Minnesota United protects 12 players ahead of MLS expansion draft

By KSTP

Minnesota United has announced the 12 names they plan to protect during the upcoming MLS expansion draft.

The expansion draft is being conducted for San Diego FC, the newest team in the MLS, which plans to enter play in 2025. The draft is being done to help San Diego fill out their roster.

The 12 players that have been selected for protection include:

Michael Boxall
Jefferson Diaz
Hassani Dotson
Carlos Harvey
Bongokuhle Hiongwane
Sang Bin Jeong
Robin Lod
Tani Oluwaseyi
Joaquin Pereyra
Joseph Rosales
Dayne St. Clair
Kelvin Yeboah

Other players on the roster are also protected from the draft so long as they are homegrown players who are 25 or younger, meaning Devin Padelford and Patrick Weah are protected. Generation Adidas players who did not graduate at the end of the 2024 season are also protected.

Should a player from Minnesota United be selected by San Diego, the team will receive $50,000 in general allocation money for the selected and will be removed from the remainder of the expansion draft.

This prevents a team from having more than one player taken during the event.

The expansion draft will start at 9:30 p.m. Wednesday — San Diego will be able to select up to 5 players.