Tyler Miller projected as top ten MLS SuperDraft pick

Tyler Miller, Northwestern soccer's All-American senior goalkeeper, has been projected as a top-10 pick in an initial mlssoccer.com mock draft. Miller would become the first Northwestern player ever selected in the first round of the MLS SuperDraft.

The league's official website, mlssoccer.com, one of the leading media sources for MLS coverage, released its first 2015 mock draft earlier this week, and it has Miller going with the ninth pick in the first round to Toronto FC, the current club of U.S. National Team star Michael Bradley and England international Jermaine Defoe.

Here's mlssoccer.com's Nate Sulat on the reasoning behind the projection:

So, yes, TFC have goalkeepers. But Tyler Miller is still worth the pick. Think about how good the goalkeeping was in the Big Ten this year... and then think about how Tyler Miller was named the best of the bunch. He’s got the size, the reflexes, and the presence to marshal his defense. You can’t convince us this is not a good pick.

Miller had a wonderful career at Northwestern. After a standout 2014 season in which he allowed an impressively low 12 goals in 22 games, the New Jersey native was a unanimous choice for Big Ten Goalkeeper of the Year and All-Big Ten First Team honors. He was also named to the NSCAA All-Midwest Region First Team and All-America Second Team.

In mlssoccer.com's mock, Miller was the first of three goalkeepers projected to be taken in the first round. The SuperDraft, which essentially comprises four rounds -- two rounds of 21 teams, followed by two "supplemental" rounds -- will take place on Jan. 15 in Philadelphia. From Jan. 8-13, Miller will also participate in the MLS Player Combine in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

Last spring, Chris Ritter, a fifth-year-senior midfielder at NU in 2013, became the first Northwestern alum to appear in an MLS game when he started for the Chicago Fire in a 1-1 draw with Landon Donovan's LA Galaxy. Ritter, however, signed a Homegrown Player deal with the Fire, thus bypassing the draft process.

We'll have more on Miller as the draft nears in January.