NEW YORK – Portland Pilots forward Joe Highfield was picked 11th overall in the 2026 MLS SuperDraft on Thursday by the Houston Dynamo, making it three seasons in a row the Pilots have had a first round pick. He is the 13th Pilot to now earn a chance to play in Major League Soccer since Nick Carlin-Voigt took over as head coach for the Pilots.
With his selection, Highfield makes it nine players that have been drafted to MLS from Portland, with Paul Christensen (2018), Rey Ortiz (2020), Kevin Bonilla (2024), Jacob Babalai (2024), Buba Fofanah (2024), Efetobo Aror (2025) and Nick Fernandez (2025) all being taken in the SuperDraft, with Fernandez signing with the San Jose Earthquakes in February of this year.
Portland has had prominent homegrown signings as well since Carlin-Voigt took the helm. Benji Michel and Kris Reaves each signed homegrown contracts with Orlando SC and FC Dallas respectively back in 2018 while Delentz Pierre and Brandon Cambridge each signed with Real Salt Lake and Charlotte FC in 2022. Tommy Musto signed with LAFC in 2024 as a free agent as well.
Highfield piloted the offense for Portland, scoring a team-high 11 goals with five assists for 27 points. He ranked second in the conference this year in both goals and points, ranking 19
th and 18
th nationally in those respective categories. His four game-winning goals also ranked 16
th nationally. He posted 18 goals in two years with the Pilots, the most in the first two years of play for a Portland player since Benji Michel (2016-17). He was named to the All-WCC First Team, the United Soccer Coaches All-West Region First Team and the United Soccer Coaches All-American Third Team.
The Pilots put together one of the best seasons in program history this year. Their 14-2-4 record gave them their best winning percentage since 1988 (.800) and helped them earn the 8-seed in the NCAA Tournament. It's the third time in program history the Pilots have earned the first-round bye and the second time under Carlin-Voigt. They advanced to the Elite Eight for the second time under Carlin-Voigt and third time since 1995.
They were one of the best teams statistically this season, third in assists (56), fourth in assists per game (2.75), fifth in goal differential (31), sixth in win-lost-tied percentage (.800) and team goals-against average (.624), seventh in points (142) and points per game (7.05), 12
th in total goals (43) and 13
th in goals per game (2.15). Their 56 assists broke a program record set two years prior.
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