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Dissecting the Draft: Prozone supports colleges and MLS clubs with bespoke recruitment services
Prozone have recently been providing analytical consultancy services to colleges and professional teams in North America to support them in the player recruitment process.
Much more than just a data provider, the business has been consulting with a number of colleges and professional clubs in the lead-up to last week’s MLS and National Women’s Soccer League [NWSL] drafts.
Case Study: Toronto FC
One of the professional organisations we’ve been supporting in the scouting process has been MLS franchise Toronto FC. Going into the draft in a strong position with two First Round picks, the Canadian club was looking to supplement the intuition of its scouts and coaches with objective information in order to capitalise on its situation.
The week before the draft, our representatives travelled to the MLS Scouting Combine in Fort Lauderdale to offer their objective advice and analytical expertise to the Toronto technical staff. Using our comprehensive college database, we were able to provide detailed, contextualised reports on the players Toronto were interested in.
Benchmarking the potential draftees against their peers and similar players already in MLS, the reports improved the due diligence of Toronto’s recruitment strategy by bringing objective measures into the decision-making process.
Widely agreed to have made a great success of the draft, Toronto took Boston College’s talented Canadian midfielder Kyle Bekker with the third pick overall. Later in the First Round the team chose Oregon State forward Emery Welshman with the sixteenth pick, a move considered to be one of the most astute acquisitions of the draft.
Case Study: University of Florida
Supporting teams at all levels of the game, our representatives also offered comprehensive draft services to a number of college teams. One of the programmes supported was the University of Florida Women, a team that recently progressed to the Last 16 of the NSCAA Division I Tournament.
In close consultation with Florida’s coaching staff, we compiled statistical breakdowns of the players that the team was putting forward to the NWSL draft. Those reports were then forwarded on to the professional clubs of the NWSL as an extra resource to promote Florida’s players in addition to the video footage and scouting feedback already in circulation.
Speaking about the draft services Prozone gave her team, Becky Burleigh, Head Coach of University of Florida Women, said, “Prozone helped us to showcase our players to the professional teams to give them much needed background information beyond just game film. I think Prozone made the difference in our players’ draft status and helped the coaches feel more knowledgeable about their picks.”
Florida ultimately enjoyed a highly productive draft, with four players being selected. Defender Kathryn Williamson was picked eighth overall by Portland Thorns FC, with Erika Tymrak going in the Second Round and Holly King and Jo Dragotta following in the Third.
We'd like to congratulate Toronto FC and University of Florida Women on successful drafts and we look forward to continuing to support player recruitment with objective information at all levels of the game in the seasons to come.
Pioneers in performance analysis, Prozone is committed to delivering analytical insights that go far beyond the traditional guages of peformance. Pushing the boundaries of what can be done with performance information, we are helping to drive the evolution of football analytics and change the way we look at football data.
To find out more about what Prozone can do for you, visit the Services section of our website or email enquiries@prozonesports.com.
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