Four Local Players Called

Four player with ties to New England were taken in Thursday’s MLS SuperDraft.

Defender Andrew Jean-Baptiste (Connecticut), defender Aaron Maund (Dorchester, Mass.), midfielder Tony Cascio (Connecticut) and forward Luckymore Mkosana (Dartmouth) all had their names called at the Kansas City Convention Center.

Jean-Baptiste, 19, was taken eighth overall by Portland after he was named 2011 Big East Defender of the Year. He started all 25 games for a UConn squad that earned a trip to the 2011 NCAA quarterfinals. In addition to his defensive duties, the 6-2, 205lbs back added a goal and two assists last year and helped the Huskies blank their opponents 16 times.

Maund, 21, played club soccer for FC Greater Boston as a teenager and was taken with the 12th pick by Toronto FC. The Dorchester native earned All-Big East First Team honors after starting all of his 18 matches for Notre Dame in 2011. He was part of a defensive unit that held its opponents to a scant 0.89 goals against average.

Cascio, 21, was taken 14th overall by Colorado scored after he scored five goals and collected eight assists for UConn in 2011. During his time in Storrs, the 5-11 striker, who’s also seen time in the middle, racked up 24 goals and 25 assists in 85 career games for Huskies. Last year, he was named to the Hermann Trophy Watch List.

Mkosana, 24, was taken 23rd overall (2nd round) by Chicago after he picked up 10 goals and an assist in 17 games at Dartmouth last year. The 5-9 Zimbabwean scored 34 goals and 10 assists during his time in Hanover and was given All-Ivy First Team honors in each of his four seasons with the Big Green.