RSL picks Dayonn Harris, UConn winger, with 20th MLS draft pick

With their first-round draft pick in the 2020 MLS SuperDraft, Real Salt Lake selected Dayonn Harris, a senior winger from University of Connecticut.

Harris, 22, is certainly more likely to see USL minutes than he is MLS minutes, with the general trend across the league and certainly for Real Salt Lake seeing those players end up earning second-team contracts.

This being MLS, though, you never really know what will happen.

Harris played two years at UConn, and he redshirted his junior year after sustaining a season-ending injury. Prior to his time at UConn, he played for Penn State.

His junior year saw arguably his best return with five goals and seven assists; his senior year saw him turn provider more frequently, notching nine assists and scoring two goals through the year.

Harris, born in Canada, has seen time with the U-16, U-18 and U-20 Canadian national sides. It’s uncertain at this time if he holds a green card or citizenship in the United States, though with his time likely to start at Real Monarchs, that’s likely not worth thinking too much about at this time.

It does appear that Harris last saw national team time prior to the injury he sustained in his redshirt year — 2017 — which does make this pick a bit more interesting than the average draft pick. Could he have untapped potential that he’ll be looking to reclaim? Is he in contention for getting back with Canada? With Canada on the hunt for Olympic qualification this year, it will be interesting to see if he can work himself into contention at that level.