WILLIMANTIC, Conn. – Former Eastern Connecticut State University men's soccer All-America forward Patrick Agyemang (East Hartford) was drafted in the first round of the Major League Soccer (MLS) SuperDraft by Charlotte FC Wednesday evening.
 
Agyemang, 22, was the 12^th player taken overall. In the MLS Mock Draft, Agyemang was predicted to be taken as the 12^th pick by Colorado as the third-rated forward. Agyemang would have been selected by Colorado but Charlotte traded up with the Rapids to draft Agyemang. A first-year expansion team last year, Charlotte had also traded up with St. Louis City SC – a first-year expansion team in 2023 - to draft defender Hamady Diop of Clemson as the overall No. 1 pick of the draft.
 
A total of 88 players were expected to be taken in the MLS SuperDraft, which consisted of three rounds. More than 360 players were eligible to be drafted.
 
Agyemang was born in the U.S. but his parents grew up in the Republic of Ghana in West Africa. He becomes the second individual with ties to Eastern involved in MLS, following Eastern Alumni Hall of Fame goalkeeper Greg Andrulis. A long-time goalkeeper coach with Columbus and later the head coach of the Crew, Andrulis led the franchise to the U.S. Open Cup in 2002 and two years later to the Supporters Shield for accumulating the most points in the regular season.
 
In its first season last year as MLS's 28^th franchise, Charlotte attracted an average of over 35,000 fans at Bank of America Park, which it shares with the NFL's Carolina Panthers. The team missed the MLS playoffs last year, finishing ninth with a record of 13-18-3. Charlotte opens its 2023 season Feb. 25 against the New England Revolution at home.
 
A  USC Division III All-America as a sophomore at Eastern in 2019, Agyemang closed out his collegiate career at the University of Rhode Island, where he was a two-time first-team All-Atlantic 10 selection in his three-year career between 2020 and 2022.
 
In 37 career matches at Rhode Island, Agyemang had 19 goals and 12 assists, for 50 total points. Including his two years at Eastern – where he had 30 goals and ten assists in for 70 points in 39 matches – Agyemang totalled 49 goals and 22 assists for 120 points in 76 career matches. He led Eastern and URI in scoring every season.
 
Agyemang earned consideration as one of MLS's top draft picks Wednesday after an impressive showing at the adidas MLS College Showcase earlier this month at Raleigh, NC, where he was one of 44 players invited nationwide for a series of training sessions, testing, interviews, and match play.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     

In 2019, Agyemang was selected as the third All-America in the history of the Eastern men's soccer program by being named to the USC Division III third team after scoring 21 goals with seven assists for 49 points. In addition to being named LEC Offensive Player-of-the-Year, Agyemang repeated as a first-team All-LEC pick and was a first-team USC All-New England Region pick.
 
The six-foot-four inch, 180 pound Agyemang was ranked seventh nationally in goals and points. His goal total was the fifth-highest in a season in program history and his point total equalled the sixth-highest in program history.  In just a two-year Eastern career, he ranks ninth all-time in goals and tied for ninth in points. Ten of his goals proved to be game-winners.
 
With Agyemang, Eastern was 32-7-0 overall and 14-2-0 in the Little East, winning the LEC regular-season title both seasons and advancing to the conference championship game in 2019. In 2019, Patrick was joined at Eastern by brother Emmanuel, a Springfield College transfer who was named LEC Defensive Player-of-the-Year that season.