Crew select Eric Dick in stage two of MLS Re-Entry draft

Three days before Christmas, Major League Soccer held the second stage of the league’s Re-Entry Draft. This annual offseason process is a chance for MLS clubs to select players that have had their contracts run out or whose contracts were declined by their former clubs.

The Columbus Crew used the team’s 26th Re-Entry draft selection on Sporting Kansas City goalkeeper Eric Dick. With this selection, the Crew now has an opportunity to extend a contract offer to Dick where he can then sign with the defending MLS Cup champions for the 2021 MLS season. If he signs, Dic would be the fifth goalkeeper on the roster joining Eloy Room, the newly signed Evan Bush, Matt Lampson and Jon Kempin.

Dick was eligible in the Re-Entry draft because SKC declined his contract option after spending the entirety of the 2020 season on loan playing in the United Soccer League. He spent most of the season on loan at Phoenix Rising FC where Dick played just three games.

The Crew’s Re-Entry selection played college soccer at Butler University in Indiana. At Butler, Dick started 71 games in net for the Bulldogs and earned 28 clean sheets. His performances in 2017, his senior season, earned him the award of the Big East’s Goalkeeper of the Year. Dick won one conference title and led Butler to two NCAA tournament appearances.

After his stellar college career, Dick was selected 13th in the 2018 MLS SuperDraft by Kansas City as the first goalkeeper picked in that class. Sporting immediately loaned him out to the team’s affiliate team Swope Park Rangers of the USL where he played 15 games and earned four shutouts in 2018.

In 2019, Dick was brought back to Kansas City to make his MLS debut in a Decision Day match against FC Dallas. SKC fell 6-0 in that game in what is still Dick’s only appearance in an MLS match. The 26 year old from Roeland Park, Kansas now has an option to relocate and join the MLS Cup champions in Columbus.

The MLS offseason will continue for the Crew throughout the winter after Tuesday’s Re-Entry draft. Thus far, the Black & Gold have officially added Bush to the roster and have seen Hector Jimenez leave for Austin FC. The current roster stands at 22 players with the next major offseason event coming on Jan. 21st with the MLS SuperDraft.

Currently, Columbus owns two picks for the upcoming draft with the final pick of round one and the final pick of round two.

The Crew’s current 2021 roster:

Goalkeepers (4): Evan Bush, Eric Dick, Jon Kempin, Matt Lampson, Eloy Room

Defenders (8): Harrison Afful, Chris Cadden, Aboubacar Keita, Grant Lillard, Jonathan Mensah, Milton Valenzuela, Josh Williams, Vito Wormgoor

Midfielders (8): Artur, Sebastian Berhalter, Luis Diaz, Derrick Etienne, Jr., Aidan Morris, Darlington Nagbe, Pedro Santos, Lucas Zelarayan

Forwards (2): Miguel Berry, Gyasi Zardes