2026-05-28, 09:18 PM - Word count:
(This post was last modified: 2026-05-28, 09:19 PM by Frostbite. Edited 1 time in total.)
I have been having a lot of fun reading the recent mock drafts (even those of you all who have me going in the third round…) and figured that it would be fun to try and take a stab at it myself. I’m not sure if it is fortunate or unfortunate that I’m in a class with 73 people. On one hand I will get paid more for this mock draft because I have to write 73 names, but on the other hand I have to write 73 names and that’s 72 more names than I usually write on an extended writing assignment.
I also have fairly limited knowledge on soccer in general, with even less knowledge on SSL teams and the landscape of the league, so this is going to be an interesting one to research. I got asked in scouting by a team if I had any preference on teams and where I was going, and I had to break it to them that I only knew three teams and they were the fifth team to scout me. This also may have played a part in why I have gotten 1 TPE on three straight weeks of predictions, but that is just a hunch. Also, with expansion looming (:eyes:) I think some teams will be drafting extras at positions of no need in prep for losing someone to an expansion draft. But that is much too difficult to guess so I’m gonna act like expansion is fake and not happening soon.
Anyways, considering the above, I figured I should take a look at the rosters and figure out what the team needs are for everyone before I start making picks. I’m going to base their positional need on how high the TPE of a player is and how deep into regression they are. It seems like the end of bench spots on most teams in the majors sit at around ~1000 TPE and are “good” at around ~1500 TPE, so I’m going to base my team needs off of wanting these draftees to replace guys in 4ish seasons. Also, I’m focusing on just the majors team needs as I assume the main goal is to win a majors trophy and minors is more for fun while you wait to get enough TPE to play in the big leagues. Presently, the S13 class has been aged out of the majors and it is S25, so in S30 when S26 players are about to get called up to the majors, it will be the S18 class starting to die off (sorry S18 players for aging you with this callout). Therefore, if any teams have positions with players S18 or older rostered without a replacement lined up, then it is one of the important needs for the team. I’m not totally sure which positions can be played out of position, but I’ll try my best to guess based off of rosters. It seems like an ideal roster would feature 4-5 defensive guys, 4-5 midfield guys, 1-2 strikers, and of course the 1 goalkeeper. (post writing editors note, I just assumed anything with an M at the end was for midfield, so I did not count CDM as defense even though I think it probably would count? But it shouldn’t change that much) I assume having a 12th guy rostered for fouls/injuries isn’t all that important seeing as most teams don’t roster a 12th player/when they do it’s usually an IA. To easily identify needs, I’m going to list the need 1-10 based on how much I think a replacement is needed in this draft. I think the best way to start this is to go from best teams to worst teams. That way I can see what a good competitive team looks like so I know what the bad teams are aiming to build for the future, at least mostly. Without further ado, let's look at the rosters.
We’ll start with arguably the best team this season,
Hollywood FC / F.C Kaapstad
NEEDS:
GK: 0 - They have two great goalies, one old, and one about to get called up and already at a very high TPE, no need here.
ST: 7 - They currently have a younger S20 guy max earning, and they did just have the best record in the league with only one striker, however, with no active strikers in the minors this is a spot they could easily look to replace in the draft as their depth is lacking
Midfield: 8 - They have 4 midfield players S18 or older in the majors, and have only 3 active replacements lined up in the minors. For those of us that can use substraction, 4-3=1, therefore they will need to draft at least one midfielder in this class.
Defense/Backs: 8 - They have 3 defensive guys S18 or older in the majors, with 2 active players lined up in the minors. Again, they will need to target at least one in the draft.
They’re in an interesting situation, they don’t quite have as many needs as I would expect from a team doing as well as they are, but still, a critical draft for them where several replacements are needed in this draft and cannot wait for the next so they will have to make sure their picks hit.
CF Catalunya / Seoul MFC
NEEDS:
GK: 0 - They have an S22 active user starting this season who I assume they want to keep, so no need here for them.
ST: 5 - So, this is kinda interesting, as they don’t actually have a ST rostered on their major team at the moment. As a striker myself this is disappointing to see, and even more disappointing was how good they were despite not having a striker… but I suppose having everyone else with a high TPE will do that. Anywho, they do have an S23 max earner at ST in the minors, so the need isn’t quiiiiiite as big as it seems, but in a striker heavy class I could see them looking at ST for depth to potentially run two ST in the future.
Midfield: 2 - They have 3 midfielders that are S18 or older(they’re all S18, crazy S18 draft btw), but with 4 active midfielders in the minors, I don’t think they are too worried, if at all, about their midfield spots.
Defense/Backs: 0 - They actually have ZERO defenders that are S18 or older, however, they do have an S19 guy that is inactive so I will count him as needing a replacement. But, with that said, they also have three active users in the minors. Seeing their roster, it makes sense that they don’t have a first round pick this season because their needs are very low.
União São Paulo / AS Paris
NEEDS:
GK: 0 - They have an S18 guy who will need a replacement in a few seasons, but they have already drafted their replacement with a S22 guy in the minors. No need here
ST: 10 - They have 2 strikers, both S18 or older. They have 0 ST’s in the minor league as well, so this is the first major need for strikers we’ve seen. As a striker myself, this is good to see, though bad if you’re a USP fan maybe. They will undoubtedly need to target ST in the draft
Midfield: 0 - They have 1 S18 or older midfielder, but with only 3 rostered this season they may want a fourth for the future. I thought I was seeing things at first, but wow, no wonder Paris was the best minor league team, as their roster is stacked. They have 8(!!!) active midfielders in the minors this season. If I could put a need as negative I would; please stop drafting midfielders.
Defense/Backs: 7 - They have 4 players S18 or older at defense, but I assume at least one will be taken by a midfielder, so only 3 need to be replaced. In the minors they have two active players, but with one not being a max earner, they’ll still need a few more replacements. I could definitely see one of their midfielders swapping to be more defensive oriented.
Reykjavik United / North Shore United
NEEDS:
GK: 3 - They have an S22 max earner here, they don’t really need anyone right now. I’ll give them a 3 for needs just because they don’t have a minor league replacement yet and GK feels like a position you can draft a little early since there’s only one on every roster.
ST: 3 - They have one striker S18 or older, and another getting close (S19), however they do have a striker in the minor league ready to come up soon. I think it would be fairly unlikely for them to draft a ST in this draft, but who knows.
Midfield: 7 - They have two midfielders S18 or older, and two in the minors. However, with one of the minor players being a non max earner and S19, this is an avenue I could easily see them going in the draft.
Defense/Backs: 10 - All four of their current defensemen are S18 or older, and they will need four replacements in the coming seasons. With only one active defender in the minors, I could see their three first picks all being defensive minded players. They really need to target them in the draft.
Liffeyside Celtic FC / CS Rova Mpanjaka
NEEDS:
*sidenote, they have 14 players rostered! The most of any team! One is IA and one just got hit with a 700 TPE penalty before retiring for uh “personal reasons” so 14 kinda makes sense, but interesting tidbit nonetheless.
GK: 3 - They have an S21 max earner here so they don’t realistically need a GK too bad, but their minor league GK is inactive and GK is a position that some teams draft early for, so I could see a world where they take one.
ST: 5 - 14 players and not a single striker… Shame! Shame! Shame! I kid I kid, but at least they do have an S23 active striker in the minors. However, I could still see them targeting another in the draft since this is a striker heavy draft and teams can run 2, but not a major need right now.
