Brown, Okai Selected In MLS SuperDraft
For two years Deshorn Brown and Stephen Okai were a formidable one-two scoring punch for the University of Mobile’s men’s soccer team.
That combo was broken when Brown transferred to the University of Central Florida for the 2013 season.
Their names became linked once again during the Major League Soccer Combine in January, and during the subsequent mid-month 2013 MLS SuperDraft, held in Indianapolis, IN.
Brown, who left UCF after one season to sign a Generation adidas deal with the league, was the sixth player chosen, taken by the Colorado Rapids with their first round pick.
Okai was selected 31st overall by the Philadelphia Union in the second round of the two-round SuperDraft.
Brown, a native of Jamaica, played for Mobile in 2010 and 2011, scoring 53 goals with eight assists for 114 points.
He was a two-time first-team NAIA All-American and SSAC Player of the Year. He scored 32 goals in 2011 for the Rams, and decided to move on to Division I soccer.
He proved he could score at the next level, and at Central Florida he scored 13 goals in 16 games last fall. He then decided it was time to move on again. This time to a professional career.
“I’ve always broken things down to pro level, international level and world class, and Deshorn has world class speed and a world class shot,” University of Mobile head coach Roy Patton said. “I’ve never said that about a collegiate player before.”
Patton got to see a lot of Brown for two seasons in practice and in games. He saw all 32 goals he scored as a sophomore. He had nine multigoal games that season, including fie against Brewton-Parker.
While Brown may be the one most ready to take the professional step, Okai, who played four seasons at Mobile, is one with great potential and still has room to grow his game.
“Okai is a very interesting player in that he has a lot of upside,” Patton said. “He still has a couple of floors to go up and I think he’ll do that pretty quick.”
Okai, the 2012 Select Sport America-NAIA Men’s Soccer National Player of the Year was a three-time NAIA All-American. He earned first-team All-America honors in 2010 and 2012 as the Rams made deep runs at the NAIA National Championship Tournament.
In 2010, the team advanced to the semifinals, and last fall, the team was national runner-up.
In 77 games with the Rams, the Accra, Ghana native scored 20 goals with 26 assists while patrolling the midfield. He posted 10 goals and nine assists this past season after scoring goals and handing out 11 assists in 2011. Many of those assists were on goals by Brown.
“He’s got a full bag of clubs as a player, he can pass, dribble and finish,” Patton said. “A lot of people I talked to commended his on-field leadership. He’s like a coach on the field and he makes very quick and very good decisions. He plays at a high tempo, which is a prerequisite for playing in the pros.”
And the future for both? Only time will tell for the former one-two punch at Mobile.