NC State’s Nikola Markovic selected No. 1 in MLS draft by DC United

North Carolina State University defender Nikola Markovic was the first pick by D.C. United in the 2026 MLS SuperDraft on Thursday, Dec. 18.

This is the third time that D.C. United has made the No. 1 overall pick in the MLS SuperDraft. The previous No. 1 picks were Freddy Adu in 2004 and Alecko Eskandarian in 2003. D.C. United went on to win MLS Cup in 2004, the last league title for D.C.

Markovic – the first No. 1 overall MLS draft pick from N.C. State – helped the Wolfpack reach its second-ever College Cup, where N.C. State was defeated by Washington, 3-2, on an overtime golden goal in the championship game. Markovic earned first-team All-America honors in 2025, becoming NC State’s first first-team selection since 1992.

After D.C. United’s selection of Markovic, FC Dallas used the next two picks on Georgia Southern forward Ricky Louis and Virginia forward Nicholas Simmonds. Clemson midfielder Kwaku Agyabeng went No. 4 overall to Sporting Kansas City, while Orlando City made Wake Forest forward Harvey Sarajian the No. 5 selection.

There were three rounds and 90 total selections in the 2026 MLS SuperDraft. Here is a recap of all of the selections:

2026 MLS SuperDraft first-round picks

1. D.C. United — Nikola Markovic, defender, NC State
2. FC Dallas (from Atlanta United) — Ricky Louis, forward, Georgia Southern
3. FC Dallas (from CF Montreal) — Nicholas Simmonds, forward, Virginia
4. Sporting Kansas City — Kwaku Agyabeng, midfielder, Clemson
5. Orlando City (from LA Galaxy) — Harvey Sarajian, forward, Wake Forest
6. Colorado Rapids (from Toronto FC) — Mamadou Billo Diop, forward, Colorado Rapids 2
7. St. Louis City SC — Zack Lillington, defender, UC Davis
8. D.C. United (from New England Revolution) —Richie Aman, forward, Washington
9. Orlando City (from Houston Dynamo) — Nolan Miller, defender, Michigan
10. Colorado Rapids — Mitchell Baker, forward, Georgetown
11. Houston Dynamo (from San Jose Earthquakes) — Joe Highfield, forward, Portland
12. Atlanta United (from Red Bull New York through FC Dallas) — Enzo Dovlo, defender, UNC Greensboro
13. Real Salt Lake — Lukas Magnason, defender, Clemson
14. Orlando City — Jaylen Yearwood, defender, North Florida
15. Portland Timbers — Justin McLean, forward, NC State
16. FC Dallas — Niklas Herceg, goalkeeper, Vermont
17. Vancouver Whitecaps FC (from Austin FC) — Zach Ramsey, midfielder, Washington
18. Chicago Fire FC — Jack Sandmeyer, midfielder, North Carolina
19. Sporting Kansas City (from Columbus Crew through Colorado Rapids) — Nikos Clarke-Tosczak, defender, Portland
20. Orlando City (from Nashville SC) — Issah Haruna, midfielder, UNC Greensboro
21. Red Bull New York (from Seattle Sounders through FC Dallas) — Tomas Hut, goalkeeper, Syracuse
22. Charlotte FC — Will Cleary, defender, Stanford
23. Minnesota United FC — Jaylinn Mitchell, forward, SMU
24. Los Angeles FC — Giuliano Fravolini Whitchurch, defender, Princeton
25. Real Salt Lake (from FC Cincinnati) — Dylan Kropp, defender, North Carolina
26. Colorado Rapids (from Philadelphia Union) — Wahabu Musah, forward, Clemson
27. New York City FC — Ransford Gyan, forward, Clemson
28. San Diego FC — Martin Luala, M, Grand Canyon
29. Vancouver Whitecaps FC — Daniel Lugo, forward, High Point
30. Inter Miami CF — Abdel Talabi, defender, Bryant

