Nashville SC announced today the acquisition of Dylan Nealis, right back from Inter Miami CF, for $175,000 in General Allocation Money (GAM) and an additional $50,000 in performace-based incentives. Nealis is signed for the 2021 season with options for the 2022 and 2023 seasons.
“Dylan is an outstanding defender who can contribute on both sides of the ball and has the potential to fit into our group really well,” said Nashville SC General Manager Mike Jacobs. “He has a lot of the positive attributes we look for in players and will be a welcome addition.”
Nealis, who was originally selected with the third-overall pick in the 2020 MLS SuperDraft from Georgetown University, logged 19 matches and 1,104 minutes with Nashville's fellow expansion club. With the addition of the defender, Nashville SC now has two members of the 2020 MLS SuperDraft Class to log over 1,000 minutes in their rookie seasons with Canadian international Alistair Johnston registering 1,366 minutes of play last year.
At Georgetown, Nealis made a massive impact captaining the Hoyas for two seasons and leading the squad to the 2019 NCAA Division I Men's College Cup title. The defender was named a MAC Hermann Trophy finalist for the 2019 season, won the Big East Defensive Player of the Year, and was named to the All-Big East First Team and the United Soccer Coaches All-America First Team. Overall, he appeared in 78 games for Georgetown registering seven goals and 14 assists.
Nashville's back line is stacked as it was the top defense in the league last season and Nealis has plenty of competition at the right back position with the aforementioned Johnston and newly re-signed MLS veteran Eric Miller. Will Nealis make his case for playing time? Will he or Miller go on loan, or will they simply add depth behind Johnston? Follow me on Twitter @ComingUpGolden and Instagram @everythingscomingupgolden.