2024 MLS Draft: Orlando City Selects Midfielder Filip Mirkovic at No. 54 Overall

Orlando City drafted Pittsburgh defensive midfielder Filip Mirkovic with the 25th pick of the second round (54th overall) in the 2024 MLS SuperDraft. Mirkovic is the second midfielder taken by the Lions in this year’s draft and the first player Orlando City has ever taken out of the University of Pittsburgh.

In four years with the Panthers, Mirkovic made 75 appearances (71 starts) and recorded 6,313 minutes. He scored nine goals and recorded 28 assists for 46 total points. The Manhattan, NY native was a key part of Pittsburgh’s team all four seasons.

Mirkovic’s best collegiate season was his junior year in 2022, when he started all 20 games, scoring three goals and recording 12 assists. While the three goals equaled his combined total from his freshman and sophomore years, the 12 assists were a career high. He also recorded a career-high point total of 18 and put 16 of his 38 shots on target (42.1%).

Prior to attending Pittsburgh, Mirkovic played for the New York City FC academy. He was named to the All-ACC Freshman team in 2020 and was All-ACC First Team in 2022. His first three seasons earned him a spot on the MAC Hermann Trophy watch list for 2023, but the midfielder saw a drop in production. He was still named to the United Soccer Coaches All-South Region first team this year, the second consecutive season he’s earned that honor.

What It Means for Orlando City

Orlando City is pretty well set in the defensive midfield, so a second-round pick like Mirkovic can expect to play with OCB for the coming season. Since the Lions didn’t have any major needs they could fill in the draft or any high picks, they used this selection on a player that might be able to fill a role off the bench sometime in the future.

The Lions haven’t signed a second-round selection to a first-team contract since Joey DeZart in 2020, and that selection was much higher up than Mirkovic. In all likelihood, this midfielder will end up signing a deal with OCB and spend the 2024 season in MLS NEXT Pro.

Here are some highlights of Mirkovic during his final season at Pittsburgh: