Los Angeles Football Club selected Seattle Sounders goalkeeper Tyler Miller with the first pick in the 2017 MLS Expansion Draft on Tuesday.
The Sounders originally drafted Miller, 24, with the No. 33 pick in the 2015 MLS SuperDraft out of Northwestern. He started three matches in two seasons in Seattle, including a massive shutout against the Houston Dynamo in the first leg of this year’s Western Conference Championship.
As Stefan Frei’s primary backup for the First Team, Miller made 22 starts for Sounders FC 2 this year. He finished the USL season with a 65 percent save percentage and three clean sheets.
Per MLS rules, LAFC was granted five picks in the Expansion Draft with each existing team to lose no more than one player from an unprotected list. Teams were allowed to protect 11 players with Homegrown Players and Generation adidas players exempt.
LAFC also selected Sporting Kansas City’s Latif Blessing, the San Jose Earthquakes’ Marco Ureña, Columbus Crew SC’s Jukka Raitala and Toronto FC’s Raheem Edwards.