Michigan Seniors Ragen, Harrison Picked in MLS SuperDraft
1/21/2021 6:44:00 PM | Men's Soccer
NEW YORK, N.Y. -- Seniors Jackson Ragen and Joel Harrison of the University of Michigan men's soccer team were selected in the second round of the 2021 MLS SuperDraft on Thursday (Jan. 21). Ragen went 33rd overall to the Chicago Fire, while Harrison went 53rd overall to the Vancouver Whitecaps.
Because the collegiate season was pushed to the spring, drafted players without agents will remain eligible for the 2021 college season.
Ragen (Seattle, Wash.) has played in 58 matches (52 starts) for Michigan, scoring five goals and tallying five assists. Standing at 6-foot-6, Ragen has started 42 matches over the last two seasons, anchoring a defense that is allowed only 36 goals and kept 19 clean sheets. His offensive output also has improved every year, going from two points (2017) to five (2018) to eight (2019). Ragen was named All-Big Ten (first team) and United Soccer Coaches All-North Region (second team) in 2019.
Harrison (Langley, British Columbia) has played in 28 matches (19 starts) for Michigan, scoring one goal. Since missing his entire freshman year and the first half of his sophomore year due to injury, Harrison has been a key contributor to U-M's stout defense. He served as one of three captains in 2019, logging 1,702 minutes between the center back and outside back positions. The draft was a homecoming of sorts for Harrison, who spent two years in the Whitecaps academy, including appearing in four matches for Whitecaps FC 2 in 2016.
Ragen and Harrison are the 16th and 17th draftees in program history. Since head coach Chaka Daley arrived in 2012, 10 men have heard their names called in the MLS SuperDraft, including six in the last three years alone.
Michigan Players Selected in the MLS SuperDraft (2000-20)
2021: Jackson Ragen, Chicago Fire (2nd round, 33rd overall); Joel Harrison, Vancouver Whitecaps (2nd round, 53rd overall)
2020: Jack Hallahan, LAFC (2-50); Andrew Verdi, D.C. United (3-65)
2019: Marcello Borges, Colorado Rapids (2-28); Robbie Mertz, Colorado Rapids (4-76)
2018: Francis Atuahene, FC Dallas (1-4)
2017: Lars Eckenrode, Toronto FC (4-83)
2014: Fabio Pereira, Seattle Sounders (4-77)
2013: Kofi Opare, LA Galaxy (2-24)
2011: Justin Meram, Columbus Crew (1-15)
2010: Mauro Fuzetti, Sporting KC (3-41)
2009: Peri Marosevic, FC Dallas (1-5); Michael Holody, Colorado Rapids (4-59)
2006: Peter Dzubay, New Jersey MetroStars (2-17)
2005: Knox Cameron, Columbus Crew (4-44)
2004: Kevin Taylor, Colorado Rapids (3-25)
