Timbers select Dawson McCartney, Diego Gutierrez in 2021 MLS SuperDraft

Well, from a pure drafting standpoint it wasn’t an extremely exciting 2021 MLS SuperDraft for the Portland Timbers. However, there was still some action on the day, as the Timbers traded away the eighth overall pick (which they had acquired from the LA Galaxy in exchange for Jorge Villafana earlier this month) for General Allocation Money and selected Dawson McCartney and Diego Gutierrez with the 43rd and 70th picks in the draft.

The Timbers made their trade just minutes before the start of the draft, sending the eighth pick to Orlando City in exchange for $100,000 in General Allocation Money.

Portland’s first pick in the draft was McCartney, a midfielder from Dartmouth University. McCartney has picked up a few accolades during his time with Dartmouth, including making Second Team All-Ivy League in 2018 and 2019 and earning Ivy League Rookie of the Year in 2017.

Gutierrez was taken with 70th pick in the draft by the Timbers. While he hasn’t hit the pitch yet for Creighton, Gutierrez did well at the University of Nebraska-Omaha, scoring 10 goals along with 13 assists in three seasons at UNO. He was First Team All-Summit League as a sophomore in 2018 and was on the Summit League All-Tournament and All-Newcomer Team in 2017.