Chase Niece has been selected by FC Dallas in the third round (66th overall pick) of Tuesday’s 2022 Major League Soccer SuperDraft. He is the sixth Billiken drafted today in the MLS SuperDraft.
Niece has been an integral member of the Billikens’ back line during his four-year SLU career.
“Chase is the brains of our backline and helps us organize our structure on both sides of the ball,” SLU head coach Kevin Kalish said. “He has a warrior mentality and box defends extremely well. He is also very adept at stepping in and finding the free player to start our attacks. Chase is composed and can play as a right or left sided center back.”
Niece helped the Billikens to a 16-1-4 record, an undefeated regular season, Atlantic 10 Conference regular-season and tournament titles, and an NCAA quarterfinal appearance in 2021. He was a 90-minute player for SLU, contributing to a defense that led the A-10 in goals against average (0.81) and shutouts (nine). Additionally, Niece was named to the A-10 All-Championship team.
In his SLU career, Niece has appeared in 63 matches (51 starts) and totaled 14 points (6G, 2A). He scored a big goal in the Billikens’ win at Saint Joseph’s this season, and last year scored both Billiken goals in a 2-1 victory over McKendree.
A St. Louis native (Kirkwood High School), Niece played at St. Louis Scott and appeared in more than 80 matches during his four-year academy career. He was a Top 150 recruit by Top Drawer Soccer out of high school.
