Hamady Diop, we hardly knew ya with Charlotte FC

CHARLOTTE FC

Hamady Diop, the top pick in the 2023 MLS SuperDraft by Charlotte FC, was taken by San Diego FC in the expansion draft.

After waiting to break into a solid Charlotte FC defensive corps, Hamady Diop is moving on.

Diop, the top overall pick in the 2023 MLS College SuperDraft, was picked first once again, this time by San Diego FC in the MLS Expansion Draft. They will be MLS’s 30th team.

Charlotte will receive $50,000 General Allocation Money for its loss.

Diop, who was born in Dakar Senegal, played three seasons at Clemson, where he helped the Tigers win the 2021 NCAA Division I men's soccer championship with Charlotte FC goalkeeper George Marks. With just three appearances for the first team and 11 for Crown Legacy in MLS Next Pro, Diop was playing on loan at Fudbalski Klub Cukaricki in Belgrade, Serbia in 2024.

Like San Diego, Charlotte made five expansion picks from existing clubs in 2021. They included: McKinze Gaines, Anton Walkes, Joseph Mora, Tristan Blackmon, and Ismael Tajouri-Shradi. None are with the team heading into the club’s fourth season.

Gaines played the most for the Crown with 43 appearances and two goals in 2022 and 2023 before his rights were traded to Nashville. He spent last season with Houston FC.
Walkes played 23 matches for Charlotte during the inaugural 2022 season and looked to be a leader in the defensive line before he was killed in a boating accident during pre-season training in Florida in January 2023.

Mora, a former Costa Rica national team member, played in 27 games in 2022 until his release last year. He was released by DC United prior to the expansion draft.
Blackmon and Tajouri-Shradi never made it to Charlotte. Blackmon, taken from LAFC, was immediately traded to Vancouver FC, where he remains. Tajouri-Shradi, taken from New York City FC, was shipped to LAFC, where he lasted less than a season before heading to the New England Revolution. He left for Cyprus last season but came back to MLS to finish the season with Minnesota United.

Existing MLS teams were allowed to protect 12 players from the draft. Charlotte’s were:

• Liel Abada

• Patrick Agyemang

• Brandt Bronico

• Nathan Byrne

• Djibril Diani

• Kristijan Kahlina

• Adilson Malanda

• Nikola Petkovic

• Andrew Privett

• Tim Ream

• Kerwin Vargas

• Ashley Westwood

Automatically protected were the team’s homegrown players, including:

• Nimfasha Berchimas

• Brandon Cambridge (rights acquired from Vancouver)

• Jack Neeley

• Brian Romero

Along with Diop, other players eligible for the draft included:

• Ben Bender

• Pep Biel

• David Bingham

• Jahlane Forbes

• George Marks

• Chituru Odunze

• Jamie Paterson

• João Pedro

• Nick Scardina

• Tyger Smalls

• Karol Swiderski

• Iuri Tavares

• Idan Toklomati

• Bill Tuiloma

• Jere Uronen

• Júnior Urso

There is no offseason for the front office as roster building events continue with the opening of Free Agency and the End-of-Year Waivers process on Dec. 12, and Stage 1 of the Re-Entry Process on Dec. 13. Stage 2 of the Re-Entry Process will take place on Dec. 19, and will be followed by MLS SuperDraft 2025 on Dec. 20.

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