Hofstra University’s Sean Nealis was drafted to the New York Red Bulls during the 2019 Major League Soccer SuperDraft in Chicago, Illinois on Friday, Jan. 11. The senior defender was drafted first in the second round and 25th overall.
Nealis, a Long Island native and accounting major, was the 2018 Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Defensive Player of the Yearand helped lead the Pride to a 10-6-5 record this season, as well as the CAA championship match. With Nealis on the back line, the Pride also recorded 11 shutouts, including an eight-match shutout streak, which was a team record.
In 2018, Nealis was a First Team All-CAA selection, as well as an Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) All-Star team and Scholar All-East Region selection.
The United Soccer Coaches also chose Nealis for both their All-Atlantic Region Team and Scholar All-American First Team in 2018, making Nealis the fourth student-athlete in program history to be a Scholar All-American.
In his time with the Pride, Nealis recorded four goals and three assists. He started 69 of 72 games.
The Hofstra defender joins Gary Flood (2007) and Joseph Holland (2017) as the third Hofstra men’s soccer player to be drafted into the MLS. His brother, Jimmy Nealis, wasselected No. 37 overall in the 2013 SuperDraft by the Houston Dynamo.
