Kyle Hall sat in his strategic management class in the basement of the Martin J. Whitman School of Management trying to pay attention to the lecture, but he couldn’t focus. There was something of far more importance going on in the senior’s life: the Major League Soccer SuperDraft.

The Syracuse men’s soccer forward knew he could be drafted at any moment as he sat in the class. He played out the different scenarios in his head. To make things worse, he had no cell phone reception in his class.

When the class ended, he had text messages waiting from his girlfriend and SU men’s soccer assistant coach Jaro Zawislan. He had been drafted by Toronto FC in the third round of the draft.

Hall was selected by the Canadian club as the 39th overall pick during Thursday’s draft and became the fifth player ever selected from Syracuse under head coach Dean Foti.

‘I definitely have always wanted to play professional soccer,’ Hall said when reached on his cell phone. ‘I started playing when I was younger at four, so it’s always been a dream to keep playing and playing at the highest level and this is an opportunity to accomplish that.’

Hall is Syracuse’s first selection since Richard Asante was drafted by the same squad in 2007. He also is the second-highest pick in Syracuse history behind Asante.

After a senior season in which he scored four goals and added five assists, Hall put himself in position to be selected. For his career, Hall finished with 13 goals and 36 points at SU.

The process to be drafted involves a combination of factors, Hall and Syracuse head coach Dean Foti said. Coaches put players’ names into a pool to be drafted. These coaches include the player’s current coach, opposing coaches and MLS coaches. Hall described it as an ‘in the dark’ process, where players do well their senior year and then just hope for the best.

Foti said Hall, a Toronto native, had a built-in advantage for the Canadian teams in that he doesn’t count as a foreign player because teams can only have a certain amount. So for Toronto, Hall would just be counted as a domestic player.

As the draft approached, Hall thought his chances continued to improve.

‘I was going to a lot more tryouts New England, Vancouver, and that was over the Christmas break,’ Hall said. ‘So after all these tryouts and I had something coming up with New York, I realized I had a good chance of eventually being picked in the draft.’When Thursday rolled around, Hall had a hard time sitting through his classes, but the good news certainly made up for that. He said he will head to Toronto on Feb. 2 and leave for Florida for preseason training on Feb. 6.

He will have to compete for a roster spot with other invitees such as Connecticut’s O’Brian White.

‘It’s a great thing, and Kyle deserves this,’ SU midfielder Tom Perevegyencev said. ‘He’s been one of our best players for the past three years, he’s been here and this is also a great opportunity for our university, our soccer team and everyone overall to put this university on the map for soccer.’

Hall said he doesn’t believe he would have been selected had he not transferred to Syracuse from the University of Toronto for the last three years of his collegiate career. He will now end up back in Canada and said he’s excited for the opportunity to play in front of his friends and family.

But first he has to make the team – and Hall’s ready for the opportunity.

‘I got to go back to work and start training and getting myself in shape because I have to make this team,’ Hall said. ‘There’s going to be some good competition. So that’s kind of an added motivation that you’re that much closer to your dream, but now things are going to get more serious.’

mrehalt@syr.edu

Published on January 19, 2009 at 12:00 pm