The 2025 MLS SuperDraft claimed two Virginia men’s soccer players Friday — junior defender Nick Dang and sophomore forward AJ Smith. Real Salt Lake snatched Dang with the 49th overall pick, the 19th of the second round, and New York City FC scooped up Smith with the 78th overall pick, the 18th of the third round.
The loss of two electrifying underclassmen, though not totally unexpected, somewhat wounded Virginia’s outlook heading into next season.
Dang, a talismanic defender and Lipscomb transfer, seemed increasingly likely to leave as, game by game, he imprinted himself on the season. Smith, though, despite his obvious talent, played only eight games this season while grappling with injury. It seemed like that might allow Virginia to squeeze another year out of him.
In the end, though, the pair became the 35th and 36th Virginia players picked since the SuperDraft’s birth in 2000. They also extended a streak to three years of Virginia having at least one player drafted.
Dang slipped further down in the draft than many seemed to anticipate. A blog on the MLS’s website listed him as the second-best available right center back, and the players listed first, third and fourth on the list all got drafted in the first round.
His draft stock dropped late in the season, as an early scoring burst ended. Dang led all defenders in Division I with six goals by Oct. 19, but he never added a seventh over the final seven games. His defensive presence, though, as the back line’s sliding and roaring backbone, never faded.
Smith’s spot in the draft order, meanwhile, lined up with expectations. The 6-foot-4 junior college transfer looked frighteningly good on the field, a composed finisher whose large frame always seemed to rove into the right spot.
His one-on-one finish to seal an upset of No. 1 seed Pittsburgh in the ACC Tournament quarterfinals, as well as his goal-and-assist performance in the NCAA Tournament second round, likely vaulted him into the draft. But the small sample size, only 351 minutes across eight games, made him a risk for teams.
Smith and Dang each spent just one year in Charlottesville. That was more than enough time to endear themselves to the local crowd, one that will be sad to see them go, for their promising future and for the place they carved into fans’ hearts.
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