SB Nation Seattle - 2012 MLS Draft: Seattle Sounders Select Defender Andrew Duran, Striker Babayele Sodadehttps://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/48997/seattle-fave.png2012-01-12T11:54:44-08:00http://seattle.sbnation.com/rss/stream/24668572012-01-12T11:54:44-08:002012-01-12T11:54:44-08:002012 MLS Draft: Seattle Sounders Select Striker Babayele Sodade With 34th Overall Pick
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<p>With their second round pick (34th overall) the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.sounderatheart.com/">Seattle Sounders</a> have selected University of Alabama-Birmingham's Babayele Sodade. Sodade is a 6'3", 195 pound striker with an intriguing mix of size, power, speed and athleticism. Sodade was a three-year starter at UAB and was a force in his senior season, scoring 13 goals in 21 games.</p>
<p>Sodade is a very raw player, but has all of the tools of a dynamic target forward. He is unlikely to log significant minutes with the Sounders in 2012, but depending on his development could end up being a major steal as a second-round pick. Sodade also gives the Sounders some crucial depth at forward, as the health of <span>O'Brian White</span> is still a huge question mark. Given the team's relative lack of back-end depth, Sodade should get a decent amount of playing time in the reserve league should he manage to earn a spot on Seattle's roster.</p>
https://seattle.sbnation.com/seattle-sounders/2012/1/12/2702821/2012-mls-draft-seattle-sounders-babayele-sodadeAaron Campeau2012-01-12T10:30:00-08:002012-01-12T10:30:00-08:002012 MLS Draft: Seattle Sounders Select Defender Andrew Duran With 15th Pick
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<p>The 22-year-old Creighton defender was named Missouri Valley Conference defender of the year in 2011.</p> <p>With the 15th pick in the 2012 MLS SuperDraft, the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.sounderatheart.com/">Seattle Sounders</a> have selected Andrew Duran, a 6'1" defender from Creighton University. A versatile player capable of slotting in all across the back line and in midfield, Duran was a second-team NSCAA All-American for the Jays. This would appear to be a pick made with depth in needed areas in mind as several more high-profile attacking players remained on the board, but that has in general been a major driving factor in the Sounders decision making process in past drafts.</p>
<p>Though Duran will not be expected to log significant minutes in MLS play next season, this selection does give the Sounders some room to maneuver; if the club is comfortable with Duran as a primary backup, they may look to trade center back <span>Patrick Ianni</span> in order to free up some cap space or add depth at another position. In the more likely event Ianni sticks around, the Sounders will have a lot of depth across the back, resolving an issue that plagued them at times last season.</p>
<p>This pick was almost certainly a bit of a stretch, but given the Sounders strength in all starting positions and the relative lack of immediate impact typically made by draftees outside of the top 5, it's also completely defensible. The Sounders would not have selected Duran were he not a player they liked a great deal, and with little knowledge of what is happening behind the scenes it's difficult to be too critical of the selection at this point.</p>
https://seattle.sbnation.com/seattle-sounders/2012/1/12/2702527/2012-mls-draft-seattle-sounders-andrew-duranAaron Campeau