Portions of this release are courtesy of Dartmouth Varsity Athletic Communications and Harvard Athletic Communications.
LOS ANGELES -- Dartmouth graduate Stefan Cleveland ’16 (Dayton, Ohio) and Harvard senior Andrew Wheeler-Omiunu (Bellingham, Mass.) were selected in the Major League Soccer (MLS) SuperDraft Tuesday.
Cleveland was selected with the fourth pick of the second round by the Chicago Fire, while Wheeler-Omiunu went with the second pick of the third round by Atlanta United FC.
Cleveland becomes the fourth player in program history to be drafted and the first since 2012. Wheeler-Omiuni is the eighth Crimson student-athlete in program history to be selected in the draft and the first since 2013.
Cleveland played his fifth year of eligibility at Louisville this past fall after exhausting his Ivy League Conference eligibility by earning his bachelor’s degree from Dartmouth College in the spring of 2016. He registered 10 shutouts overall, the most for a Cardinals’ goalkeeper since 2011, and ranked 14th in the nation in goals against average at .710. Cleveland helped lead Louisville to the quarterfinals of the NCAA College Cup.
Cleveland had a phenomenal career during his three seasons in net for Dartmouth, earning Defensive Player of the Year nods in 2015. During his three seasons in Hanover, Cleveland left his mark on the record book, as he is tied for third all-time with 16 career shutouts and is sixth in program history with a 0.99 career goals-against-average.
A two-time first team All-Ivy League selection, Wheeler-Omiunu helped the Crimson to 10 wins in 2016, while playing in central midfield and at outside back. The two-time captain netted one goal and dished two assists on the season to finish his career with four scores and six helpers. Wheeler-Omiunu helped guide the Crimson to six shutouts during the 2016 season, including three in Ivy League play.
Wheeler-Omiunu is no stranger to the MLS system, having played in the Premier Development League (PDL) over the past few summers. The Bellingham, Massachusetts native spent the last summer with the Seattle Sounders under-23 squad. Atlanta United FC is an expansion franchise that will begin its first season in 2017.