Midfield: 1 - Gonna ignore the retired and IA guy for this one, but aside from them, they have 2 guys S18 or older and 3 guys S19 or younger so they’re actually still relatively fine here. They’ll need 1-2 replacements from the minors, which is perfectly fine, as they have 2 active guys earning to fill those roles already.
Defense/Backs: 1 - They only have one older defenseman, and with multiple active players in the minors I would find it fairly unlikely for them to draft any of them too highly.
*sidenote: this is a really interesting roster that doesn’t really have any glaring needs, I wonder if they just go BPA the whole draft in prep for expansion.
CD Tenochtitlan / Krung Thep FC
NEEDS:
GK: 0 - They have an S20 max earner in the majors, and a S24 max earner in the minors. Nuff said.
ST: 0 - 3 Strikers! Huzzah! Unfortunately this means they probably will not draft me, but having 3 younger (S20, S20, S21) strikers is great. Unfortunately it seems that one striker has gone IA recently, but lucky for them they already have a ST in the minors ready to call up soon. I’d be pretty shocked to see them draft one in this class.
Midfield: 1 - They do have an inactive player, and not only is he IA, but also old and IA. But other than that, they have one aging active and the rest are young guys. But, luckily for them they have 4 active midfielders in the minor league to help supplement their future.
Defense/Backs: 0 - No old guys! The future is bright on defense. They also have a couple guys in the minor leagues. I think so far, this is the team best set up for the future. I can see why expansion is needed when teams like this exist, they literally have zero needs this draft and in fact are starting the draft already in excess. Great work managers?
*sidenote: Did this team have all the first round picks in the S20 draft?? 7 high earners from one draft class is dubious, and that's not even accounting for the guy in the minors that hit 900 TPE. I’m sure there's a fun story behind this that I’ll learn about later but wow, just had to comment on it.
Xelaju Cosmico FC / AF Masques Sacrés
NEEDS:
GK: 6 - They have an active S20 guy at GK currently, but with their only GK in the minors aging out soon adding on to the S20 guy not being a max earner, it makes this need a little more pressing and I could see them targeting one in the draft.
ST: 0 - They currently have two strikers rostered, both S22, but with one being inactive at 1000 TPE I don’t think he will remain in their long term plans. However, with two active, good earning strikers in the minors, this isn’t really a need for them.
Midfield: 1 - They have two midfielders that are S18 and may need to be replaced this draft, but with three replacements in the minor leagues already I find it fairly unlikely. But I’ll still give the need a 1 because you can never have too many midfielders.
Defense/Backs: 8 - They have an S17 player that will need to get replaced soon-ish, as well as an (another) inactive S22 player that is also not a part of the long term plans. Unfortunately, it seems they have missed on defense in past drafts with a few going IA, but they still have one in the minors ready to get called up soon. This is definitely the largest need for this team and is what I expect them to target early in this upcoming draft.
Shanghai Dragons FC / Rapid Magyar SC
NEEDS:
GK: 10 - Their current GK is an S18 max earner, however this is the draft to replace S18 people, and with no young goalie in the minors, this is definitely a position they will want to target in this draft.
ST: 4 - They only run one striker in the majors, but he is also S18 and will need a replacement soon as well. Luckily, they already have an active guy in the minors. But with only these two strikers on both rosters combined I could see them targeting another in the draft.
Midfield: 0 - They have 5 active guys, all younger than S18. They’ll be fine for a while.
Defense/Backs: 1 - All the defense on their roster are younger than S18, however, one is IA and will need to be replaced in the future. Luckily, they already have multiple actives in the minor league and any draftees will just be for depth.
*sidenote - I see where the other half of the S20 class went; why they’re all only on two teams I may never know, but they also have 7 high earners from the S20 class. Great work! (?)
CA Buenos Aires / Athênai F.C.
NEEDS:
GK: 6 - I could almost copy paste what I wrote for Xelaju earlier. They have an S20 GK presently, but it's not a max earning player, and with no youth at GK in the minor leagues, I could definitely see them trying to get one of the premier goalies in the draft.
ST: 4 - Their only striker currently rostered is S16 and will need to get replaced soon(ish), but lucky for them they already have an active max earner in the minors to replace them. But, with that said, I could still see them targeting one in the draft, who knows maybe they want to run 2 ST in the future.
Midfield: 0 - They currently have two midfielders on the roster that are S18 or older, however, with 4 active users in the minors all playing midfield, I would be pretty shocked if that is the avenue they take in the draft.
Defense/Backs: 2 - Luckily, they only need to replace one guy in the majors in this draft, and they have already done so by having a max earner replacement in the minors already. However, he is the only one and it's hard to have too many players on your team that play defense so I could see them trying for defense.
Tokyo S.C / Cairo City
NEEDS:
GK: 2 - They have an active S24 player at goalie presently, and despite the current low TPE, I find it highly improbable for them to try and draft his replacement already. But maybe they want a backup plan just in case + Need to replace their minor league IA goalie.
ST: 1 - They only roster one striker currently, but with him being only S23 and a max earner, coupled with the fact that they have an active ST in the minors as well, their future at ST is all but secured.
Midfield: 0 - They do need to replace one of their midfielders in this draft… is what I would say if they did not have 5(!) active replacements ready in the minor leagues to come up soon.
Defense/Backs: 2 - They only have one S18 or older defensive man on their roster, but they have another that is IA. With that said, they do also have 2 active players in the minor league earning to replace them.
*sidenote: This team is hoarding young talent and truthfully I think they just try to take BPA at every pick in the draft. They could skip this draft and be totally fine, crazy good asset management/drafting. This draft is just to build a powerhouse minor league team for them imo
A.C. Romana / Inter London
NEEDS:
GK: 0 - They have an S18 goalkeeper, but he is inactive. Luckily, they already drafted his replacement (twice) and have two active goalies in the minor league to replace him. Def no need here.
ST: 0 - They have two, high tpe, high earning strikers currently on the Romana roster, and they are not old, so again, no need here.
Midfield: 0 - They have one midfielder aging out soon, but they do have several midfielders in the minors that will be able to fill that role out when the time comes.
Defense/Backs: 4 - They have one inactive older player here, and they have an S19 player who isn’t max earning so I’ll include him as potentially needing to be replaced through this draft. However, they already have two high earning players in the minors. But, you never know who can go IA on you so I think this is the position they want to draft because this is the only position where they don’t have an extra depth piece.
*sidenote: I’m slowly realizing that all of the teams are actually hoarding young talent, tsk tsk how dare they build good rosters with no holes
Schwarzwälder FV / Montréal United
NEEDS:
GK: 3 - They currently have one of the oldest goalies in the majors, with S16 William2, but his replacement is a youthful S25 player who is earning and active in the minor leagues (shoutout bjkman, Jacob Small still goated) so I find it doubtful they draft a GK. But I’m keeping the need as a 3 because they may want to get a GK ready for their minor league team.
ST: 5 - Their only striker on the major team is not only S18 or older, but is also inactive. With an active in the minor leagues, it isn’t a super pressing need, but I could still easily see them wanting to snag another for more security in their striker position.
Midfield: 3 - They have one inactive player that is both old(ok he’s only S19 but it's close enough) and IA, but luckily they have 2 players in the minor leagues all ready to replace him when the time comes.
Defense/Backs: 4 - They have two inactive players that they will need to replace here, and luckily they have two good earners in the minors that look ready to replace. Similar to the previous team though, you never know who can go IA so I’m also going to give them a 4 here.
