Lion Links: 12/19/25

Happy Friday! It’s been a long week, but we’ve made it to the best part. I still have a few errands to take care of before the weekend, including braving the supermarket to get ingredients for some festive pastries. It should be a nice next couple of days and I’m looking forward to some rest and relaxation amidst the holiday madness. Let’s get to the links!

Orlando City Drafts Five Players

The Lions selected a total of five players in the 2026 MLS SuperDraft, including four in the first round. Orlando drafted Wake Forest attacker Harvey Sarajian with the fifth overall pick before adding some defensive depth by selecting Michigan center back Nolan Miller with the ninth overall pick and University of North Florida right back Jaylen Yearwood with the 14th. The Lions wrapped up their first-round selections by taking midfielder Issah Haruna out of UNC-Greensboro with the 20th pick. They then traded away their only pick in the second round to St. Louis City for $50,000 in 2026 General Allocation Money. Orlando’s final pick of the day came in the third round, with the Lions drafting Notre Dame center back Mitch Ferguson. All in all, this draft class addresses some of the depth lost so far this off-season, particularly when it comes to the defense.

Orlando Pride Soccer Schools Improving Girls’ Soccer

The Purple Pathway Classic, a youth tournament held at Osceola Heritage Park earlier this month, featured three Orlando Pride Soccer School teams, capping off a successful inaugural season for the program. The Orlando Pride Soccer Schools were launched in August, uniting young athletes across 11 communities in Central Florida by giving them professional development inspired by the Orlando Pride’s methodology. The program focuses on educating the coaches involved as well, providing them with resources and guidance centered around the Pride’s training standards. It all builds a strong foundation to elevate player development for girls’ soccer moving forward.

NWSLPA Opposes New Roster Rule Proposal

The NWSL proposed a roster mechanism that would allow clubs to pay select players over the salary cap, but the NWSL Players Association has expressed concerns about the proposal. NWSL Players Association Executive Director Meghann Burke provided the NWSLPA’s thoughts on the matter.

“The league is trying to control and interfere by trying to dictate which players get paid what with this pot of funds,” Burke said. “Our position is that teams — GMs, soccer ops, business folks at the team level — are uniquely positioned to make judgment calls about how to structure their rosters, how to negotiate deals.

“We genuinely believe that how you measure a player’s value, both in terms of sporting merit and business criteria, is nuanced. It is more complicated than a handful of bullet points. It is within the purview of the teams to make those judgement calls, and in a system of free agency like we all agreed to, that’s how it works. It’s a free market.”

The NWSLPA has proposed that the league raise the salary cap by $1 million, which is the amount the current proposal would allow teams to go over the salary cap to pay “High Impact Players.” It’s an interesting saga to keep an eye on as the league aims to retain talented players like Trinity Rodman so that they don’t leave for Europe.

Nikola Markovic Taken First in 2026 MLS SuperDraft

As for how the rest of this year’s draft shook out, D.C. United was the first team on the clock and selected NC State center back Nikola Markovic. The Canadian helped NC State reach the College Cup final and should help bolster a D.C. defense that conceded 66 goals last season.

FC Dallas was wheeling and dealing for most of the draft and took two Generation Adidas Players with the second and third overall picks, selecting forwards Ricky Louis and Nicholas Simmonds. Sporting Kansas City drafted the final Generation Adidas player available by taking midfielder Kwaku Agyabeng with the fourth overall pick.

Free Kicks

• We wish nothing but the best in retirement for Orlando City B goalkeeping coach Marcos Machado, who has been with the club since its inaugural USL Pro season in 2011.

• Austin FC traded away $1.25 million in GAM and a first-round pick in this year’s draft to the Vancouver Whitecaps in exchange for winger Jayden Nelson.
• Discussions are rumored to be taking place between Wilfried Nancy and Celtic for his time as head coach to come to an end just two weeks in. It’s a bit ridiculous in my opinion, and Thierry Henry is backing up his former assistant coach as well.

• The draw for the UEFA Women’s Champions League’s knockout stage was completed and we may get some fun matchups as the bracket progresses. Former Pride head coach Marc Skinner and Manchester United will face Atletico Madrid in the first round, with the winner taking on Bayern Munich in the quarterfinals.
• Rasmus Hojlund scored a goal and helped set up another as Napoli beat AC Milan 2-0 to reach the Italian Super Cup final.

That’s all I have for you all this time around. I hope you all have a fantastic Friday and rest of your weekend!