The Boys in Gold select Cornell University forward Alioune Ka in Second Round and University of South Carolina forward Ethan Ballek in Third Round

Nashville Soccer Club announced today it has selected Cornell University forward Alioune Ka and University of South Carolina forward Ethan Ballek in the 2025 MLS SuperDraft. Prior to the draft, Nashville SC traded its first-round pick (sixth overall) to the Colorado Rapids in exchange for up to $150,000 in General Allocation Money ($125,000 in 2025 GAM; $25,000 in conditional 2026 GAM).   

“The SuperDraft provided us an opportunity to strengthen both Nashville SC and Huntsville City FC with attacking talent in Alioune and Ethan – two players that our scouting department followed closely throughout this NCAA season,” said Nashville SC General Manager Mike Jacobs. “We are happy to have both of these young men join our group and to offer some finishing and chance creation to our attack.”

In the Second Round Nashville SC selected Ka with the 36th overall pick. The Texas native joined Cornell University after playing for Solar Soccer Club and Richland High School (Texas) where he earned All-District 3-6A Midfielder MVP in 2019. The 2024 First Team All-Ivy honoree made 50 career appearances and 30 starts for the Big Red, tallying 16 goals and six assists. This season, he played in all 19 of Cornell’s matches with 18 starts and recorded 11 goal contributions (eight goals, three assists), including a career-high four game-winning goals to help lead the team to a 12-2-2 record and a trip to the 2024 NCAA Tournament. The forward played in nine matches in 2023 and scored two goals. He started all seven games in which he appeared in 2022, notching six goal contributions (four goals, two assists) including his first of four collegiate braces against Canisius University. As a freshman, Ka appeared in fifteen of the team’s sixteen matches, recording two goals and one assist.

In the Third Round Nashville SC selected Ballek, a former MLS NEXT captain for Real Colorado, with the 66th overall pick. The Colorado native joined the Gamecocks for the 2024 season, transferring after two seasons at Virginia Tech where he logged three goals and one assist in 22 appearances. This season, Ballek started all 17 of South Carolina’s regular season games, tallying nine goals and five assists to help lead the squad to a 10W-5L-2D record and a Quarterfinals berth in the Sun Belt Tournament. He was third in points in the Sun Belt Conference in 2024 with nine goals and five assists, which were the most assists in a single season by a Gamecock since 2018. He was named to the United Soccer Coaches All-Southeast Region Second Team in 2024 and earned Academic All-America Second Team honors. Ballek developed as a youth with Real Colorado in MLS NEXT, leading the team in goals in his final two seasons and earning MLS NEXT national U19 semifinalist honors in 2020. Additionally, the forward trained with both the U.S. Youth National Team and USL Championship side Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC.

Transactions: Nashville SC selected:

  • Alioune Ka (Forward, Cornell University) with the 36th overall pick in the 2025 MLS SuperDraft, and
  • Ethan Ballek (Forward, University of South Carolina) with the 66th overall pick in the 2025 MLS SuperDraft

ALIOUNE KA

Position: Forward

Height: 6’1”

Weight: 165 lbs.

Birthdate: 2/18/2003

Age: 21

Hometown: North Richland Hills, Texas

Nationality: American

Last club: Cornell University

How Acquired: Selected by Nashville SC with the 36th pick in the Second Round of the 2025 MLS SuperDraft

ETHAN BALLEK

Position: Forward

Height: 6’

Weight: 184 lbs.

Birthdate: 8/4/2003

Age: 21

Hometown: Timnath, Colo.

Nationality: American

Last club: University of South Carolina

How Acquired:  Selected by Nashville SC with the 66th pick in the Third Round of the 2025 MLS SuperDraft

Nashville SC joined Major League Soccer on Feb. 29, 2020 in front of the largest attendance ever recorded for a soccer match in the State of Tennessee. In its inaugural MLS season, Nashville SC defied expectations by becoming the second MLS expansion side to win and advance to the Conference Semifinals in the 2020 Audi MLS Cup Playoffs. Nashville SC returned to the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs in its sophomore season after becoming just the seventh team in MLS history to go unbeaten at home in a season. The Boys in Gold again qualified for the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs in both 2022 and 2023, becoming just the third team in league history to reach the postseason during the team’s first four years in existence. Nashville SC inaugurated GEODIS Park, the largest soccer-specific stadium in the United States and Canada, in front of a sellout crowd of 30,109 on May 1, 2022. For more information, visit NashvilleSC.com and follow the club at @NashvilleSC on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, X (formerly Twitter)and Spotify.