Orlando City Loses Defender Kamal Miller in 2020 MLS Expansion Draft

Orlando City lost defender Kamal Miller, who was selected during the 2020 MLS Expansion Draft. The 2019 second-round draft pick was selected with the fifth and final pick of the draft by Austin FC before then being traded to the Montreal Impact. The Impact gave up a lot to get the second-year pro, sending $225,000 in General Allocation Money (GAM) and a first-round 2021 draft pick for him.

Prior to the selection, Miller was set to return to Orlando as his option was exercised following the 2020 MLS season. The defender originally joined Orlando City when he was selected out of Syracuse University with the third pick in the second round of the 2019 MLS SuperDraft — the 27th pick overall. Primarily a central defender in college, Miller became a utility player off the bench for Orlando City. While he played center back early in his MLS career, he switched to left back for much of his time in purple.

The 23-year-old Canadian played 30 competitive games (24 starts) for Orlando City over two seasons and accumulated 2,275 minutes of action. He never scored a goal or assisted on one for the team and was issued four yellow cards in that time. Miller played a key part for the Lions during the 2020 MLS Cup playoffs, coming off the bench against New York City FC and starting in place of the suspended Ruan against the New England Revolution. He didn’t appear in any U.S. Open Cup matches or the 2020 MLS is Back Tournament while playing for the Lions.

Miller appeared in 12 regular season games this year, starting nine of them and recording 805 minutes. He also appeared in both of the Lions’ postseason games, starting one of them and logging 121 minutes. He took four shots (none on target), made 19 tackles, made 28 clearances, and had four blocks and 13 successful dribbles. He also passed the ball at an 84% rate.

Miller has made five appearances for Canada, dating back to June of last year. He’s been called up 12 times for his national team but remained on the bench for the other seven games. Four of his five appearances for the country have been starts, exclusively playing at one of the outside back positions.

The Mane Land staff gave Miller a 5.5 out of 10 in our recent 2020 Season in Review series, which was the same grade we gave him in 2019. The young defender has shown some promise but has yet to take the next step

2020 MLS Expansion Draft Selections

• Danny Hoesen (Forward) – San Jose Earthquakes
• Jared Stroud (Midfielder) – New York Red Bulls
• Brady Scott (Goalkeeper) – Nashville SC
• Joe Corona (Midfielder) – LA Galaxy
• Kamal Miller (Defender) – Orlando City SC