St. Louis CITY SC midfielder and 2023 MLS SuperDraft First Round pick Hosei Kijima was selected by San Diego FC in the 2024 MLS Expansion Draft on Wednesday.
Kijima, 22, made an immediate impact for CITY SC as he came on late for his first professional minutes in the first leg of the Concacaf Champions Cup and scored the game winner against the Houston Dynamo. The Yokohama, Japan, native made 20 appearances across all competitions for the first team with nine starts including two goals and two assists. He also saw action at MLS NEXT Pro’s CITY2 squad, tallying 13 matches played with 11 starts and recorded one goal and five assists.
Kijima was picked No. 17 overall (first round) out of Wake Forest. While at Wake Forest, Kijima served as team captain and was named United Soccer Coaches All-South Region First Team. He tallied 9g/10a in 63 matches played.
Kijima is one of five players drafted by San Diego FC ahead of their inaugural season in 2025. By rule, only one player can be picked from a club’s unprotected roster, which makes Kijima the only selection from CITY SC in the 2024 Draft.
By rule, St. Louis CITY SC will receive $50,000 in General Allocation Money as a result of San Diego FC selecting Kijima.
UPDATE:
San Diego flipped him to DC United
San Diego FC on X (formerly Twitter): “𝗧𝗥𝗔𝗗𝗘 𝗔𝗟𝗘𝗥𝗧We have selected St. Louis City SC midfielder Hosei Kijima during the Expansion Draft and traded him to D.C. United in exchange for $400,000 in 2025 General Allocation Money. pic.twitter.com/SYmhBI4L74 / X”
𝗧𝗥𝗔𝗗𝗘 𝗔𝗟𝗘𝗥𝗧We have selected St. Louis City SC midfielder Hosei Kijima during the Expansion Draft and traded him to D.C. United in exchange for $400,000 in 2025 General Allocation Money. pic.twitter.com/SYmhBI4L74