WOW, that took a lot more time and took a lot more words than I thought it would, but now I know the landscape of the league and a little bit more about everyone. My conclusion after analyzing all of the rosters? I can see why expansion is happening. Especially considering how big of a draft class this is, there are simply not enough holes for this amazing 70+ man draft class to fill. I’m really excited to see how expansion is gonna shape up the league and alter teams. Can’t wait to see it next offseason(?). I guess by now I’ve done enough yapping to bore out the weaker minded readers, but for those of you who did make it this far, congratulations! We can start the mock draft now :)
Ok so I guess I may have accidentally lied there. The draft will have to wait through one more paragraph. I wanted to give my ideology on how I think GMs brains will (should) work and how they’ll be drafting. I figure prospects quality is based on three main things, TPE, Bank, and Activity. Activity is difficult to judge and I want to be subjective so I’ll judge activity based on how many total messages sent in the SSL discord. While I’m obviously not in all of the individual academy locker room sections, I think it will give a good idea on who the active talkers are. Sydney players are going to get a slight boost from this because that's the academy lr that I am in and they’ll therefore have more messages, but we deserve it after the season we just had. I’ll just link the list below to a google sheet because it would be too wordy/long of a list for the post. When it says “Lost” for messages it just means I couldn’t find the discord account. For any managers reading this… please ignore that I only have 59 messages, thank you in advance.
HERE: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1...sp=sharing
ROUND ONE
1.1 Barry McGlynn - Definia - CAM | Schwarzwälder FV / Montréal United via SFV
I think that Schwarz is just going to take the best player available with this pick, and while this class does have a lot of great players that I think could fit BPA, it’s hard to argue against a player who has the most money, and highest activity level. If I could bet on anyone to have a long and successful SSL career, it would probably be McGlynn, so that's who I have 1oa.
1.2 Joshua Homme II Esquire Limited - o1playz - LWB| A.C. Romana / Inter London
A.C Romana also has very few needs, so I think they also will just go BPA, but, they luck out as BPA matches their one need, so I have them taking o1playz. Our TPE leader for the class also has sent over 1200 messages, and it's hard to say that getting a max earner who's extremely active in discord/lr is anything but a slam dunk pick.
1.3 Dennis can Huntelrooy - Jeanious - ST | Schwarzwälder FV / Montréal United via TOK
Jeanious has the second most TPE in the class, in addition to an 8 million dollar bank account, making this a fairly easy pick. With Schwarz only having one striker in the minors who is set to replace their aging striker in the majors, I think they take the happy coincidence in team needs and draft the best striker in the class (by TPE only, you’ll see me later ;])
1.4 Jimothy Erickson - GingerJLD - CD | CA Buenos Aires / Athênai F.C.
While Buenos Aires does slightly need a GK, with multiple picks this draft, I think instead they just take BPA as a team with few needs. Also, can you ever really have too much defense? Now, TPE wise this may not be the best player available, but I think when you factor in discord activity Jimothy Erickson is a player I see jumping into the top 5. Second in the class in activity behind only 1oa, I think CABA is happy to take a guy that will immediately benefit a locker room.
1.5 Dante Von Wolfe - Bloodless - ST | Shanghai Dragons FC / Rapid Magyar SC
Yes, I know I put their GK need as a 10, and then didn’t make their first pick a GK. But don’t fret my dear reader, they have plenty of picks to correct that. With 5 picks in the first three rounds, and the GKs in this class being good, but maybe not top 5 level, I think Shanghai goes elsewhere. They actually have an aggressive lack of need for any more midfielders, so that is why I have them taking Dante Von Wolfe. The only people with higher activity levels than him have all been drafted already. I think they take their future striker of the future here to add a striker to their midfield army in the minors.
1.6 S Sei - xyan - CDM Xelaju Cosmico FC / AF Masques Sacrés
Xelaju needs guys that can play defense fairly badly, and Sei fills that whole very well. While they don’t really need anyone in the midfield right now, Sei can still play defense well and is one of the best prospects in the draft. They’re top 10 in discord activity and top 5 in bank accounts, and when you couple that with being only four TPE off of the class leader, I think Xelaju is happy to get them at 6.
1.7 Moew enBach - Moew - GK | Shanghai Dragons FC / Rapid Magyar SC via CDT
They have their GK of the future! Shanghai chooses to address their biggest need in the first round and take their guy. I assume whoever they take of either Yupanqui or enBach will be whoever scouting likes more, but I would personally be surprised if it is not at least one of them at this pick (or maybe even at 5 if they’re scared Xelaju wants their preferred choice). I have them taking Meow here due to the activity levels and slightly higher bank account, and now the managers can have a sigh of relief knowing they have GK figured out.
1.8 Joe Mormor - Haramcha - LAM | Liffeyside Celtic FC / CS Rova Mpanjaka
Liffeyside is a team that doesn’t really have too many pressing needs, so I think they’re going to be taking the best player available here. In that case, I have them taking Haramcha. Good discord activity? Check. Good TPE? 3 off the tpe leader, check. Good bank account? Over 10 million, check. This will help them score more(mor). All the boxes are checked and I think Liffeyside is happy with the pick, even if it isn't at a super high position of need.
1.9 Ignignokt - AustinP0027 - CDM | Reykjavik United / North Shore United
I’m well aware that this is a hot take, in fact it may even be too hot, but I’m gonna stick with my first thought and do a bit of a reach based on consensus. Reykjavik NEEDS defense, like, really, really, really badly. They can’t really afford to not draft one for at least 2 of their first 3 picks, so that is why I have them taking Austin here. Austin has been releasing a ton (no seriously, look at how many/long his articles are) of media recently, and has subsequently been climbing the draft boards. He was a waiver create like myself, so the lower TPE # is a little misleading. With solid discord activity as well, I think Reyjkavik makes sure they get their guy and secure their future by taking Austin here.
1.10 Kairo Vox - Hoodz_91 - LAM | União São Paulo / AS Paris
If I was higher TPE, or had a higher ego, I could justify them taking me here, but this is supposed to be a (mostly) realistic mock draft, so I just couldn’t do it, though they do need a striker quite badly. Despite their need, I think they see the striker depth and decide to wait a little, instead deciding to try and take the best player available here. Hoodz has a healthily sized bank account, extremely high discord activity, and is only 4 TPE off of the class leader. This is a really good pick and I don’t know how they fell this far. Well I do know how since I made it happen, but you know what I mean. Certified steal of the first round.
1.11 Reece Munro - Riipsaw - CM | Hollywood FC / F.C Kaapstad via CAT
1.12 Jack Pow - Jack_Pow - RAM | Hollywood FC / F.C Kaapstad
I’m going to do the writing blurb for these ones together, as they are the same team b2b and they might as well be the same pick tbh. Hollywood is in a fun situation where they have genuine needs across the board, and can afford to take both BPA as well as draft for need. Munro is 2nd in the class in TPE, and is active in the discord, so it felt wrong to have them fall any further; there’s just too many good players in this draft class. I’m sure Hollywood would be happy here. Jack Pow may lack a little in TPE compared to what you may expect from a first rounder, but I simply couldn’t ignore the 10.5 million dollar bank account any longer, and the media legend deserves to sneak into the first. While Hollywood may have liked to take someone more defense oriented, I think they’ll be happy with their haul nonetheless.
