RIVERSIDE, Calif. - The Highlanders have five (out of over 400) eligible players for the 2025 Major League Soccer (MLS) SuperDraft, as announced Thursday by MLS.
Edward Castro,
Christian Ceja,
Carlos Gonzalez,
Luka Lukic and
AJ Meade-Tatum represent UCR on the list.
"Having five guys selected for this MLS Draft list is a testament to the amount of professional coaches and scouts that value our program," said UCR head coach
Tim Cupello. "We play a brand of soccer here that translates into the professional level and we pride ourselves on that. I am extremely excited to see the next generation of pros coming out of UCR!"
Castro, a forward from Los Angeles, played in all 16 matches and started in 15 during the 2024 season. He tallied two goals and two assists for UCR. Prior to UCR, Castro played for the LA Galaxy Academy and was named to Guatemala's U-17 squad for the 2019 U-17 CONCACAF Championships.
Ceja, a central midfielder out of Napa, Calif., played in 15 matches and started in 14. He totaled three assists. Over his career at UCR he played in a total of 42 matches with 39 starts. Prior to UCR he spent 2019-20 season with the San Jose Earthquakes' Academy.
Gonzalez, a goalkeeper out of Santa Ana, Calif., started all 16 matches for the Highlanders. Over his four-year career in goal, he had 255 saves and posted a .724 save percentage. Prior to UCR Gonzalez played for FC Golden State.
Lukic, a forward out of Serbia, played in all 16 matches for UCR and started in 15. In his time at Riverside he tallied 11 goals with five assists. He was selected to the All-Big West Second Team. Lukic (2024) ranked 12th in Big West play with 0.89 shots on goal per contest and ranked sixth overall in the Big West with 2.19 shots per match.
Meade-Tatum, a defender from Palos Verdes, Calif., started all 16 matches and tallied one assist. He logged a full 90 minutes in 12 of his 16 appearances while recording seven shots overall. Prior to UCR Meade-Tatum was selected to the Division I All-CIF Team and played club soccer for Beach FC.
