Wisconsin Soccer Central

Major League Soccer commissioner Don Garber kept stepping up to the podium at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia to announce the latest selections in the first round of the MLS SuperDraft last Thursday, and AJ Cochran (UW) was starting to get concerned.

"I was getting a little nervous," the 20-year-old center back from St. Louis admitted. "From what I heard before the draft, I was kind of expected to go between the eighth and 14th spot. Once the 14th spot passed, I was kind of like, 'Oh, boy.' I turned to my Dad and I was like, 'Where am I going to go? What's going on?' "

Then he saw the Houston Dynamo were on the clock with the 16th pick. "I looked at my dad and I was like, 'That would be awesome. That would be a great team to go to,' " Cochran said. "When they called my name, it was just a dream come true."

The 6-foot-3 Cochran, who was a consensus first-team All-American and the Big Ten Conference Defensive Player of the Year last fall, was the eighth UW player chosen in an MLS draft and the first taken in the first round since Mike Gentile was the ninth pick in the inaugural College Draft in 1996.

“We were surprised he fell as far as he did, but we were more than happy he was there,” Houston assistant Brian Ralston told the St. Louis Post Dispatch. “He has a tremendous upside. He needs a little work, but he’s a big strong kid who can jump and is very competitive. It’s what we were really looking for.

"We've got a couple of guys there (at center back), but for us, competition is a good thing. It will make him better and it will push those other guys. It will be tough for him to crack the lineup, but moving forward, it will help in the long run."

The Dynamo allowed Bobby Boswell, a starting center back for the past six years, to leave via the Re-Entry Draft during the offseason. Jamaican international Jermaine Taylor has been paired with Boswell, while Eric Brunner was a reserve in 2013 and they acquired David Horst from the Portland Timbers in a trade last month.

Cochran is scheduled to report to the club Saturday for a preseason physical and training camp starts Monday. The Dynamo opens the MLS season March 8 at home against the New England Revolution.

"I'm excited, I'm ready to get to work," said Cochran, who left UW after his junior season to sign with the league as a Generation adidas player – meaning his salary won't count against Houston's salary cap this season.

Cochran talked with several teams during the MLS Combine, which was Jan. 9 to 14 in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., but the Dynamo weren't one of those clubs. Coach Dominic Kinnear told the Houston Chronicle that he also spoke with UW coach John Trask about the left-footed center back.

"I thought he had a really good combine," Kinnear told the Chronicle. "He's a tough, strong center back, really good in the air. He had a great attitude at the combine. ... I think he'll fit in well with the way we play and the way we carry ourselves."

When Cochran discussed signing with MLS two weeks ago, he mentioned some of the players he grew up watching in the soccer hotbed of St. Louis, including Houston midfielder Brad Davis and forward Will Bruin. Now, they are his teammates.

"It's just been so wild," Cochran said. "It's been a dream come true. It's been the last 16 years of playing soccer, dreaming of playing professional soccer, the last two weeks have led up to it. At times, it was pretty stressful – it was stressful all the way up to the time when they said my name. But right when they did that, all the hard work and everything, all my teammates and coaches, my family – everyone who helped me get to that point – it was just all worth it. It all just came together perfectly."

On Twitter: @Alec_Cochran

College Draft
1996: First round (No. 9) – M Mike Gentile, Colorado Rapids
1996: Second round (No. 11) – D Scott Lamphear, MetroStars

SuperDraft
2000: Fifth round (No. 59) – M Narciso Fernandes, Kansas City Wizards
2000: Sixth round (No. 66) – M Mike Gentile, Tampa Bay Mutiny
2002: Fourth round (No. 43) – F Dominic DaPra (Racine St. Catherine's), Kansas City Wizards
2005: Second round (No. 19) – M Nick Van Sicklen (Madison West), D.C. United
2013: First round (No. 16) – D AJ Cochran, Houston Dynamo

Supplemental Draft
1998: Second round (No. 14) – F Travis Roy, MetroStars
2007: First round (No. 3) – D Aaron Hohlbein (Middleton), Kansas City Wizards

The Chicago Fire decided not to sign Bryan Ciesiulka (Marquette) as a homegrown player, but the midfielder from Naperville, Ill., ended up with his longtime club anyway.

The Fire chose Ciesiulka, the Big East Conference Co-Midfielder of the Year in 2013, with the 18th pick of the fourth round (No. 75 overall) on Tuesday. He's the second Marquette player to be selected in the MLS SuperDraft: midfielder Calum Mallace went to the Montreal Impact with the 20th pick in 2012.

Ciesiulka finished with nine goals and 17 assists in 69 appearances (63 starts) in his career for the Golden Eagles, and was a first-team All-Big East selection as a senior after being second-teamer in 2012. He was the team captain for the Fire Academy as a youth and played for the club's USL Premier Development League team the past three years.

On Twitter: @bciesiulka