ROUND TWO
2.13 Saphira Brightscales - PidgeyDestined - CD | Schwarzwälder FV / Montréal United
Honestly it is really difficult to draft for these teams that don’t really have any pressing needs, but after drafting a CAM 1oa, I think they’ll want to target elsewhere in the second. Pidgey was a waiver create like myself, so the TPE is a little misleading, and with the media and earn rate of Pidgey, I have then sneaking into the early second here as one of the best defenders left available.
2.14 Scorp E. Unshark - hhh81 - RD | Hollywood FC / F.C Kaapstad via ACR
Hollywood is probably mad because they also needed defense and Schwarz just took defense, but luckily as I continue to say, this draft class is very deep, so they STILL are able to get a very good defender in Scorp. They’ve been earning extremely well and after foregoing defense in the first, I think Hollywood goes after it in the second after seeing Pidgey go the pick before.
2.15 Owen Goal - anjro - ST | União São Paulo / AS Paris via TOK
After taking a LAM in the first and foregoing their need at striker, I think União São Paulo decided to draft a striker in the second. While I couldn’t find anjro’s discord in the SSL server, they have been earning very well and are active talkers in the ISFL so I assume discord activity will be fine in the future. They really need a striker here, so they take the best available striker… besides Leo Stone ofc… Owen Goal is also a great player name so he gets bonus points.
2.16 Nick Kasak - nckkss - LAM | CA Buenos Aires / Athênai F.C.
After taking a defender in the first, I don’t think they will go that way again, so instead they take the best available, and I’m sure CABA is very happy getting a player like Kasak in the mid second. Only 4 TPE off of the class leader and max earning the whole season, Kasak is very likely to go on to have a great career.
2.17 STARSCREAM - Starscream - CM | CD Tenochtitlan / Krung Thep FC via SHA
This is Tenochtitlan’s only pick in the first three rounds, so they’re going to have to make sure it counts. Luckily, they don’t really have any actual needs right now, so they will simply take BPA, and in this case, it seemed fairly obvious to me who that was. STARSCREAM is only 3 tpe off of the leader, and has been a max earner near the top of the TPE charts all season. The only reason I have them falling at all was due to discord activity, but they probably just talk in the actual locker room more than general chat. I think CD Tenochtitlan would be ecstatic if this were to somehow happen, despite its unlikeliness.
2.18 Umaq Yupanqui - Rancidbudgie - GK | Xelaju Cosmico FC / AF Masques Sacrés
After drafting a CDM in the first, Xelaju takes care of their biggest need, and while one could argue they could use another defensive minded player, they also have a need at GK and I think they draft the best available one here. Shanghai is probably mad that they took a GK in the first and a good one fell this far to the second, but I still stand by making sure you get the player you want in the draft. Yupanqui is a very good earner, over 400 TPE, and should be a great future GK successor for Xelaju.
2.19 Leonardo Stone - Frostbite - ST | Shanghai Dragons FC / Rapid Magyar SC
Speaking of Shanghai…they take me! For any scouts reading this, I am perfectly happy and content to go to any team, this is just who I think would take me based on team needs and how my mock ended up turning out. But while I may be a bit uninspiring of a draftee right now, I’d like to think that after this article my stock will go up… at least I hope it will… But Shanghai doesn’t really need midfield or defense all that much, and even though they already took a striker in the first I think they go BPA who just happens to also be a striker here to build towards the future and provide depth/future starting role for minors. 10/10 pick I must say.
2.20 Blaise N’Kufo - McTruffles - ST | Liffeyside Celtic FC / CS Rova Mpanjaka
After taking a LAM in the first, I think Liffey will follow in Shanghai’s footsteps and also take a striker here. They don’t really have any pressing need for any other positions and while 384 might not be the highest TPE of the remaining pool of players, it's pretty dang close.
2.21 Mullet Man - Ogreishh - CAM | Reykjavik United / North Shore United
Reykjavik did draft a defender in the first, and while they do still need a defender, they also need a midfielder, so I think they take the best available and Mullet Man finally comes off of the board. He is the highest TPE player left available and has been earning very well. I think Reykjavik would be pretty happy with being able to get a high earner like this in the late second. Also, my current hairstyle can be interpreted as a mullet so I have a soft spot for this player and will be rooting for them throughout their career.
2.22 Alex Peña - CRMO15 - RWB | Tokyo S.C / Cairo City via USP
Tokyo’s first pick in this draft! Hoorah! Luckily for them they don’t actually really need to draft anyone this draft based on needs, so they will happily take BPA. The hard part is determining who BPA is. Unfortunately, I did not do any scouting for this mock draft so I don’t know what all the players want/goals/tpe earning future so I will have to make my best guess. Alex Peña is the highest TPE player left available and has more than a million dollars in his bank account, so I have to assume he has a strong future ahead of him.
2.23 Felix Pedro - Artemis - CM | CF Catalunya / Seoul MFC
Catalunya’s first pick of the draft! Look at all these teams in the late second getting their first taste of S26, good for them. I first had them taking a striker, but their need for striker isn’t so great that they have to, so instead I have them just taking the best player available, which in this case is Felix Pedro. “But Frost, Pedro is 40 TPE lower than the highest available prospect right now, what do you mean this is the best available?” And to that, I say “what a stupid question, read paragraph 18.” Now this is obviously actually quite a valid question, so I will answer it: Artemis has by far the highest discord activity of any remaining prospects, and I think Catalunya will look towards that and choose to invest in the future with Pedro here instead of someone who may be higher TPE.
2.24 Martin Krpan - ChiefVito - CD | Hollywood FC / F.C Kaapstad
I think after taking two midfielders in the first and a defender in the early second, Hollywood instead chooses to target BPA in the second by taking ChiefVito. Vito has over 4 million in the bank and a good amount of messages in discord, so I think Hollywood would be pretty content with being able to snag them in the late second to shore up their defense of the future.
If I’m going to be 100% honest with you all… my hands are tired and I need to make sure I submit this article before the season ends, because, not sure if you have noticed, but I am extremely poor on the portal. Fun fact, my first article payout hit and I was so excited, until I realized I still couldn’t upgrade my training. I went from 35k to 300k. Now you may say, Frost, your article was under 300 words, did you really expect good money? And to that I say, you are totally right and that is why this one is over 6500. The rest of the draft is going to just be picks only without the explanations, you’ll just have to trust me that thought went into it.
ROUND THREE
3.25 Christopher Bergmann - Bergmau - RWB | Shanghai Dragons FC / Rapid Magyar SC
3.26 Nacho Kusora - Wahgao - ST | Hollywood FC / F.C Kaapstad via ACR
3.27 Baptiste Azzola - Liscore - CM | Tokyo S.C / Cairo City
3.28 Maurjiro Rivers - Maur Rivers - LWB | Tokyo S.C / Cairo City via CABA
3.29 Josh Harper - JCPro - CAM | Shanghai Dragons FC / Rapid Magyar SC
3.30 Bruce McAllister - Spree - RAM | Xelaju Cosmico FC / AF Masques Sacrés
3.31 Gold Ship - LiathTheSquirrel - LAM | A.C. Romana / Inter London via CDT
3.32 Isaiah Ali - Turbantor - CAM | Schwarzwälder FV / Montréal United via LIF
3.33 Eric Duic - Roboeric562 - GK | Reykjavik United / North Shore United
3.34 Sadie Black - Rezo950inat0r2 - RAM | União São Paulo / AS Paris
3.35 Walter Blanco - NotMissingNow - LWB | Tokyo S.C / Cairo City via CAT
3.36 Saba Kvekvetsia - Jepox - LAM | CF Catalunya / Seoul MFC via HOL
And that’s it! Thanks for taking the time to read this! Hopefully you pesky scouts will read this and move me up a spot on the draft boards(really it should be more than one spot but thats ok, I’ll take the one)
I also have fairly limited knowledge on soccer in general, with even less knowledge on SSL teams and the landscape of the league, so this is going to be an interesting one to research. I got asked in scouting by a team if I had any preference on teams and where I was going, and I had to break it to them that I only knew three teams and they were the fifth team to scout me. This also may have played a part in why I have gotten 1 TPE on three straight weeks of predictions, but that is just a hunch. Also, with expansion looming (:eyes:) I think some teams will be drafting extras at positions of no need in prep for losing someone to an expansion draft. But that is much too difficult to guess so I’m gonna act like expansion is fake and not happening soon.
