Brian White (left) with Red Bulls sporting director Denis Hamlett. (FrontRowSoccer.com Photo)
PHILADELPHIA — The Red Bulls selected Duke University forward Brian White as the 16th overall selection of the Major League Soccer SuperDraft at the Pennsylvania Convention Center Friday afternoon.
New York also selected Niko De Vera (31st overall) and Tom Barlow (39th overall), respectively, in the second round.
White, a Flemington, N.J. native, played nine seasons for PDA before performing two seasons with the Red Bulls’ Premier Development League sauad.
A two-time All-Atlantic Coast Conference second-team choice, the 5-11, 160-lb. White earned his first All-America third team honor after leading the Blue Devils in scoring with 10 goals and two assists for 22 points in 2017. He played in all but one match (73 of 74) and started in 63 of 74 as a Blue Devil. White accrued 57 points on 23 goals and 11 assists.
White and Red Bulls midfielder Sean Davis were teammates during the 2014 season at Duke.
With the team’s PDL side last summer, scoring 17 goals and assisting on three others. He was named the PDL’s MVP.
The 5-5, 180-lb. De Vera, a three-year letter winner at the Univeristy of Akron and a Portland Timbers Academy product, had his best season during his senior campaign, earning All-MAC honors as a second-team honoree. The Camas, Wash. native started all 23 matches during his senior season and recored four assists as a defender.
Barlow made an immediate impact at the University of Wisconsin when he arrived in 2014. Over four seasons, he started all but two games as a Badger (76 of 78). Barlow collected Big Ten all-freshman honors in 2014 and recorded 23 goals on 151 shots, 15 assists, 61 points, 10 game-winning goals and 6,413 minutes in Cardinal and White. The 6-2, 185-lb. Barlow led the Big Ten in scoring with 10 goals during last season.