Men's Soccer

Sydney Wathuta & Max Murray Selected in MLS Draft

BOSTON – Less than a week after leading Vermont to its first-ever National Championship, teammates Sydney Wathuta and Max Murray were selected back-to-back in the first round of the Major League Soccer draft on Friday afternoon.
 
Wathuta was taken 16th overall by the Colorado Rapids while Murray was drafted 17th by the New York City FC. This marks the third straight year the America East has had a player selected in the top-20 and the fifth consecutive season multiple players were drafted overall. They’re the highest drafted Vermont players in program history, surpassing Brian Wright who was taken 20th in 2017.
 
Wathuta was second in the nation this year with 14 assists on his way to earning #AEMSOC Midfielder of the Year honors during his sophomore campaign. The Alberta native appeared in 23 games and scored one goal for 16 total points this past season. He tallied two goals and one assist in his freshman campaign.
 
Murray moved from striker to center back this season and flourished as he took home second-team all-conference honors and helped anchor a defense that led the nation in save percentage and allowed just three goals in six NCAA Tournament contests, including a 2-0 shutout of No. 2 Pittsburgh. Offensively he added four goals and four assists this season.
 
Wathuta is the second America East player to be drafted by the Rapids in the past three seasons. Moise Bombito of UNH was selected third overall by Colorado after the 2022 season and is now a member of the Canadian National Team and this summer was transferred to French Ligue 1 side Nice.
 
This also marks the second straight season New York City FC has selected an America East athlete. Last year the team took Taylor Calheira in the third round. The striker played for New York City FC II this year and earned 2024 MLS Next Pro Best XI honors as one of the top strikers in the league.
 
ABOUT AMERICA EAST
Founded in 1979, the America East Conference is an elite NCAA Division I athletic conference that fosters an environment for student-athletes to become champions. Comprised of academically renowned, like-minded member institutions located in the Northeast region of the United States, America East is committed to broad-based excellence and progressive in its approach to supporting its more than 3,500 student-athletes across 18 sponsored sports. For more information, visit www.AmericaEast.com and follow the America East Conference and its social media channels, @AmericaEast.