Anyways, considering the above, I figured I should take a look at the rosters and figure out what the team needs are for everyone before I start making picks. I’m going to base their positional need on how high the TPE of a player is and how deep into regression they are. It seems like the end of bench spots on most teams in the majors sit at around ~1000 TPE and are “good” at around ~1500 TPE, so I’m going to base my team needs off of wanting these draftees to replace guys in 4ish seasons. Also, I’m focusing on just the majors team needs as I assume the main goal is to win a majors trophy and minors is more for fun while you wait to get enough TPE to play in the big leagues. Presently, the S13 class has been aged out of the majors and it is S25, so in S30 when S26 players are about to get called up to the majors, it will be the S18 class starting to die off (sorry S18 players for aging you with this callout). Therefore, if any teams have positions with players S18 or older rostered without a replacement lined up, then it is one of the important needs for the team. I’m not totally sure which positions can be played out of position, but I’ll try my best to guess based off of rosters. It seems like an ideal roster would feature 4-5 defensive guys, 4-5 midfield guys, 1-2 strikers, and of course the 1 goalkeeper. (post writing editors note, I just assumed anything with an M at the end was for midfield, so I did not count CDM as defense even though I think it probably would count? But it shouldn’t change that much) I assume having a 12th guy rostered for fouls/injuries isn’t all that important seeing as most teams don’t roster a 12th player/when they do it’s usually an IA. To easily identify needs, I’m going to list the need 1-10 based on how much I think a replacement is needed in this draft. I think the best way to start this is to go from best teams to worst teams. That way I can see what a good competitive team looks like so I know what the bad teams are aiming to build for the future, at least mostly. Without further ado, let's look at the rosters.
We’ll start with arguably the best team this season,
Hollywood FC / F.C Kaapstad
NEEDS:
GK: 0 - They have two great goalies, one old, and one about to get called up and already at a very high TPE, no need here.
ST: 7 - They currently have a younger S20 guy max earning, and they did just have the best record in the league with only one striker, however, with no active strikers in the minors this is a spot they could easily look to replace in the draft as their depth is lacking
Midfield: 8 - They have 4 midfield players S18 or older in the majors, and have only 3 active replacements lined up in the minors. For those of us that can use substraction, 4-3=1, therefore they will need to draft at least one midfielder in this class.
Defense/Backs: 8 - They have 3 defensive guys S18 or older in the majors, with 2 active players lined up in the minors. Again, they will need to target at least one in the draft.
They’re in an interesting situation, they don’t quite have as many needs as I would expect from a team doing as well as they are, but still, a critical draft for them where several replacements are needed in this draft and cannot wait for the next so they will have to make sure their picks hit.
CF Catalunya / Seoul MFC
NEEDS:
GK: 0 - They have an S22 active user starting this season who I assume they want to keep, so no need here for them.
ST: 5 - So, this is kinda interesting, as they don’t actually have a ST rostered on their major team at the moment. As a striker myself this is disappointing to see, and even more disappointing was how good they were despite not having a striker… but I suppose having everyone else with a high TPE will do that. Anywho, they do have an S23 max earner at ST in the minors, so the need isn’t quiiiiiite as big as it seems, but in a striker heavy class I could see them looking at ST for depth to potentially run two ST in the future.
Midfield: 2 - They have 3 midfielders that are S18 or older(they’re all S18, crazy S18 draft btw), but with 4 active midfielders in the minors, I don’t think they are too worried, if at all, about their midfield spots.
Defense/Backs: 0 - They actually have ZERO defenders that are S18 or older, however, they do have an S19 guy that is inactive so I will count him as needing a replacement. But, with that said, they also have three active users in the minors. Seeing their roster, it makes sense that they don’t have a first round pick this season because their needs are very low.
União São Paulo / AS Paris
NEEDS:
GK: 0 - They have an S18 guy who will need a replacement in a few seasons, but they have already drafted their replacement with a S22 guy in the minors. No need here
ST: 10 - They have 2 strikers, both S18 or older. They have 0 ST’s in the minor league as well, so this is the first major need for strikers we’ve seen. As a striker myself, this is good to see, though bad if you’re a USP fan maybe. They will undoubtedly need to target ST in the draft
Midfield: 0 - They have 1 S18 or older midfielder, but with only 3 rostered this season they may want a fourth for the future. I thought I was seeing things at first, but wow, no wonder Paris was the best minor league team, as their roster is stacked. They have 8(!!!) active midfielders in the minors this season. If I could put a need as negative I would; please stop drafting midfielders.
Defense/Backs: 7 - They have 4 players S18 or older at defense, but I assume at least one will be taken by a midfielder, so only 3 need to be replaced. In the minors they have two active players, but with one not being a max earner, they’ll still need a few more replacements. I could definitely see one of their midfielders swapping to be more defensive oriented.
Reykjavik United / North Shore United
NEEDS:
GK: 3 - They have an S22 max earner here, they don’t really need anyone right now. I’ll give them a 3 for needs just because they don’t have a minor league replacement yet and GK feels like a position you can draft a little early since there’s only one on every roster.
ST: 3 - They have one striker S18 or older, and another getting close (S19), however they do have a striker in the minor league ready to come up soon. I think it would be fairly unlikely for them to draft a ST in this draft, but who knows.
Midfield: 7 - They have two midfielders S18 or older, and two in the minors. However, with one of the minor players being a non max earner and S19, this is an avenue I could easily see them going in the draft.
Defense/Backs: 10 - All four of their current defensemen are S18 or older, and they will need four replacements in the coming seasons. With only one active defender in the minors, I could see their three first picks all being defensive minded players. They really need to target them in the draft.
Liffeyside Celtic FC / CS Rova Mpanjaka
NEEDS:
*sidenote, they have 14 players rostered! The most of any team! One is IA and one just got hit with a 700 TPE penalty before retiring for uh “personal reasons” so 14 kinda makes sense, but interesting tidbit nonetheless.
GK: 3 - They have an S21 max earner here so they don’t realistically need a GK too bad, but their minor league GK is inactive and GK is a position that some teams draft early for, so I could see a world where they take one.
ST: 5 - 14 players and not a single striker… Shame! Shame! Shame! I kid I kid, but at least they do have an S23 active striker in the minors. However, I could still see them targeting another in the draft since this is a striker heavy draft and teams can run 2, but not a major need right now.
Midfield: 1 - Gonna ignore the retired and IA guy for this one, but aside from them, they have 2 guys S18 or older and 3 guys S19 or younger so they’re actually still relatively fine here. They’ll need 1-2 replacements from the minors, which is perfectly fine, as they have 2 active guys earning to fill those roles already.
