HARRISON, N.J. – First kick is just days away, but the New York Red Bulls continue to add pieces ahead of their upcoming campaign.
The club announced Thursday that both of their 2016 SuperDraft selections, Justin Bilyeu and Zach Carroll, have officially signed MLS contracts.
Bilyeu and Carroll joined the team for both of their two-week stints in Florida, impressing the coaching staff in the process.
“Those two—for having never been around this before—have adjusted pretty well,” head coach Jesse Marsch said last month. “If you were to come here and try to pick out guys that hadn’t been here before, I don’t think those guys would be high on the list. That says a lot about how they’ve done so far.”
The Red Bulls selected Bilyeu with their first round pick (18th overall), and the St. Louis native has shown well in preseason camp thus far. With the departure of Roy Miller from the club, the Red Bulls identified outside back as a position of need, and the left back from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville has provided cover on the left side of the defense for New York.
Once amongst their thinnest spots on the depth chart, the fullback position is now one of the deepest in the squad, according to defender Connor Lade.
“It’s definitely going to be an extremely tough team to break into and get time with the first team,” Bilyeu admitted. “But I’m going to show up every day and work as hard as I can to get better, and if my time comes I’ll go out there and show what I can do.”
New York looked for more backline help with their second and final pick of the SuperDraft (38th overall), this time selecting a centerback from Michigan State. A First Team All-Big Ten standout, Carroll proved his worth at a position that was a major question mark for New York heading into the season.
Between Matt Miazga’s sale to Chelsea FC and Damien Perrinelle’s continued recovery from ACL reconstruction surgery, the Red Bulls were pegged to start the MLS season without their two starting central defenders from their Supporters’ Shield winning side of 2015. Sporting Director Ali Curtis went to work to fill that void, and Carroll’s signing (along with Gideon Baah) should figure to help provide skill and depth in the heart of the New York defense.
“It’s been a dream come true,” Carroll told NewYorkRedBulls.com. “Growing up as a kid playing soccer, you always dream of going pro. To finally have that come full circle is an awesome experience.”
Added Bilyeu: “It’s very exciting. This is a great group of guys and I’m looking forward to continuing to work every day.”
