

At No. 37, it nabbed Brennan Tennelle, a midfielder out of UC Santa Barbara.

RSL's technical staff had all four rookies on its list of the 20 best available players. All four are scheduled to report to the first day of training camp in Salt Lake City on Jan. 26.

Prior to Friday's draft, Real had already made a splash this offseason by trading Alecko Eskandarian and Atiba Harris to Chivas USA, in addition to agreeing in principle to contracts with an American defender playing abroad, an Argentine midfielder and a Colombian defender.

After Kansas City opened the draft by selecting UCLA midfielder Chance Myers, followed by FC Dallas grabbing Brek Shea, RSL jumped at the chance to pick Beltran, even though most mock drafts had the team going after a central defender.

In college and with the U.S. Under-20 National Team, Beltran proved his versatility by playing multiple positions in the midfield and along the backline. The Generation adidas player, however, is prepared to make right back his home.

"Over the years I've played several different positions, and it's great to be diverse, but at the next level, you have to specialize," said Beltran, 20. "I'm working hard to get to that level as a right back."

Beltran is a fast player who's also extremely confident with his ability to cross balls into the box, a dimension that should also bolster RSL's attack.

It's impossible to predict Beltran's impact on Real Salt Lake in 2008, but Kreis believes the addition of the California native will create outstanding competition for the starting spot in practice each day.

"He's a guy that will compete and raise the level of the training sessions," said Kreis.