The California men's soccer program saw both starting central backs – Wyatt Meyer and Kevin Carmichael – chosen by Nashville SC in Tuesday's MLS SuperDraft, with the club selecting Meyer with the 11th pick in the first round and taking Carmichael with the 21st pick in the second round.
 
"We are so proud of Wyatt and Kevin for getting their names called today," Cal head coach Leonard Griffin said. "These players have worked so hard to be one step closer to achieving their goals of playing at the next level. Cal has continuously produced players that have gone from here to do great things at the professional level, and we are thrilled to add Kevin and Wyatt to this group!"
 
Cal has been a regular supplier of players to the professional ranks and, in particular, has had numerous alumni move onto MLS. In the MLS SuperDraft, the only Golden Bears chosen higher than Meyer were Steven Birnbaum (No. 2, D.C. United), Christian Dean (No. 3, Vancouver Whitecaps), A.J. Soares (No. 6, New England Revolution), Sam Junqua (No. 8, Houston Dynamo), Troy Roberts (No. 8, Los Angeles Galaxy), Calen Carr (No. 10, Chicago Fire) and Connor Hallisey (No. 10, Sporting Kansas City).
 
Both Meyer and Carmichael earned All-Pac-12 First-Team honors – Meyer was also named Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year – and played on a Cal squad that produced a 7-6-5 record this fall to more than double its win total of 2022. They were key members of an overall team effort that led to the team's 1.06 goals-against average, which was Cal's best defensive performance since 2013 (0.97 GAA). The Bears allowed just 11 goals in conference games, tied for the second-lowest total in the Pac-12.

 

Additionally, Meyer, who played alternately as a central defender and a defensive central midfielder, was named to the United Soccer Coaches All-Far West Region Second Team. He was also a contributor to the attack, scoring his first goal since 2021 in the season finale at No. 22 Stanford and posting two assists.

The 6-foot-2 Berkeley native was the first Bear taken in the MLS SuperDraft since Tommy Williamson went to the San Jose Earthquakes with the 12th overall pick in 2021. A second-semester junior who is a senior athletically, Meyer will return to Cal for the 2024 season, and Nashville will retain his rights for another year.
 
"It's unreal, and I'm still kind of processing it all right now," said Meyer, who watched the televised first round of the draft with family and friends. "It's super exciting.
 
"I do plan on staying for another year. Nashville says they're flexible. It's the best of both worlds, and I'll be able to finish out my Cal career and get my degree."
 
Meyer had a busy Tuesday. In the morning, prior to the start of the draft, the English major was named to the Academic All-America First Team by the College Sports Communicators.
 
A crunching tackler who is good in the air, Carmichael forms a formidable partnership with Meyer on the Bears' backline. Carmichael is also a constant danger to opposing defenses in the air, as he scored a career-high three goals and added his first career assist to rank third in points (7) at Cal this fall. In a 2-1 win over Washington in Seattle, the leaping Carmichael scored the game-winning goal on a corner kick that deflected off his upper back and into the net. 

 

Just like Meyer, Carmichael plans to play another year for the Bears before joining Nashville, though the junior from Thousand Oaks found out he was drafted in a slightly different fashion. After he watched the first round – the second and third rounds weren't on TV – Carmichael left home to drive his sister to the mall.
 
"The funny thing was I was driving with my sister to go Christmas shopping, and my phone started blowing up," he said. "I thought, 'What the heck's going on?'"
 
Carmichael pulled his car over to take a call from a phone number he didn't recognize.
 
"Just in case, I thought, for today I should answer my phone, because you don't know could be calling," he said. "It was Nashville, and they were super excited they drafted me and were excited to see what Wyatt and I could do.
 
"Staying another year in college gives Wyatt and me another year to develop. We have some unfinished business at Cal. We hope to get a few more wins and look forward to playing in the ACC."

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