Bradley senior goalkeeper Chris Dunsheath became the sixth Brave to be selected in the history of the Major League Soccer SuperDraft Friday when he was chosen in the third round (36th overall) by the Los Angeles Galaxy.
Dunsheath will not play for the Galaxy during the 2006 season, however, instead opting to finish school before beginning his professional playing career. Dunsheath is enrolled in Bradley's Accounting 3:2 program, which will award him both a bachelor's degree and master's degree upon completion in December. By drafting Dunsheath this year, the Galaxy will retain his rights for the 2007 season.
Dunsheath, a first-team NSCAA All-American and first-team Scholar All-American, was the only Missouri Valley Conference player selected during the SuperDraft Friday and he was the second goalkeeper to be picked. FC Dallas drafted Ohio State's Ray Burse Jr. with the 30th selection.
In addition to being Bradley's sixth MLS draft pick, Dunsheath is the third player to be selected by the LA Galaxy. Gavin Glinton was a second-round pick by the Galaxy in 2002 and Hamid Mehreioskouei was taken in the fourth round by LA in 2003. Bryan Namoff was Bradley's first-ever MLS pick, taken by D.C. United in 2001. Tim Regan joined Mehreioskouei in the 2003 draft as a second-round pick by the MetroStars and Luke Kreamalmeyer was selected in the fourth round last year by Real Salt Lake.
Dunsheath ended his career last fall as one of the most decorated student-athletes in Bradley Athletics history. He became the first-ever Brave to collect first-team NSCAA All-American honors and he is the first goalkeeper in the history of the Valley to earn all-MVC honors four times. The 2005 MVC Defensive Player of the Year, Dunsheath led the Valley with a Bradley single-season record 11.0 shutouts last season, pushing his career total to a MVC record 27.5 career shutouts. A starter in every game he played during his four-year career, Dunsheath finished third in NCAA history by playing 8,197 career minutes.