Defense/Backs: 1 - They only have one older defenseman, and with multiple active players in the minors I would find it fairly unlikely for them to draft any of them too highly.
*sidenote: this is a really interesting roster that doesn’t really have any glaring needs, I wonder if they just go BPA the whole draft in prep for expansion.
CD Tenochtitlan / Krung Thep FC
NEEDS:
GK: 0 - They have an S20 max earner in the majors, and a S24 max earner in the minors. Nuff said.
ST: 0 - 3 Strikers! Huzzah! Unfortunately this means they probably will not draft me, but having 3 younger (S20, S20, S21) strikers is great. Unfortunately it seems that one striker has gone IA recently, but lucky for them they already have a ST in the minors ready to call up soon. I’d be pretty shocked to see them draft one in this class.
Midfield: 1 - They do have an inactive player, and not only is he IA, but also old and IA. But other than that, they have one aging active and the rest are young guys. But, luckily for them they have 4 active midfielders in the minor league to help supplement their future.
Defense/Backs: 0 - No old guys! The future is bright on defense. They also have a couple guys in the minor leagues. I think so far, this is the team best set up for the future. I can see why expansion is needed when teams like this exist, they literally have zero needs this draft and in fact are starting the draft already in excess. Great work managers?
*sidenote: Did this team have all the first round picks in the S20 draft?? 7 high earners from one draft class is dubious, and that's not even accounting for the guy in the minors that hit 900 TPE. I’m sure there's a fun story behind this that I’ll learn about later but wow, just had to comment on it.
Xelaju Cosmico FC / AF Masques Sacrés
NEEDS:
GK: 6 - They have an active S20 guy at GK currently, but with their only GK in the minors aging out soon adding on to the S20 guy not being a max earner, it makes this need a little more pressing and I could see them targeting one in the draft.
ST: 0 - They currently have two strikers rostered, both S22, but with one being inactive at 1000 TPE I don’t think he will remain in their long term plans. However, with two active, good earning strikers in the minors, this isn’t really a need for them.
Midfield: 1 - They have two midfielders that are S18 and may need to be replaced this draft, but with three replacements in the minor leagues already I find it fairly unlikely. But I’ll still give the need a 1 because you can never have too many midfielders.
Defense/Backs: 8 - They have an S17 player that will need to get replaced soon-ish, as well as an (another) inactive S22 player that is also not a part of the long term plans. Unfortunately, it seems they have missed on defense in past drafts with a few going IA, but they still have one in the minors ready to get called up soon. This is definitely the largest need for this team and is what I expect them to target early in this upcoming draft.
Shanghai Dragons FC / Rapid Magyar SC
NEEDS:
GK: 10 - Their current GK is an S18 max earner, however this is the draft to replace S18 people, and with no young goalie in the minors, this is definitely a position they will want to target in this draft.
ST: 4 - They only run one striker in the majors, but he is also S18 and will need a replacement soon as well. Luckily, they already have an active guy in the minors. But with only these two strikers on both rosters combined I could see them targeting another in the draft.
Midfield: 0 - They have 5 active guys, all younger than S18. They’ll be fine for a while.
Defense/Backs: 1 - All the defense on their roster are younger than S18, however, one is IA and will need to be replaced in the future. Luckily, they already have multiple actives in the minor league and any draftees will just be for depth.
*sidenote - I see where the other half of the S20 class went; why they’re all only on two teams I may never know, but they also have 7 high earners from the S20 class. Great work! (?)
CA Buenos Aires / Athênai F.C.
NEEDS:
GK: 6 - I could almost copy paste what I wrote for Xelaju earlier. They have an S20 GK presently, but it's not a max earning player, and with no youth at GK in the minor leagues, I could definitely see them trying to get one of the premier goalies in the draft.
ST: 4 - Their only striker currently rostered is S16 and will need to get replaced soon(ish), but lucky for them they already have an active max earner in the minors to replace them. But, with that said, I could still see them targeting one in the draft, who knows maybe they want to run 2 ST in the future.
Midfield: 0 - They currently have two midfielders on the roster that are S18 or older, however, with 4 active users in the minors all playing midfield, I would be pretty shocked if that is the avenue they take in the draft.
Defense/Backs: 2 - Luckily, they only need to replace one guy in the majors in this draft, and they have already done so by having a max earner replacement in the minors already. However, he is the only one and it's hard to have too many players on your team that play defense so I could see them trying for defense.
Tokyo S.C / Cairo City
NEEDS:
GK: 2 - They have an active S24 player at goalie presently, and despite the current low TPE, I find it highly improbable for them to try and draft his replacement already. But maybe they want a backup plan just in case + Need to replace their minor league IA goalie.
ST: 1 - They only roster one striker currently, but with him being only S23 and a max earner, coupled with the fact that they have an active ST in the minors as well, their future at ST is all but secured.
Midfield: 0 - They do need to replace one of their midfielders in this draft… is what I would say if they did not have 5(!) active replacements ready in the minor leagues to come up soon.
Defense/Backs: 2 - They only have one S18 or older defensive man on their roster, but they have another that is IA. With that said, they do also have 2 active players in the minor league earning to replace them.
*sidenote: This team is hoarding young talent and truthfully I think they just try to take BPA at every pick in the draft. They could skip this draft and be totally fine, crazy good asset management/drafting. This draft is just to build a powerhouse minor league team for them imo
A.C. Romana / Inter London
NEEDS:
GK: 0 - They have an S18 goalkeeper, but he is inactive. Luckily, they already drafted his replacement (twice) and have two active goalies in the minor league to replace him. Def no need here.
ST: 0 - They have two, high tpe, high earning strikers currently on the Romana roster, and they are not old, so again, no need here.
Midfield: 0 - They have one midfielder aging out soon, but they do have several midfielders in the minors that will be able to fill that role out when the time comes.
Defense/Backs: 4 - They have one inactive older player here, and they have an S19 player who isn’t max earning so I’ll include him as potentially needing to be replaced through this draft. However, they already have two high earning players in the minors. But, you never know who can go IA on you so I think this is the position they want to draft because this is the only position where they don’t have an extra depth piece.
*sidenote: I’m slowly realizing that all of the teams are actually hoarding young talent, tsk tsk how dare they build good rosters with no holes
Schwarzwälder FV / Montréal United
NEEDS:
GK: 3 - They currently have one of the oldest goalies in the majors, with S16 William2, but his replacement is a youthful S25 player who is earning and active in the minor leagues (shoutout bjkman, Jacob Small still goated) so I find it doubtful they draft a GK. But I’m keeping the need as a 3 because they may want to get a GK ready for their minor league team.
ST: 5 - Their only striker on the major team is not only S18 or older, but is also inactive. With an active in the minor leagues, it isn’t a super pressing need, but I could still easily see them wanting to snag another for more security in their striker position.
Midfield: 3 - They have one inactive player that is both old(ok he’s only S19 but it's close enough) and IA, but luckily they have 2 players in the minor leagues all ready to replace him when the time comes.
Defense/Backs: 4 - They have two inactive players that they will need to replace here, and luckily they have two good earners in the minors that look ready to replace. Similar to the previous team though, you never know who can go IA so I’m also going to give them a 4 here.
