MLS Draft 2018: Toronto FC select goalkeeper Drew Shepherd 46th overall

With their second pick of the day, Toronto FC selected goalkeeper Drew Shepherd out of Western Michigan University, 46th overall. He’s the second player to join the club’s ranks from this draft, after they traded down and took defender Tim Kubel 28th overall.

Shepherd is the latest of many keepers taken today, picked after the likes of Eric Dick and Jeff Caldwell. He was a second-team All-American in 2017 after winning 16 of 21 games for the Broncos. He allowed just 15 goals all season, stopping 72.7% of shots against him.

It sounds like Shepherd’s stock may have slipped a little bit after he suffered a very scary head injury earlier in the 2017 season. Nonetheless, he managed to return to the team and bounced back to make the last year his most successful yet.

He’ll likely join Toronto FC II, adding him to a group of goalkeepers including Angelo Cavalluzzo, Brogan Engbers, and Gianluca Catalano. Mark Pais also made 11 appearances for TFC II in 2017, but Toronto didn’t pick up the option on his MLS contract this winter, so his future with the club is uncertain.

The Reds now come away from the draft table today with a decent group of assets in tow. Not only do they now have Kubel and Shepherd to bolster Toronto FC II this season, they also have an extra $50,000 in targeted allocation money to use on a new signing for the first team.