Jan. 17, 2008

Greenville, S.C. - Furman seniors Jon Leathers and Shea Salinas hope to learn where they will begin their professional soccer careers when Major League Soccer holds its annual MLS SuperDraft Friday at 2 p.m. in Baltimore, Md. The first round of the four-round event will be televised live on ESPN2.

The pair of Paladin All-Americans drew rave reviews this past weekend at the MLS Combine in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Leathers, who played center back during most of his Furman career, excelled at right back and scored a goal as he and Salinas led their team to a 3-0 record at the event. The two-time Southern Conference Player-of-the-Year and first team College Soccer News All-America selection was tabbed as a likely first round pick in mock drafts conducted by writers from both MLSnet.com and ESPN Soccernet. Leathers drew praise for his versatility, speed and his ability to read the game well from a new position.

Salinas, a midfielder from Grapevine, Texas, was tabbed by ESPN.com writer Jen Chang as the player who most improved his draft stock entering Friday's selection process in Baltimore. Salinas, who played all three matches in Fort Lauderdale with a broken bone in his face was cited for his tremendous speed and willingness to take on defenders one-on-one. In ESPN.com's list of the top five players who had improved their draft status at the combine, Salinas was listed No. 1 and Jon Leathers was listed fourth.

ESPN's mock draft predicted Leathers to be taken with the No. 14 pick by Real Salt Lake while MLSnet.com projected the Colorado Rapids to select Leathers with the fifth pick. Salinas was tabbed as a second round selection.

Leathers and Salinas helped guide Furman to a 19-4-0 overall record and No. 20 national ranking this past season. The Paladins captured the SoCon regular season and tournament crowns while earning the school's first NCAA Tournament bid since 2002. Furman topped Campbell 2-0 in the opening round of the tournament before falling at eventual national champion Wake Forest in round two.

Leathers was named All-SoCon for the fourth straight season and was a unanimous All-American selection while Salinas garnered both NSCAA/adidas All-America and Academic All-America honors.

Five different Paladins have been selected in the MLS SuperDraft since 2000. Daniel Alvarez was taken in the fourth round by the New York/New Jersey MetroStars and Seth Marks was chosen in the fifth round by Dallas in the 2000 draft. The Rapids selected Alvarez in the third round and all-american Jon Barry Nusum (Columbus Crew) was also tabbed in the third round of the 2002 draft. Midfielder Ricardo Clark, who plays for the two-time defending MLS champion Houston Dynamo, became Furman's highest ever pick when he was taken second overall by the MetroStars in 2003. The following January the New England Revolution picked midfielder Clint Dempsey in the first round with the eighth overall pick.

Dempsey and Clark have both gone on to earn spots on the MLS All-Star team and the U.S. National Team. Dempsey, the 2004 MLS Rookie-of-the-Year, moved to English Premier League side Fulham FC for an MLS record transfer fee last winter.