Inter Miami fortifies roster with college standouts with No. 1 and No. 3 overall picks
Inter Miami CF continued to fortify its roster with the selection of two college standouts in the 2020 Major League Soccer (MLS) SuperDraft presented by adidas, which streamed live on the ESPN App and social media accounts. With the first overall pick, Inter Miami selected the 2019 Mac Hermann winning striker Robbie Robinson, 21, from Clemson University, and the 2019 NCAA Division I Men’s champion full-back Dylan Nealis, 21, from Georgetown University with the third overall pick.
Additionally, the Club traded its natural fourth-round pick (No. 79 overall) in the draft to FC Dallas today in exchange for the College Protected List Rights to Dylan Castanheira.
“Robbie and Dylan Nealis have both had exciting collegiate careers and will bring more offensive and defensive depth to our roster,” said the Club’s Sporting Director Paul McDonough. “As for Dylan Castanheira, he’s a promising young player that we look forward to continue watching this season.”
Robinson is an imposing forward who stands at six feet two inches tall. At Clemson, he compiled 24 goals and 10 assists in his brief career. He earned 2019 MAC Hermann, Trophy honors, awarded to the nation’s top college soccer player, and was named a First Team All-American and ACC Offensive Player of the Year. He finished the 2019 season as joint top scorer in NCAA Division I with 18 goals and top-10 in the country with nine assists in just 19 games. Robinson is also a Generation adidas player, a program for select promising underclassmen and youth national team players. Generation adidas player salaries do not count against a team’s allotted salary budget. For more information on MLS roster rules, please visit here.
Robinson received a surprise call from Club owner David Beckham welcoming him to the Club while situated at Clemson University during the draft, surrounded by family, coaches and teammates.
Nealis is a skillful right back who captained Georgetown University for two years. He appeared in 78 games for the team, starting 76 of those, and registering seven goals and 14 assists. He led the Hoyas to the 2019 NCAA Division I Men's College Cup title, defeating the University of Virginia in the final. Nealis was named a MAC Hermann Trophy finalist for the 2019 season, won the Big East Defensive Player of the Year, and was named to the All-Big East First Team and the United Soccer Coaches All-America First Team. He was also named Big East Defensive Player of the Year and All-Big East First Team for the 2018 season.
Nealis was hosted at a restaurant in his hometown of Massapequa, N.Y. during the draft. A crowd of about 20 people gathered to congratulate him on the moment.
Castanheira, originally a 2019 SuperDraft selection of FC Dallas, is a 24-year-old goalkeeper with USL Championship experience. He spent the 2019 season playing for Atlanta United 2 where he made 21 appearances. From 2014 to 2018 Castanheira attended Columbia University, making 44 appearances and earning Ivy League Defensive Player of the Year and First Team All-Ivy League honors. He also broke the school record for clean sheets in a career.
Club Internacional de Fútbol Miami will play all of its home matches at Inter Miami CF Stadium in Fort Lauderdale starting with the first-ever match on Saturday, March 14, against the LA Galaxy. Located off Commercial Boulevard and I-95, the stadium stands adjacent to the Club’s new 50,000 square foot state of the art training facility, which includes seven professional fields. The facility will be the home to all Inter Miami teams including MLS, USL League One and Academy. It will also host international clubs, tournaments and local high school sporting events.
The only way to guarantee your spot at every regular season Inter Miami match is to purchase a full-season membership. To purchase your season tickets and learn about the benefits, visit www.intermiamicf.com/tickets. A small inventory of single-game tickets will be available for purchase at a later date.
