A Duke diaspora.
Days after the Philadelphia Union announced it had signed senior midfielder Nick Pariano and a professional career claimed freshman goalkeeper Julian Eyestone, many of the remaining Duke stars entered the world of Major League Soccer, too.
Graduate striker Forster Ajago, who won ACC Offensive Player of the Year and added his name to the All-American second team, is now off to the big leagues, having officially signed with Nashville SC. The Tennessee club finished seventh in the Eastern conference for the 2023 season and managed to snag Ajago through an independent contract. The Navrongo, Ghana, native was ineligible to enter Tuesday’s MLS draft because he had done so, and withdrawn, in the past. Draft ineligibility did not, however, get in the way of the leading scorer’s professional prospects; Ajago’s 14 season goals (joint-seventh in the country) made him a hot commodity.
Pariano will not be the only Duke team captain playing in the MLS. The Seattle Sounders picked up senior defender Antino Lopez as the 23rd pick in the second round of the draft — 52nd overall — to beef up their defensive unit. Lopez will likely feel at home with the Sounders, as he played for their club team before joining Duke head coach John Kerr for four seasons in Durham. His impact on the Blue Devil squad has been massive from the get-go, as Lopez started nearly every game of his career at Duke. Despite his defender status, the Las Vegas local scored the Blue Devils’ first goal of three against Boston College in November and a game-clincher against N.C. State in October. His relocation to the West Coast will mean a huge loss for Duke but a great gain for him: Seattle finished second in the Western Conference in 2023.
Ruben Mesalles is giving up his senior year with the Blue Devils to follow Lopez out West. Real Salt Lake picked up the junior midfielder in a trade with the Houston Dynamo, making him the 26th pick in the third round and 81st overall in the draft. He got into the MLS at the last second but landed lucky with the fifth-best team in this year’s Western Conference standings. Before entering the draft, Mesalles was a beating heart for Kerr’s squad, starting every game but one for all three seasons since his arrival in Durham. The IMG Academy product — and former IMG U19 captain — scored four times in his junior season, but most notably took the stage in Koskinen Stadium whenever Duke earned a corner kick.
At the helm of Tuesday’s excitement reigns sophomore Wayne Frederick, who was picked up by the Colorado Rapids as the No. 2 overall pick. Frederick, a midfielder, started every game of the season for the Blue Devils. He tallied three goals over the course of the season — two of which helped Duke take down Virginia Tech 7-1 on senior night — as well as three assists. The Rapids finished at the bottom of the Western Conference this season but look to up their game in 2024 by signing the precocious Blue Devil.
Kerr’s roster might be close to empty now, but he loses his best men to the best of big league American soccer.
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Sophie Levenson is a Trinity sophomore and a sports managing editor of The Chronicle's 120th volume.