Jan. 18, 2008

Greenville, S.C. - Furman midfielder Shea Salinas was selected by San Jose with the 15th overall pick and defender Jon Leathers was taken by the Kansas City Wizards with the 25th overall selection in the second round of Friday afternoon's Major League Soccer SuperDraft in Baltimore, Md.

The pair of Paladin all-americans drew rave reviews this past weekend at the MLS Combine in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. 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. The San Jose Earthquakes are an expansion franchise who will join MLS this season after the city's original franchise moved to Houston, Texas, several years ago.

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 joins a Kansas City framchise that finished 11-12-7 and grabbed the final playoff spot from the Eastern Conference this past season. He was invited by coach Peter Nowak to join the United States Under-23 National Team in December and earned his first playing time for his country in a friendly in China last month.

"This is a big honor for both of these players, as well as, Furman University and its soccer program," said Paladin head coach Doug Allison. "Shea and Johnny are excellent representatives of Furman and we are excited for them to begin the professional careers in MLS."

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.

Seven 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.