Patriots Name Honorary Captain, Revolution Draft College Player of the Year

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On January 21, 1994, Robert Kraft purchased the New England Patriots and announced, “My objective in buying the Patriots is to help bring a championship to New England.” Many of the team’s top draft selections since that time have helped Kraft deliver on that promise and more, with three Super Bowl titles, starting with Kraft’s first draft pick, Willie McGinest, in 1994. In celebration of Kraft’s 20 years of ownership and reaching the AFC Championship game for the ninth time during his reign, McGinest will serve as the Patriots’ honorary captain at Sunday’s AFC Championship Game in Denver. McGinest, a key member of all three of the Patriots Super Bowl wins, will accompany Patriots captains to midfield for the pregame coin toss.

McGinest was a cornerstone of New England’s Super Bowl titles in 2001, 2003 and 2004, after being selected by the Patriots in the first round of the 1994 NFL Draft out of Southern California. He has the honor of being the first draft pick following the purchase of the team by Robert Kraft. McGinest played 11 of his 15 NFL seasons with the Patriots, seeing action in 18 playoff games, four AFC Championship games and four Super Bowls. McGinest eclipsed two NFL postseason records during his time with the Patriots – most sacks in a game with 4.5 in a Wild Card game vs. Jacksonville and career postseason sacks with 16.

Revs Draft Three Including College Player of the Year

The New England Revolution selected three players in yesterday’s 2014 MLS SuperDraft, including fourth overall pick Steve Neumann out of Georgetown and 11th overall selection Patrick Mullins from Maryland. Both first-round picks were acquired following trades that enabled the Revs to move up in the draft order.

In the first two rounds of the 2014 MLS SuperDraft, the team added:

• M/F Steve Neumann (Georgetown) – first round, fourth overall
• F Patrick Mullins (Maryland) – first round, 11th overall
• M Alec Sundly (California) – second round, 31st overall

New England acquired the fourth overall pick and allocation money from the Columbus Crew on Monday, Jan.13, in exchange for the rights to defender Michael Parkhurst. In addition to the pre-draft trade, the Revolution acquired the 11th overall pick from Colorado earlier today, sending the Rapids its 12th and 19th picks in return.

While Neumann and Mullins signed contracts with the league prior to the SuperDraft and have been automatically added to New England’s roster, Sundly will come into preseason unsigned.

Neumann, 22, earned 2013 BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Year honors and capped his four-year career following a pair of NSCAA All-America honors as four all-conference selections, as well as a 2012 Hermann Trophy finalist nod. He scored 41 career goals and added 34 assists in 86 appearances (67 starts) for the Hoyas, spanning four seasons. He scored at least 10 goals in each of his four years at Georgetown.

Mullins, 21, is the two-time defending MAC Hermann Trophy winner, garnering national player of the year honors in both 2012 and 2013. In 92 career matches at Maryland, he scored 47 goals and added 35 assists and helped lead the Terrapins to the NCAA College Cup in both 2012 and 2013, finishing as semifinalist in 2012 and the runner-up in 2013. Mullins was a two-time first-team All-ACC performer and a two-time All-ACC Championship Most Valuable Player.

Sundly, 21, started 20 of Cal’s 21 games in 2013 as a defensive midfielder, and finished the season ranked second on the Bears with 20 points (nine goals, two assists). In his career, the team captain appeared in 73 games (55 starts) while scoring 13 goals and adding three assists. He was a second-team all-conference performer as a senior this year.