Clemson?s Amadou Dia Selected by Sporting KC in First Round of MLS Draft

CLEMSON, S.C. – Former Clemson men’s soccer player Amadou Dia was selected in the 2015 Major League Soccer Draft Thursday afternoon. He was selected with the 20th overall pick by Sporting Kansas City. Dia, who graduated in December with a degree in sociology, becomes the seventh player in Clemson history to be drafted in the first round.

Dia was a force along the back line and in the midfield for the ACC Champion Tigers during his senior season. The Highlands Ranch, Colo. native played in 18 games and assisted on one goal in 2014. Dia played in 70 career matches at Clemson and scored four goals with six assists. Prior to coming to Clemson, Dia was a member of the U-18 U.S. Men’s National Team that traveled to Lisbon, Portugal for tournament play in May 2010.

“I’m very excited for Amadou and proud of Clemson men’s soccer,” head coach Mike Noonan said. “Developing players for their future is one of the focuses of the program. Playing in the ACC is a big part of that as well. The hard work that Amadou, Phanuel and Tommy put into the program is the key ingredient to their success.”

Dia joins Clemson products Phanuel Kavita, Thomas McNamara, Joe Bendik and Nathan Sturgis currently in the MLS. Kavita, a team captain this past season, signed a homegrown contract with Real Salt Lake earlier this week.