The Houston Dynamo selected three players on Day 2 of the 2018 MLS SuperDraft presented by adidas, completing their draft class on Sunday afternoon.
With the 59th overall selection in the third round, Houston selected midfielder Pablo Aguilar from the University of Virginia; and drafted defender Sheldon Sullivan from Virginia the with the 66th pick in the third round. In Round 4, the Dynamo chose University of San Francisco defender Manny Padilla with the 89th overall selection.
Aguilar saw action in 75 games with 59 starts in four seasons for the Cavaliers, tallying 16 goals and eight assists. Aguilar scored 14 of his 16 career goals in his final two seasons as a Cavalier. He earned Second Team All-ACC honors as a junior and Third Team accolades this past season. As a senior, Aguilar finished second on the team with 1,995 minutes played while starting all 21 games; and he registered his first career multi-goal performance in the first round of the 2017 ACC Tournament, a 4-0 win over Boston College.
Sullivan played in 78 career games and started 70 for the Cavaliers. As a redshirt freshman in 2014, the Stafford, Virginia native was the only Cavalier to start all 23 matches and played all 2,174 minutes in UVA’s run to the national championship, earning All-Tournament Team honors in the NCAA College Cup. A versatile defender, Sullivan started games at left back, center back and left wing. As a senior, he started all 21 games and finished fourth on the team with 1,934 minutes played.
Padilla started 67 of 69 games over four years at San Francisco, including all 19 games as a senior in 2017. The defender recorded seven of his 14 assists in his senior campaign, finishing third on the team in that category. A native of Compton, California, Padilla earned Honorable Mention All-West Coast Conference honors as a senior and captained the Dons to their first conference championship in nine seasons.
Today’s three draft picks, along with goalkeeper Michael Nelson and forward Mac Steeves, who were selected in the first and second rounds of the SuperDraft, respectively, will join the Dynamo for the start of preseason training camp on Tuesday, January 23 at Houston Sports Park.
TRANSACTIONS: The Houston Dynamo selected MF Pablo Aguilar, DF Sheldon Sullivan and DF Manny Padilla the 2018 MLS SuperDraft.
Pablo Aguilar
Position: Midfielder
Height: 5-7
Weight: 150
DOB: February 21, 1995 (22 years old)
Hometown: Guatemala City, Guatemala
College: University of Virginia
FIFA Nationality: USA, Guatemala
How Acquired: Selected in the third round (No. 59 overall) of the 2018 MLS SuperDraft
Sheldon Sullivan
Position: Defender
Height: 5-9
Weight: 170
DOB: March 2, 1995 (22 years old)
Hometown: Stafford, Virginia
College: University of Virginia
Nationality: USA
How Acquired: Selected in the third round (No. 66 overall) of the 2018 MLS SuperDraft
Manny Padilla
Position: Defender
Height: 5-9
DOB: February 5, 1996 (21 years old)
Hometown: Compton, California
College: University of San Francisco
Nationality: USA
How Acquired: Selected in the fourth round (No. 89 overall) of the 2018 MLS SuperDraft