WOW, that took a lot more time and took a lot more words than I thought it would, but now I know the landscape of the league and a little bit more about everyone. My conclusion after analyzing all of the rosters? I can see why expansion is happening. Especially considering how big of a draft class this is, there are simply not enough holes for this amazing 70+ man draft class to fill. I’m really excited to see how expansion is gonna shape up the league and alter teams. Can’t wait to see it next offseason(?). I guess by now I’ve done enough yapping to bore out the weaker minded readers, but for those of you who did make it this far, congratulations! We can start the mock draft now :)
Ok so I guess I may have accidentally lied there. The draft will have to wait through one more paragraph. I wanted to give my ideology on how I think GMs brains will (should) work and how they’ll be drafting. I figure prospects quality is based on three main things, TPE, Bank, and Activity. Activity is difficult to judge and I want to be subjective so I’ll judge activity based on how many total messages sent in the SSL discord. While I’m obviously not in all of the individual academy locker room sections, I think it will give a good idea on who the active talkers are. Sydney players are going to get a slight boost from this because that's the academy lr that I am in and they’ll therefore have more messages, but we deserve it after the season we just had. I’ll just link the list below to a google sheet because it would be too wordy/long of a list for the post. When it says “Lost” for messages it just means I couldn’t find the discord account. For any managers reading this… please ignore that I only have 59 messages, thank you in advance.
HERE: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1...sp=sharing
ROUND ONE
1.1 Barry McGlynn - Definia - CAM | Schwarzwälder FV / Montréal United via SFV
I think that Schwarz is just going to take the best player available with this pick, and while this class does have a lot of great players that I think could fit BPA, it’s hard to argue against a player who has the most money, and highest activity level. If I could bet on anyone to have a long and successful SSL career, it would probably be McGlynn, so that's who I have 1oa.
1.2 Joshua Homme II Esquire Limited - o1playz - LWB| A.C. Romana / Inter London
A.C Romana also has very few needs, so I think they also will just go BPA, but, they luck out as BPA matches their one need, so I have them taking o1playz. Our TPE leader for the class also has sent over 1200 messages, and it's hard to say that getting a max earner who's extremely active in discord/lr is anything but a slam dunk pick.
1.3 Dennis can Huntelrooy - Jeanious - ST | Schwarzwälder FV / Montréal United via TOK
Jeanious has the second most TPE in the class, in addition to an 8 million dollar bank account, making this a fairly easy pick. With Schwarz only having one striker in the minors who is set to replace their aging striker in the majors, I think they take the happy coincidence in team needs and draft the best striker in the class (by TPE only, you’ll see me later ;])
1.4 Jimothy Erickson - GingerJLD - CD | CA Buenos Aires / Athênai F.C.
While Buenos Aires does slightly need a GK, with multiple picks this draft, I think instead they just take BPA as a team with few needs. Also, can you ever really have too much defense? Now, TPE wise this may not be the best player available, but I think when you factor in discord activity Jimothy Erickson is a player I see jumping into the top 5. Second in the class in activity behind only 1oa, I think CABA is happy to take a guy that will immediately benefit a locker room.
1.5 Dante Von Wolfe - Bloodless - ST | Shanghai Dragons FC / Rapid Magyar SC
Yes, I know I put their GK need as a 10, and then didn’t make their first pick a GK. But don’t fret my dear reader, they have plenty of picks to correct that. With 5 picks in the first three rounds, and the GKs in this class being good, but maybe not top 5 level, I think Shanghai goes elsewhere. They actually have an aggressive lack of need for any more midfielders, so that is why I have them taking Dante Von Wolfe. The only people with higher activity levels than him have all been drafted already. I think they take their future striker of the future here to add a striker to their midfield army in the minors.
1.6 S Sei - xyan - CDM Xelaju Cosmico FC / AF Masques Sacrés
Xelaju needs guys that can play defense fairly badly, and Sei fills that whole very well. While they don’t really need anyone in the midfield right now, Sei can still play defense well and is one of the best prospects in the draft. They’re top 10 in discord activity and top 5 in bank accounts, and when you couple that with being only four TPE off of the class leader, I think Xelaju is happy to get them at 6.
1.7 Moew enBach - Moew - GK | Shanghai Dragons FC / Rapid Magyar SC via CDT
They have their GK of the future! Shanghai chooses to address their biggest need in the first round and take their guy. I assume whoever they take of either Yupanqui or enBach will be whoever scouting likes more, but I would personally be surprised if it is not at least one of them at this pick (or maybe even at 5 if they’re scared Xelaju wants their preferred choice). I have them taking Meow here due to the activity levels and slightly higher bank account, and now the managers can have a sigh of relief knowing they have GK figured out.
1.8 Joe Mormor - Haramcha - LAM | Liffeyside Celtic FC / CS Rova Mpanjaka
Liffeyside is a team that doesn’t really have too many pressing needs, so I think they’re going to be taking the best player available here. In that case, I have them taking Haramcha. Good discord activity? Check. Good TPE? 3 off the tpe leader, check. Good bank account? Over 10 million, check. This will help them score more(mor). All the boxes are checked and I think Liffeyside is happy with the pick, even if it isn't at a super high position of need.
1.9 Ignignokt - AustinP0027 - CDM | Reykjavik United / North Shore United
I’m well aware that this is a hot take, in fact it may even be too hot, but I’m gonna stick with my first thought and do a bit of a reach based on consensus. Reykjavik NEEDS defense, like, really, really, really badly. They can’t really afford to not draft one for at least 2 of their first 3 picks, so that is why I have them taking Austin here. Austin has been releasing a ton (no seriously, look at how many/long his articles are) of media recently, and has subsequently been climbing the draft boards. He was a waiver create like myself, so the lower TPE # is a little misleading. With solid discord activity as well, I think Reyjkavik makes sure they get their guy and secure their future by taking Austin here.
1.10 Kairo Vox - Hoodz_91 - LAM | União São Paulo / AS Paris
If I was higher TPE, or had a higher ego, I could justify them taking me here, but this is supposed to be a (mostly) realistic mock draft, so I just couldn’t do it, though they do need a striker quite badly. Despite their need, I think they see the striker depth and decide to wait a little, instead deciding to try and take the best player available here. Hoodz has a healthily sized bank account, extremely high discord activity, and is only 4 TPE off of the class leader. This is a really good pick and I don’t know how they fell this far. Well I do know how since I made it happen, but you know what I mean. Certified steal of the first round.
1.11 Reece Munro - Riipsaw - CM | Hollywood FC / F.C Kaapstad via CAT
1.12 Jack Pow - Jack_Pow - RAM | Hollywood FC / F.C Kaapstad
I’m going to do the writing blurb for these ones together, as they are the same team b2b and they might as well be the same pick tbh. Hollywood is in a fun situation where they have genuine needs across the board, and can afford to take both BPA as well as draft for need. Munro is 2nd in the class in TPE, and is active in the discord, so it felt wrong to have them fall any further; there’s just too many good players in this draft class. I’m sure Hollywood would be happy here. Jack Pow may lack a little in TPE compared to what you may expect from a first rounder, but I simply couldn’t ignore the 10.5 million dollar bank account any longer, and the media legend deserves to sneak into the first. While Hollywood may have liked to take someone more defense oriented, I think they’ll be happy with their haul nonetheless.
ROUND TWO
2.13 Saphira Brightscales - PidgeyDestined - CD | Schwarzwälder FV / Montréal United
Honestly it is really difficult to draft for these teams that don’t really have any pressing needs, but after drafting a CAM 1oa, I think they’ll want to target elsewhere in the second. Pidgey was a waiver create like myself, so the TPE is a little misleading, and with the media and earn rate of Pidgey, I have then sneaking into the early second here as one of the best defenders left available.
