Sporting Kansas City selected three players from the top college programs in the Big Ten Conference on Friday in MLS SuperDraft 2025, picking defender Jansen Miller from Indiana University with the eighth overall pick in the first round, defender Anthony Samways from Ohio State University with the 34th overall pick in the second round and midfielder Leon Koehl from the University of Maryland with the 64th overall pick in the third round.
Sporting KC also received $162,500 in 2025 General Allocation Money from the Colorado Rapids as part of a draft-day trade between the clubs to swap first-round picks with Sporting KC moving from fourth to eighth in the draft order.
Miller has played 77 collegiate matches, logging 27 games at Xavier University in 2021 before transferring to Indiana University and appearing in 50 games for the Hoosiers from 2022-2024. The 6'2" centerback was a Second-Team All-Big Ten selection in 2024, capping off his collegiate career with a third straight NCAA tournament berth and scoring a golden goal against Akron in the second round of the postseason.
During his time at Indiana, the Hoosiers were College Cup finalists in 2022, Big Ten tournament champions in 2023 and finished first in the conference's regular season standings each of the past two years. In addition to his time on campus, Miller also played for the Long Island Rough Riders (USL League Two) in 2023 and Ocean City Nor'easters (USL League Two) in 2024.
A St. Louis native, Miller was named to the United Soccer Coaches Youth Boys All-Central Region Team in 2019 and he signed academy contracts in the USL Championship with St. Louis FC in 2019 and 2020 before competing for St. Louis Scott Gallagher (USL League Two) in 2021.
“I’m very excited to be drafted by Sporting Kansas City," Miller said. "I know a lot about Kansas City. I’ve grown up watching the team and I know how big and massive of a club it is in MLS. It’s been the standard for the last 15 years so I’m very excited to get to Kansas City and get to work.”
Samways, who helped lead Ohio State to the 2024 NCAA College Cup semifinals in his senior season, has logged 67 appearances for the Buckeyes in his four-year collegiate career with two goals and 13 assists. A product of the Columbus Crew academy, Samways was named to the 2022 Big Ten Conference Second Team after leading Ohio State with seven assists as a sophomore.
In 2024, Samways was a member of Kings Hammer FC in USL League Two this summer before captaining Ohio State to a first place conference finish in the regular season and a Big Ten tournament championship in the postseason.
“It has been a dream of mine to have this opportunity to play professional soccer and I’m so thankful to Sporting Kansas City for giving me this opportunity," Samways said. "I’m really excited to make the most of it.”
Koehl, a 20-year-old sophomore midfielder, has appeared in 30 games for the Maryland Terrapins in 2023 and 2024 with seven goals and four assists. The 20-year-old was named to the All-Big Ten First Team this fall as he helped Maryland return to the NCAA tournament.
A native of Germany, Koehl spent his youth career with Bayer Leverkusen and earned a spot in the senior team's squad for a Bundesliga match in May 2023.
VITALS
Jansen Miller
Position: Defender
Born: Feb. 10, 2002 (22 years old)
Height: 6’2”
Weight: 180
College: Indiana University
Hometown: St. Louis, MO
Birthplace: St. Louis, MO
Citizenship: USA
Instagram: @jansenmiller_
Anthony Samways
Position: Defender
Born: Oct. 14, 2002 (22 years old)
Height: 5'8"
Weight: 150
College: Ohio State University
Hometown: Loveland, Ohio
Birthplace: Montgomery, Ohio
Citizenship: USA
Instagram: @anthony_samways
Leon Koehl
Position: Midfielder
Born: Feb. 17, 2004 (20 years old)
Height: 6'2"
Weight: 190
College:: University of Maryland
Hometown: Cologne, Germany
Birthplace: Cologne, Germany
Citizenship; Germany
Instagram: @leonkoehl
