MLS rookie Tyrese Spicer turning heads for Toronto FC

Toronto FC GM Jason Herandez turned a lot of heads when he selected Tyrese Spicer with the No. 1 pick at the 2024 MLS SuperDraft.  

Most MLS pundits had Spicer going somewhere in the top 10, just not first overall. The mock draft on the league’s official website had Spicer going at No. 9, as an example.

But Hernandez saw something in the 23-year-old winger from Nashville-based Lipscomb University and flew him up to Toronto in the buildup to the draft so he could meet John Herdman and the rest of the staff. During his visit, TFC got a sense of who Spicer was as a person, as well as a player. After talking to the native of Trinidad and Tobago, Hernandez knew they had targeted the right player.  

The sample size is small and it’s still too early to make bold claims about Toronto getting it right. But so far, Spicer has looked every bit like a No. 1 draft pick during the 2024 season.