The 2025 MLS SuperDraft was full of drama, trades, picks by Colorado, and a couple of intriguing options for Atlanta United. Earlier this week, we dove into this year’s draft pool to try to make some sense over who the club might select with the 23rd pick in each of the draft’s three rounds. There were plenty of intriguing players eligible for the draft this year, but the more interesting list for Atlanta United fans may have been the former academy prospects whose names were missing from the list. Fan favorites and college standouts like Will Reilly, Brendan Lambe, Nigel Prince, and Remi Okunlola seem to still be claimed by Atlanta United as potential future Homegrown Players.
Round 1, #23 — TRADED
Having already secured a first round calibre player earlier in the day by signing Stanford Midfielder Will Reilly to a Homegrown Player contract, Atlanta United opted to use the #23 overall pick to acquire DC United DP midfielder Mateusz Klich.
Round 2, #53 Overall — Ronan Wynne, Right-back & Right Centerback, Denver
With Atlanta United’s first pick on the day, they select 5th-year senior defender and New Zealand U-20 International Ronan Wynne from Denver. There is a lot to like about Ronan Wynne including his work rate, versatility, positioning, and immense experience between New Zealand’s youth international teams and over 6000 minutes of college competition. Wynne can play as a right-back or as a slightly shorter right centerback. In many ways, he resembles the man above him on the depth chart, Ronald Hernandez. On the way to winning his second Summit League Defensive Player of the Year, Wynn had one of his best statistical seasons for a Denver team that went deep into the College playoffs. Across 23 starts, Wynne scored two goals and added 6 assists over nearly 2000 minutes.
One thing to keep an eye on will be Wynne’s health. He lost 2023 to an ACL injury but has worked extremely hard to come back to full fitness. With the help of Atlanta United’s new Sports Science crew, Wynne could have the support he needs to be a Day-1 impact player for the 2s with a chance to earn a promotion to the first team.
Round 3, #83 Overall — William Kulvik, Centerback, University of Maryland
With their second and final pick in the 2025 SuperDraft, Atlanta United selected William Kulvik, senior defender and former Norwegian youth international from the University of Maryland. Like Wynne, Kulvik won his conference’s Defensive Player of the Year honors and has been a centerpiece of his team’s defense for at least 3 seasons. In addition to being a Stabaek IF academy product, Kulvik has the honor of being the second Norwegian defender to join Atlanta United.
Kulvik will also likely begin his career with Atlanta United 2 with the opportunity to earn a first team contract.
Atlanta United and Atlanta-area Products Selected in the Draft
#42 Overall — Austin FC — Riley Thomas, Right-back & Centerback, University of North Carolina
#63 Overall — Chicago Fire — Geni Kanyane, Left-back, Dayton
[…] rebuilt 2s side with a wave of new signings announced last week. The 2s could also include our two 2025 SuperDraft picks and a handful of academy prospects preparing for their first college season and vying for […]
I guess there wasn’t really any decent attacking players left for Atlanta to take a chance on?
There were a few guys that went unpicked for reasons many of us still don’t know. One in particular is Icelandic sophomore forward Ulfur Bjornsson from Duke. A lot of people liked him, especially with the draft’s new rules about claiming a player’s rights for 2 years. He scored 13 goals and added 3 assists in 19 matches (18 starts).
https://goduke.com/sports/mens-soccer/roster/ulfur-bjornsson/20345
We will hear from him again.