Men's Soccer

Five #AEMSOC Standouts Selected in MLS SuperDraft

BOSTON – Following an impressive men’s soccer season in which Bryant and Vermont were both ranked in the top five nationally this November, five #AEMSOC standouts were selected in Thursday’s MLS SuperDraft.
 
Vermont goalkeeper Niklas Herceg was taken 16th overall by FC Dallas, while Bryant defender Abdel Talabi was selected 30th by Inter Miami CF. Teammate Mamadi Jiana was picked by Miami at No. 54 and Jaime Amaro was selected 72nd by the LA Galaxy. Maximillian Kissel from Vermont was taken by Miami with the 90th pick.
 
This marks the fourth straight year the America East has had a player selected in the top-20 and the fifth consecutive season multiple players were drafted overall. Herceg is tied for the highest drafted player in Catamount history, joining Sydney Wathuta who was selected 16th last year by the Colorado Rapids. Talabi, Amaro and Jiana are the first three players from Bryant drafted into the MLS, while Kissel makes it two straight years a pair of Catamounts were drafted.
 
Herceg was a 2025 United Soccer Coaches First-Team All-America selection this season after leading Vermont to an unbeaten regular season. The first goalkeeper selected in this year’s draft went 26-2-8 over two seasons, posting an impressive 0.71 GAA and a .819 save percentage with 16 career shutouts.
 
Talabi earned First-Team All-Region honors as a defender this season in leading Bryant to its best season in program history. He helped the Bulldogs climb as high as No. 2 in the national rankings while winning 13 straight contests and capturing the program’s first NCAA victory. He had two goals and two assists while helping Bryant rank sixth in GAA (0.630) as the defensive anchor.
 
Jiana had a breakout 2025, earning second-team all-region honors while appearing in 21 games with 20 starts. He finished third in the league with 18 points on seven goals and four assists, highlighted by a two-goal performance at UConn earlier this year. He helped Bryant climb as high as No. 2 in the national rankings and win 13 straight contests.

Amaro was named Third-Team All-America and First-Team All-Region after leading the America East in scoring this year. He finished with 27 points on 10 goals and seven assists while helping the Bulldogs rip off a 13-game win streak and climb as high as No. 2 nationally. Amaro was also honored as the Striker of the Year as Bryant won its first-ever NCAA Tournament game.
 
Kissel posted five goals and four assists for the Catamounts, despite missing over a month of action due to injury. He had four goals and three assists through the team’s first eight games this year. Last season he was a second-team all-conference performer and the NCAA Tournament Offensive Most Outstanding Player after scoring the game-winning goal in the National Championship.
 
Both of the America East’s first round selections last year saw time in the MLS this season, with Sydney Wathuta playing for Colorado and Max Murray appearing for NYC FC. Yannick Bright, a selection by Inter Miami CF two years ago was a crucial member of the team as they captured the 2025 MLS Cup.
 
The America East is one of the best men’s soccer conferences in the country and home to 2024 National Champion Vermont. In 2025, both Vermont and Bryant found themselves ranked in the top-three multiple weeks, the first time the league had two teams in the top-three. Overall The conference has received multiple bids to the NCAA tournament in five of the past 10 seasons. Five different teams have reached the third round of the NCAA tournament since 2014.
 
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 its social media channels, @AmericaEast. 
 
- America East Conference – Where Champions Rise -