After a strong performance in the combine, Cole Grossman entered Wednesday’s MLS Draft in Baltimore, Md. with big expectations as to where he would be selected. Many MLS experts had Grossman pegged to be picked in the middle to late first round, with some even expecting him to be a top-10 pick.
Unfortunately, Grossman had to watch the entire first round without hearing his name called. He continued to wait until the Columbus Crew chose him with the 10th pick in the 2nd round, 28th overall.
“It’s the old cliché, but anytime someone passes on you, especially in a draft where it’s such a personal thing, it adds more fuel to the fire and more motivation,” Grossman said. “I have no idea really why I dropped deep in the second round, but I did and it’s definitely going to motivate me to prove anyone who didn’t pick me wrong.”
During the past few days, Grossman has been at the MLS combine, an event where potential draftees can show off their skills and get close up attention from team scouts. While few players made much of an impression in such a short trial, Grossman capitalized on the opportunity, standing out as one of the top midfielders at the entire event.
“The combine went really well. By all accounts, I played really well,” he said. “The coaches and all the teams down there thought I did well. I’m not sure how much it helped me, but it certainly didn’t hurt my performance.”
However, the senior could not help but admit that he was a bit disappointed that he fell so far.
“To be honest, I was expecting to go higher,” he said.
Grossman had a terrific senior year for the Blue Devils, starting all 20 games. He scored 10 goals and added eight assists as well.
In the first round of the NCAA Tournament this year, Grossman had possibly his best game in a Duke uniform. Assuming the duties of suspended forward Ryan Finley, the captain scored two goals in the final 15 minutes against Coastal Carolina to give Duke a 2-1 victory. Grossman’s Duke career came to an end in the following game, however, in a 1-0 overtime defeat to South Carolina.
For his career, Grossman amassed 25 goals and 24 assists while playing in 70 matches. He was named to the All-ACC first team this year.
With his Duke career behind him now, the St. Louis native is ready to start the next chapter of his soccer life. And even though he didn’t go where he expected, he’s ready to make the best of it.
“I’m excited. [Columbus] is a pretty tradition-rich organization,” Grossman said. “They’re a great team and they’re known for having a great stadium and great fans.”
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