BOSTON – For the fourth consecutive year, the America East had multiple players taken in MLS Superdraft, including one in the top-15 for a second straight year, on Tuesday evening.
New Hampshire senior midfielder Yannick Bright capped off his impressive career on Tuesday by being drafted No. 15 overall by Inter Miami CF, home of Lionel Messi. The Wildcats have now had seven players selected in the MLS SuperDraft. Moise Bombito was taken third overall last year by the Colorado Rapids and made multiple appearances for them in 2023.
UMBC’s Taylor Calheira was also selected in this year’s draft, taken with the eighth pick of the third round and 66th overall. He is the seventh Retriever to be selected since 2010 and the first since Jon Bell in 2017, who is now a member of the Seattle Sounders.
Bright is the first three-time All-American in #AEMSOC history, earning First-Team honors for the second time in his career this year. The senior is also a three-time #AEMSOC Midfielder of the Year. He has started all 69 games in which he appeared at UNH, registering three goals and eight assists while leading the Wildcats to three America East Championships, three NCAA Tournament wins and two appearances in the NCAA Round of 16.
Calheira is a two-time #AEMSOC Striker of the Year and finished his career with 32 goals and 16 points for 80 points. He led the Retrievers to a pair of top-four seeds in the #AEMSOC Tournament and appeared in 61 games over four seasons with 60 starts.
The America East is one of the best soccer conferences in the country and in 2023 finished the season as the sixth best in the nation according to RPI. Three teams were selected to the NCAA Tournament, marking the third straight season the conference has had multiple teams play in the NCAA Tournament. Overall, five different programs have reached the NCAA Tournament in the last decade and six have been nationally ranked over that span.
About America East: The America East provides its member schools and their athletic programs a platform upon which student-athletes can achieve both collegiate and life success through the promotion and nurturing of athletic excellence, academic achievement and leadership, on and off the field.
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