The Tyger that’s headed to Charlotte FC’s tank

WEST COAST CONFERENCE

Charlotte FC swung a trade with Colorado Rapids to move into the first round of the 2023 MLS SuperDraft to select Loyola Marymount forward Tyger Smalls with the 14th pick.

The day after introducing new head coach Dean Smith, Charlotte FC have added four new players who will compete to impress the gaffer.

If they can bring the talent and determination demonstrated by their MLS SuperDraft predecessors, Smith will have something to work with.

Without a 2023 first-round pick after trading it last year to get Patrick Agyemang at No. 12 overall, Charlotte moved to buy one back by acquiring the 14th pick from the Colorado Rapids for $75,000 General Allocation Money in 2024 and $50,000 GAM in 2025. The pick – Tyger Smalls, a 6-foot-1 junior forward from Loyola Marymount and London native – scored seven goals while starting 14 of 20 matches for the Lions. Smalls previously played at Tyler Junior College, where he scored seven goals with seven assists in 2021 while starting 12 of 19 games.

Smalls also has experience in the Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal youth systems. A 2020 Twitter post by Smalls noted a “Good 5 days training with Arsenal U23s. Great experience with the 1st team as well!”
A 2020 article in The Standard, a UK newspaper, reported: “Former Tottenham youngster Tyger Smalls has revealed he had a trial with Arsenal earlier this month. Smalls, who is a 17-year-old attacker, has been playing non-league football after leaving the academy system.

“The forward impressed during the early stages of his youth career and, after leaving Norwich City, he played for Tottenham’s Under-10s and Under-11s sides. Smalls is said to have scored just under 200 goals during those two seasons at Spurs, but he left the academy after that.”

According to a March 2020 article in the U.S. Sun, Smalls impressed David Beckham with his free-kick quality. his grandfather Harry Parr played alongside Sir Stanley Matthews, a legendary British player considered one of the all-time greats.

A description on a Facebook page with his name says he is a “Dual footed Footballer/Striker with exceptional acceleration and speed.”

That would position him as a potential replacement for the pace of McKinze Gaines who was recently traded to Nashville.

Loyola Marymount, which plays in the West Coast Conference, advanced to the quarterfinals of the 2023 NCAA College Cup tournament, where they lost to West Virginia 3-1. Smalls had four shots in that game, three on goal.

A Deacon, a Pilot, and another Tiger

Charlotte FC drafted Jahlane Forbes (Wake Forest) and Jacob Babalai (Portland) in the second round with the 38th and 41st overall picks respectively and finished the draft by selecting Nathan Richmond from national champion Clemson in the third round.

Forbes, a 21-year-old 6-foot senior defender from Brooklyn, N.Y., earned second team All-ACC in 2023 and third team in 2022. He was also named to the United Soccer Coaches All-South Region second team. Forbes appeared in all 19 matches with 18 starts this past season, recording 17 points off of five goals and seven assists. He had a call-up to the U.S. U-17 National Team for international friendlies in Costa Rica in 2018.

Babalai, a 6-3 senior forward, started all 17 games for the Pilots, scoring 12 goals with four assists in 2023. The Portland native was a teammate of the Crown’s Brandon Cambridge for three seasons (2020-22).

Richmond, a 5-7 sophomore midfielder from Atlanta, became the second member of his family to win a national championship at Clemson just as his father did in 1987. He’s also the second draft pick to come to Charlotte FC with an NCAA College Cup win, sharing that honor with goalkeeper George Marks, who was selected in the 2022 SuperDraft. Richmond started 15 of 18 games with five goals and five assists.

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