Syracuse midfielder Mo Adams was announced as one of nine collegiate players in the 2018 Generation adidas class on Friday by mlssoccer.com, making the sophomore eligible for selection in the 2018 Major League Soccer SuperDraft on Jan. 19. He’s expected to be a first-round pick.

Generation adidas is a joint program between the MLS and Adidas that signs “top collegiate underclassmen, select youth national team players, and seniors.” Adams is one of three Atlantic Coast Conference players signed via Generation adidas, along with Wake Forest’s Ema Twumasi and Jon Bakero. With the signing of the Generation adidas contract, Adams is forgoing his final two seasons of collegiate eligibility.

Adams, a sophomore from Nottingham, England, was a team captain on an SU squad that went 6-8-4 and lost in the first round of the ACC tournament to Clemson in penalty kicks. A team captain in 2017, he started in all of the 35 games he appeared in. Adams didn’t record a point in his sophomore season, and tallied one goal in his SU career.

The sophomore was also named to the Missouri Athletic Club Hermann Trophy watchlist. The award is given annually to the nation’s top collegiate player.

Since Adams usually stationed himself in the back of the midfield in SU’s 3-5-2 formation, his production didn’t translate to the box score. He was still recognized as an accomplished midfielder. Adams earned All-ACC honors and was named to the second team two months ago, a step up from his freshman year in which he was a third-team selection. SU head coach Ian McIntyre called Adams an “emotional leader” this past season.

Adams spent the majority of his youth career in the academy system of Derby County, an English Championship, England’s second division, club team. After not earning a professional contract in 2015, Adams joined Blackburn Rovers, but an ankle injury ended his English run. He enrolled at Syracuse as a chance to extend his career. Now, he has the chance to join former Syracuse players Alex Bono, Julian Buescher and Miles Robinson, last year’s second-overall pick, in the MLS.

Published on January 5, 2018 at 3:16 pm

Contact Nick: nialvare@syr.edu | @nick_a_alvarez