ST. LOUIS — Tuesday was historic for the Saint Louis University men's soccer program. Four Billiken players were selected in the first round of the Major League Soccer SuperDraft.
Forward Isaiah Parker was the first Billiken off the board, selected by FC Dallas with the third overall pick.
Parker is the first Billiken to be selected in the first round since Tim Ward went No. 12 overall to the New York Red Bulls in 2005. Parker is a Gurnee, Illinois native and tallied three goals and seven assists in his freshman season at SLU.
SLU sophomore midfielder Kipp Keller was taken fifth overall by Austin FC.
In three seasons with the Billikens, the St. Louis native and Principia High School graduate played in 49 games, netting five goals and two assists while playing lock down defense. Keller was a second-team All-American and the Atlantic 10 Player of the Year in 2021.
Billiken sophomore goalkeeper Patrick Schulte was picked 12th overall by the Columbus Crew.
Schulte, a Francis Howell High School grad, is one of the top college goaltenders in the country. He was named the 2020 A-10 Defensive Player of the Year and Most Outstanding Player of the 2021 A-10 Championship. Schulte went 35-12-4 in three seasons at SLU.
SLU junior forward Simon Becher was taken with the 16th overall pick by the Vancouver Whitecaps FC.
Becher, a Connecticut native, was the Billikens' leading scorer in 2021 and scored 28 goals and tallied 15 assists in his collegiate career at SLU and Holy Cross. Becher was a first-team All-American and Hermann Trophy semifinalist this past year for the Billikens.
SLU had two players taken in the third round of the draft, too.
Chase Niece (Kirkwood High School) went to FC Dallas with the 66th overall pick and Chandler Vaughn (Woodbridge, Va.) was drafted by the LA Galaxy with the 60th overall pick.
SLU came up just short of having the most picks from one school in the first round of an MLA SuperDraft. Five Akron players went in the first round of the 2011 draft.