Baltimore, Maryland (Thursday, January 14, 2016) - Real Salt Lake added two players to its roster on Thursday at the 2016 MLS SuperDraft at the Baltimore Convention Center. The Claret-and-Cobalt selected MF Omar Holness (North Carolina) with the fifth overall pick and followed that up by picking DF Max Lachowecki (Notre Dame) with the 25th overall pick in the second round.
"We're really happy. Any club has a need for young talent and positionally these guys work really well," RSL General Manager Craig Waibel said. "We're really happy with how this worked out. They've been on our board for a long time and both of them come to Utah."
Holness, 21, played three seasons at the University of North Carolina before signing a Generation adidas contract to play in Major League Soccer. In his three seasons, he had five goals and 11 assists in 59 appearances, 55 of them starts. He was called into the Jamaican National Team for the 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup, as well as the Jamaican U-23s for the Olympic qualifying tournament during the summer of 2015. In addition, he also played for the U-17 and U-20 National Teams during FIFA youth world cup qualification.
"I'm just ecstatic. I'm at a loss for words. I'm so excited to be a part of such an amazing organization and such an amazing franchise," Holness said. "I believe that Real Salt Lake will develop my future and I will be there to win some championships for RSL."
A native of Kingston, Jamaica, Holness is RSL's highest draft pick since DF Tony Beltran was taken third overall in the 2008 MLS SuperDraft.
"Physically, he's a bit of a beast already. With his youth and size and structure, we think he fits into the physicality of MLS," Waibel said. "We'll be working really heavily with him in the preseason to jumpstart his understanding of the program."
Lachowecki, 23, played four seasons at the University of Notre Dame, starting in all 85 appearances for the Fighting Irish while scoring eight goals to go with nine assists. The left back had three goals and two assists as a sophomore in 2013, helping Notre Dame to the NCAA Championship.
"He's a good player and he loves the ball at his feet. He's got a good attacking brain and he's technical," Waibel said. "I think the biggest thing for us, we're going to transition him into defending at the professional level. That's a transition for everyone, but the quicker we can work with him on some of the things that we think he's a little bit weaker at, they're only going to complement the strengths he already has, so we're really excited about Max."
The final two rounds of the 2016 MLS SuperDraft will take place on Tuesday, January 19, via a conference call. RSL holds the fifth pick in the third round (46th overall) and the fourth pick and fifth pick in the fourth round (65th and 66th overall). The 65th overall pick was acquired in a trade with New York City FC in exchange for DF Kwame Watson-Siriboe.
Real Salt Lake opens training camp on January 22 and will include trips to Oceanside, California, and Tucson, Arizona, before the season kicks off on February 24 when RSL will face UANL Tigres in the Quarterfinal Round of CONCACAF Champions League.
