Two Southwest Florida soccer players and former teammates were drafted within minutes of each other in the MLS SuperDraft on Dec. 18.
FC Dallas traded up to the No. 2 pick to select Fort Myers graduate Ricky Louis, an All-American forward at Georgia Southern. With the No. 5 pick, Orlando City SC chose Naples graduate Harvey Sarajian, an attacking midfielder at Wake Forest.
Louis experienced it all unfold during a viewing party at Fort Myers High School.
“It’s just shocking honestly,” Louis said. “I’m surprised. I didn’t think I was going to picked that high. I’m glad everyone was here with me. All the hard work that I did from when I was a little kid to now, it’s just finally coming true, so I’m just ready to put in the work and ready to show my name.”
Louis celebrated with friends and family, including his parents Carmelle and Marc Louis, in the Fort Myers auditorium.
“They went through my journeys, my ups and downs,” Louis said. “They’ve been there since day one, so I’m happy they saw that first moment, especially my mom and my dad. It’s really great. They worked so hard. They made so many sacrifices for me to be in this situation, so I’m just excited.”
Louis answered a call from the FC Dallas front office after his name was called, and the room erupted in cheers when he got off the phone. Dallas traded Atlanta United the No. 12 pick and $400,000 in General Allocation Money to select Louis.
“I’ve never been to Texas before, so it’s going to be something new to experience,” Louis said. “I’m thankful, and I’m just telling them I’m ready to work and I’m ready to show them who I am.”
Sarjian felt “in disbelief” when he got the news. With his selection to Orlando City SC, Sarajian was taken by the team he grew up watching.
“It’s a dream honestly,” he said. “First MLS game I ever went to was an Orlando City game, so a full-circle moment for all the hard work year, I’ve put in over these past 18 years of me playing the game. Being able to stay in Florida, maybe potentially become a hometown here one day, I’m so excited for it.”
Louis and Sarajian were club teammates and played together for a season at Georgia Southern. Sarajian was the Sun Belt Freshman of the Year in 2024 after producing four goals and six assists in his debut season before transferring to Wake Forest.
“I’ve always had the dream to play professionally, but I think when I was starting to be like, ‘OK this could happen at any time was after my freshman year,'” Sarajian said. ” I had a really good freshman year, and I knew it was just a matter of time until I was ready for the next level.”
In 2025, Louis became the first-ever All-American in Georgia Southern men’s soccer history with third-team honors after tallying nine goals, including four game-winners, and three assists.
“Me and (Sarajian) carried our journey together from club to college to now probably playing against him,” Louis said. “I’m just happy for him. He works so hard. Coming to the same college and then going to Wake, I’m just so proud of him.”
Sarajian said he and Louis have been playing video games together since middle school.
“It’s an unreal, full-circle moment,” he said. “Yeah, that’s my dog.”
Louis and Sarajian both led their high school teams on runs to state finals in 2023.
“In high school, Ricky was a man amongst boys,” Fort Myers head coach Chris Reid said. “He was our go-to player. We had a great team, but he was our go-to player on that team.”
Naples head coach Bob Prange wasn’t surprised to see Sarajian taken in the top five.
“I had spoken with him on Sunday when he got back from the combine, and he had a very good showing there,” Prange said. “Apparently, a lot of teams were interested. It was just a matter of where he was going to go.”
Prange described Sarajian’s work ethic and dedication as “next level,” recalling how he played the state championship game with a pulled hamstring.
“As a coach, he made my job easier because he was such a good leader,” Prange said.
Prior to the draft, Louis was one of four collegiate players named to the 2025 Generation Adidas class. The joint effort between Adidas and the MLS helps bridge the gap to professional soccer for young talent by signing prospects to guaranteed deals.
“I’m just proud that I finally can have my parents rest and relax,” Louis said.
Carmelle and Marc Louis identified their son’s propensity for the sport early on.
“Any kind of ball, I put it on the floor, he never stopped playing with that soccer ball,” Marc Louis said.
Reid remembered telling Louis’ father when watching Louis as a 7- or 8-year-old that he had something special. Reid and Marc Louis were former men’s league teammates.
“I feel like a proud father right now,” Reid said. “He’s a special kid, and I couldn’t ask for something better than this for him.”
Louis and Sarajian are the first Southwest Florida players selected to the MLS SuperDraft since Cape Coral graduate Jonathan Jimenez was taken 26th overall by the Chicago Fire in 2020.
The pair going in the top five speaks volumes about the boys soccer prowess in the area.
“I think it shows the growth in soccer in Southwest Florida, and, as coaches, we’ve been trying to make that statement for the last several years,” Prange said. “Just watching soccer and the amount of teams we’re getting to states with Barron Collier winning a title last year, we got a lot of strong soccer in this area.”
Louis and Sarajian are prepared to prove Southwest Florida is here to stay in the pros.
“Just ready to put the name to the city and put the city on the map,” Louis said.
“It’s a great feeling know that I can be a role model now and people know from this area that it can be done, even from a small place like Naples where there’s not much athletic exposure really,” Sarajian said. “So it’s definitely a good feeling to know that everybody knows it can be done now.”
This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: SWFL’s Ricky Louis, Harvey Sarajian drafted top five in MLS SuperDraft
Reporting by Dustin B Levy, Fort Myers News-Press & Naples Daily News / Fort Myers News-Press
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
