Nashville SC Will Select Jack Maher in SuperDraft After Miami Takes Robinson?

With the 2nd pick of the 2020 MLS SuperDraft Nashville SC will select Jack Maher from Indiana. As you can see in this tweet, Nashville SC is having fans take a bus to meet their selection. This means two things. First, MLS or Miami told Nashville either who they were picking or promised they were not taking the player Nashville wants. It would be a disaster to load a bus with fans well before dawn, drive hours and then have Miami take said player. Two, the player has to be within a day’s trip (there and back) to Nashville. Of the handful of players that might go 2nd in the draft Dylan Nealis, Henry Kessler and Daryl Dike all live and goto school too far away to make the bus trip possible. This leaves Maher and Robbie Robinson as the only realistic players for Nashville to take.

If they are going to meet the player at his home, the pick has to be Maher as Robinson lives in Camden, South Carolina, just over a seven hour drive from Nashville. If they are meeting said player at their university then both Indiana and Clemson are drivable. That said, after asking around a bit I’m pretty confident Robinson will be the first selection by Inter Miami. I know little about these players, but having thought this through I strongly believe this will be the case. We’ll know if a few hours if I’m intuitive or an idiot.

Jack Maher



Maher was Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year last season. The 20 year old Maher is a 6′ 3” Centerback from Caseyville, IL who weighs 175 pounds. This pick makes a ton of sense to me for a couple of reasons. First, Maher is likely good enough to play as the 4th centerback for Nashville this season. While he won’t start, he could log a decent amount of minutes. Second, the other potential best player on the board (Daryl Dike) plays forward. Yes, that is a position of need for Nashville, but for a DP not a young depth addition. Nashville SC already has Rios and Danladi, both 24 years old. No need for another young unproven forward. Mike Jacobs and Gary Smith have to hope either Rios or Danladi develops into a consistent starter. I still expect Nashville to make a DP signing before the Atlanta United match (most likely at forward).

Career highlights for Maher on the MLS website are,

“Helped the U.S. U18 National Team win the 23rd International Vaclav Jezek Tournament in the Czech Republic. Also played with the U.S. National team in tournaments in Slovakia and Portugal. Coached by Preki while playing under an academy contract with Saint Louis FC. During junior year of high school, trained every day with club. Made USL debut with St. Louis FC in 2017.”