Pittsburgh, Pa. – Junior forward
Jayden Da of the Duquesne University men's soccer team became the first student-athlete in program history to be selected in the first round of the Major League Soccer (MLS) Superdraft, presented by Adidas, Tuesday, as he was selected with the No. 29 pick by the Columbus Crew.
"We're very happy for Jayden and his family," Duquesne head coach
Chase Brooks said. "The Columbus Crew are a great organization and defending MLS champions. The trust and confidence they showed in Jayden by picking him in the first round is amazing, and we're excited to see what the future holds for him."
Da, a native of Rockville, Md., played in 16 games for the Dukes in 2023, earning 13 starting assignments. He finished second on the team in shots (35), shots on goal (19), goals (7) and points (17) and was named to both the
2023 All-Atlantic 10 Second Team as well as the
2023 United Soccer Coaches All-Southeast Region Third Team.
RELATED: MLS 2024 Superdraft Presented by Adidas Draft Tracker
In each of the first six games of the 2023 campaign Da registered a point, finishing with five goals and a pair of assists during that span. He notched both goals in a 2-1 win at Niagara (9/9) as part of a breakout season offensively and also registered three game-winning goals during the year.
In three seasons at Duquesne, Da has appeared in 46 games. He has scored 20 career points thanks to eight goals and four assists while accumulating 48 shots, half of which have been on goal. Da has also been successful on his only career attempt with a penalty kick, scoring at Davidson (10/4) earlier this year.
Led by Brooks, who finished his 11th season on the sideline for the Dukes in 2023, Duquesne posted an overall mark of 8-7-3 (.528), including a 4-2-2 (.625) ledger in the A-10.
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