DEKALB, Ill. – Anthony Markanich (Bourbonnais, Ill./Bradley-Bourbonnais) and
Nick Markanich (Bourbonnais, Ill./Bradley-Bourbonnais) of the Northern Illinois University men's soccer team were selected in the Major League Soccer SuperDraft on Tuesday (Jan. 11).
Anthony Markanich was chosen in the first round, 26th overall, by the Colorado Rapids while
Nick Markanich was drafted in the second round, 30th overall, by FC Cincinnati.
Anthony Markanich earned First Team All-MAC honors for the third consecutive season in 2021 and became NIU's first four-time All-MAC recipient since Peter Agrimson (1999-2002).
"It's a dream come true," said Anthony after being selected by Colorado. "It was a long, long day but I'm happy to hear my name called. To have my parents, coaches and friends here for this special moment was important to me."
The NIU left back scored five goals and recorded a conference-high nine assists during his senior season, earning United Soccer Coaches All-North Region Second Team honors.
Anthony Markanich recorded points six of the final seven games of the season, including on the conference regular season clinching goal against Akron (Oct. 30), the conference tournament winning goal against Georgia State (Nov. 14) and in both of NIU's NCAA Tournament games.
Anthony Markanich finished his Huskie career with 24 career assists, tied for second-most in NIU history, and 58 total points, ninth-best in school history. He is also the first NIU student-athlete selected in the first round of a professional sports draft since Jimmie Ward was taken 30th overall by the San Francisco 49ers in the 2014 NFL Draft.
Nick Markanich led the nation in scoring during the 2021 season, scoring 16 goals. He also tied A.J. Chastonay of Belmont for the national lead in game-winning goals with seven and was third in the country with 37 total points.
"I had a feeling it was coming soon," Nick said after being selected four picks after his brother Anthony. "It's going to be different with us on different teams, but we're going to be excited if we play against each other. We expected to go to separate teams, but we're happy to both be picked."
The Huskie forward was named the MAC Player of the Year for the second consecutive season in 2021 and earned First Team All-MAC honors for the third straight season. He was named to the College Soccer News All-America Third Team and the Top Drawer Soccer Best XI Third Team, becoming the first Huskie to earn All-America honors since Johan Bergseth in 1984.
Nick Markanich finished his NIU career with 39 goals, fourth-best in school history, and 87 points, sixth-most in program history.
The Markanichs are the second and third players in NIU men's soccer history chosen in the MLS SuperDraft, joining Kevin Rodriguez who was taken in the fourth round, 75th overall, by Minnesota United FC in 2019.
"When we brought them in, we knew they were both special players," said NIU head coach
Ryan Swan. "We kind of knew that they had the potential to reach this level and they put in so much work. I'm just absolutely delighted for them and really excited to see what's next for them in their careers."
In 2021, the NIU Men's Soccer team won both the MAC regular season and tournament titles en route to a 15-3-2 overall record, reaching the NCAA Tournament Second Round.
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