2.14 Scorp E. Unshark - hhh81 - RD | Hollywood FC / F.C Kaapstad via ACR
Hollywood is probably mad because they also needed defense and Schwarz just took defense, but luckily as I continue to say, this draft class is very deep, so they STILL are able to get a very good defender in Scorp. They’ve been earning extremely well and after foregoing defense in the first, I think Hollywood goes after it in the second after seeing Pidgey go the pick before.
2.15 Owen Goal - anjro - ST | União São Paulo / AS Paris via TOK
After taking a LAM in the first and foregoing their need at striker, I think União São Paulo decided to draft a striker in the second. While I couldn’t find anjro’s discord in the SSL server, they have been earning very well and are active talkers in the ISFL so I assume discord activity will be fine in the future. They really need a striker here, so they take the best available striker… besides Leo Stone ofc… Owen Goal is also a great player name so he gets bonus points.
2.16 Nick Kasak - nckkss - LAM | CA Buenos Aires / Athênai F.C.
After taking a defender in the first, I don’t think they will go that way again, so instead they take the best available, and I’m sure CABA is very happy getting a player like Kasak in the mid second. Only 4 TPE off of the class leader and max earning the whole season, Kasak is very likely to go on to have a great career.
2.17 STARSCREAM - Starscream - CM | CD Tenochtitlan / Krung Thep FC via SHA
This is Tenochtitlan’s only pick in the first three rounds, so they’re going to have to make sure it counts. Luckily, they don’t really have any actual needs right now, so they will simply take BPA, and in this case, it seemed fairly obvious to me who that was. STARSCREAM is only 3 tpe off of the leader, and has been a max earner near the top of the TPE charts all season. The only reason I have them falling at all was due to discord activity, but they probably just talk in the actual locker room more than general chat. I think CD Tenochtitlan would be ecstatic if this were to somehow happen, despite its unlikeliness.
2.18 Umaq Yupanqui - Rancidbudgie - GK | Xelaju Cosmico FC / AF Masques Sacrés
After drafting a CDM in the first, Xelaju takes care of their biggest need, and while one could argue they could use another defensive minded player, they also have a need at GK and I think they draft the best available one here. Shanghai is probably mad that they took a GK in the first and a good one fell this far to the second, but I still stand by making sure you get the player you want in the draft. Yupanqui is a very good earner, over 400 TPE, and should be a great future GK successor for Xelaju.
2.19 Leonardo Stone - Frostbite - ST | Shanghai Dragons FC / Rapid Magyar SC
Speaking of Shanghai…they take me! For any scouts reading this, I am perfectly happy and content to go to any team, this is just who I think would take me based on team needs and how my mock ended up turning out. But while I may be a bit uninspiring of a draftee right now, I’d like to think that after this article my stock will go up… at least I hope it will… But Shanghai doesn’t really need midfield or defense all that much, and even though they already took a striker in the first I think they go BPA who just happens to also be a striker here to build towards the future and provide depth/future starting role for minors. 10/10 pick I must say.
2.20 Blaise N’Kufo - McTruffles - ST | Liffeyside Celtic FC / CS Rova Mpanjaka
After taking a LAM in the first, I think Liffey will follow in Shanghai’s footsteps and also take a striker here. They don’t really have any pressing need for any other positions and while 384 might not be the highest TPE of the remaining pool of players, it's pretty dang close.
2.21 Mullet Man - Ogreishh - CAM | Reykjavik United / North Shore United
Reykjavik did draft a defender in the first, and while they do still need a defender, they also need a midfielder, so I think they take the best available and Mullet Man finally comes off of the board. He is the highest TPE player left available and has been earning very well. I think Reykjavik would be pretty happy with being able to get a high earner like this in the late second. Also, my current hairstyle can be interpreted as a mullet so I have a soft spot for this player and will be rooting for them throughout their career.
2.22 Alex Peña - CRMO15 - RWB | Tokyo S.C / Cairo City via USP
Tokyo’s first pick in this draft! Hoorah! Luckily for them they don’t actually really need to draft anyone this draft based on needs, so they will happily take BPA. The hard part is determining who BPA is. Unfortunately, I did not do any scouting for this mock draft so I don’t know what all the players want/goals/tpe earning future so I will have to make my best guess. Alex Peña is the highest TPE player left available and has more than a million dollars in his bank account, so I have to assume he has a strong future ahead of him.
2.23 Felix Pedro - Artemis - CM | CF Catalunya / Seoul MFC
Catalunya’s first pick of the draft! Look at all these teams in the late second getting their first taste of S26, good for them. I first had them taking a striker, but their need for striker isn’t so great that they have to, so instead I have them just taking the best player available, which in this case is Felix Pedro. “But Frost, Pedro is 40 TPE lower than the highest available prospect right now, what do you mean this is the best available?” And to that, I say “what a stupid question, read paragraph 18.” Now this is obviously actually quite a valid question, so I will answer it: Artemis has by far the highest discord activity of any remaining prospects, and I think Catalunya will look towards that and choose to invest in the future with Pedro here instead of someone who may be higher TPE.
2.24 Martin Krpan - ChiefVito - CD | Hollywood FC / F.C Kaapstad
I think after taking two midfielders in the first and a defender in the early second, Hollywood instead chooses to target BPA in the second by taking ChiefVito. Vito has over 4 million in the bank and a good amount of messages in discord, so I think Hollywood would be pretty content with being able to snag them in the late second to shore up their defense of the future.
If I’m going to be 100% honest with you all… my hands are tired and I need to make sure I submit this article before the season ends, because, not sure if you have noticed, but I am extremely poor on the portal. Fun fact, my first article payout hit and I was so excited, until I realized I still couldn’t upgrade my training. I went from 35k to 300k. Now you may say, Frost, your article was under 300 words, did you really expect good money? And to that I say, you are totally right and that is why this one is over 6500. The rest of the draft is going to just be picks only without the explanations, you’ll just have to trust me that thought went into it.
ROUND THREE
3.25 Christopher Bergmann - Bergmau - RWB | Shanghai Dragons FC / Rapid Magyar SC
3.26 Nacho Kusora - Wahgao - ST | Hollywood FC / F.C Kaapstad via ACR
3.27 Baptiste Azzola - Liscore - CM | Tokyo S.C / Cairo City
3.28 Maurjiro Rivers - Maur Rivers - LWB | Tokyo S.C / Cairo City via CABA
3.29 Josh Harper - JCPro - CAM | Shanghai Dragons FC / Rapid Magyar SC
3.30 Bruce McAllister - Spree - RAM | Xelaju Cosmico FC / AF Masques Sacrés
3.31 Gold Ship - LiathTheSquirrel - LAM | A.C. Romana / Inter London via CDT
3.32 Isaiah Ali - Turbantor - CAM | Schwarzwälder FV / Montréal United via LIF
3.33 Eric Duic - Roboeric562 - GK | Reykjavik United / North Shore United
3.34 Sadie Black - Rezo950inat0r2 - RAM | União São Paulo / AS Paris
3.35 Walter Blanco - NotMissingNow - LWB | Tokyo S.C / Cairo City via CAT
3.36 Saba Kvekvetsia - Jepox - LAM | CF Catalunya / Seoul MFC via HOL
And that’s it! Thanks for taking the time to read this! Hopefully you pesky scouts will read this and move me up a spot on the draft boards(really it should be more than one spot but thats ok, I’ll take the one)
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