2026 MLS SuperDraft second-round picks

1. D.C. United — Isaac Emojong, midfielder, Utah Valley
2. Inter Miami CF (from Atlanta United) — Kenan Hot, midfielder, Duke
3. Real Salt Lake (from CF Montreal) — Tre Wright, defender, UCLA
4. Sporting Kansas City — Sadam Masereka, forward, Maryland
5. LA Galaxy — Palmer Bank, defender, Stanford
6. Toronto FC — Jackson Gilman, defender, Pittsburgh
7. St. Louis City SC — Andrew Samuels, goalkeeper, Princeton
8. New England Revolution — Schinieder Mimy, defender, UCLA
9. Houston Dynamo FC — Calem Tommy, defender, NC State
10. FC Dallas (from Colorado Rapids) — Edouard Nys, midfielder, Illinois Chicago
11. San Jose Earthquakes — Jack Jasinski, defender, Princeton
12. Real Salt Lake (from Red Bull New York) — Jefferson Amaya, midfielder, High Point
13. St. Louis City SC (from Real Salt Lake through Orlando City) — Cooper Forcelini, midfielder, Xavier
14. FC Dallas (from Orlando City through Sporting Kansas City and Colorado Rapids) — Umberto Pela, midfielder, Virginia
15. Portland Timbers — Colin Griffith, forward, Maryland
16. CF Montréal (from FC Dallas) — Aidan Godinho, midfielder, Georgetown
17. Austin FC — Stefan Dobrijevic, forward, Akron
18. Real Salt Lake (from Chicago Fire) — Niklas Soerensen, defender, Pittsburgh
19. Columbus Crew — Tarun Karumanchi, midfielder, UCLA
20. Nashville SC — Max Miller, defender, Kentucky
21. Seattle Sounders FC — Joe Dale, midfielder, Washington
22. Charlotte FC — Luke Adams, defender, Tulsa
23. Minnesota United FC — Bardia Hormozi, forward, Princeton
24. Inter Miami CF (from Los Angeles FC) — Mamadi Jiana, forward, Bryant
25. FC Cincinnati — Ayoub Lajhar, defender, UConn
26. Colorado Rapids (from Philadelphia Union) — Asher Hestad, defender, Washington
27. New York City FC — Kevin Pierre, midfielder, Georgia Southern
28. San Diego FC — Remi Agunbiade, forward, Akron
29. Vancouver Whitecaps FC — Yeider Zuluaga, forward, Seattle
30. Inter Miami CF — Alex Barger, defender, Indiana

2026 MLS SuperDraft third-round picks

1. D.C. United — Stephane Njike, forward, Maryland
2. Atlanta United — Noah James, midfielder, San Diego
3. CF Montréal — Tate Lorentz, midfielder, Wake Forest
4. Sporting Kansas City — Blake D’Agostino, forward, California Baptist
5. LA Galaxy — Sebastian Conlon, goalkeeper, Kentucky
6. FC Dallas (from MTL, from Toronto FC) — Olayinka Ogunleye, defender, Louisville
7. Minnesota United FC (from St. Louis City SC) — Aiden Bengard, defender, Cal State-Fullerton
8. New England Revolution — Kyle McGowan, forward, Denver
9. Houston Dynamo FC — Agustin Resch, defender, Seton Hall
10. Colorado Rapids — Koven Johnson, midfielder, High Point
11. New York City FC (from San Jose Earthquakes) — Joey Mueller, midfielder, UCF
12. LA Galaxy (from Red Bull New York) — Jaime Amaro, midfielder, Bryant
13. Real Salt Lake — Brayden Beason, forward, San Diego
14. Orlando City — Mitch Ferguson, defender, Notre Dame
15. Portland Timbers — Lucas Fernandez Kim, midfielder, Oregon State
16. San Diego FC (from FC Dallas) — Kyle Durham, goalkeeper, UConn
17. Austin FC — Patrick Cayelli, midfielder, Pennsylvania
18. Houston Dynamo FC (from Chicago Fire) — Austin Brummett, forward, UConn
19. Columbus Crew — Isaac Heffess, defender, NC State
20. Nashville SC — Charles-Emile Brunet, midfielder, SMU
21. Seattle Sounders FC — Stockton Short, goalkeeper, Utah Tech
22. Charlotte FC — Jahiem Wickham, goalkeeper, South Florida
23. Minnesota United FC — Michal Mroz, goalkeeper, Evansville
24. Los Angeles FC — Iain Wagner, midfielder, San Diego
25. D.C. United (from FC Cincinnati) — Lasse Kelp, defender, Maryland
26. Colorado Rapids (from Philadelphia Union) — Jabari De Coteau, defender, Xavier
27. New York City FC — Luca Nikolai, defender, North Carolina
28. Houston Dynamo FC (from San Diego FC) — Gilberto Rivera, midfielder, San Jose State
29. Vancouver Whitecaps FC — Connor Lofy, midfielder, Washington
30. Inter Miami CF — Maximilian Kissel, forward, Vermont

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