Lehigh Valley Spirits select forward Jairo Guevara No. 1 overall in MASL’s first expansion draft

ALLENTOWN, Pa. — The Lehigh Valley Spirits selected 23-year-old forward Jairo Guevara with the No. 1 overall pick Tuesday night, headlining an eight-player class at the Major Arena Soccer League’s first-ever expansion draft inside the PPL Center complex.

The draft, held at Chickie’s & Pete’s in downtown Allentown and streamed on MASL TV’s YouTube channel, marked the next step for the franchise as it builds toward its Dec. 5 home opener at PPL Center.

The Spirits, owned by Lehigh Valley Phantoms co-owners Jim and Rob Brooks, are the second professional sports tenant at the arena.

The class features one forward, one goalkeeper, two defenders and four midfielders.

Doors opened at 5 p.m. ahead of the 7 p.m. broadcast. JP Dellacamera, the MASL’s president of media and communications, served as master of ceremonies, with Spirits Sporting Director Giuliano Oliviero and Associate Head Coach Jeremy Ortiz joining him at the panel between picks to discuss each selection.

The Brooks brothers took the podium to make the first pick, sending Guevara to a microphone for brief remarks before he sat down with the panel.

“It is the most exciting thing ever,” Guevara told Lehigh Daily during an interview after the event. “New stadium, new fans, new everything.”

Guevara, who spent the past three seasons with the Baltimore Blast, doubled his career-high goal total last season with 10, according to Dellacamera.

Oliviero, who said he coached against Guevara for two seasons in his previous role at the Milwaukee Wave, described him as a “true talent” at the forward position who can hold the ball up, score and combine with teammates.

“There’s a little bit of a nasty side there, too, that we kind of like,” Oliviero said, adding that the team values Guevara’s physicality.

Guevara was born in Pennsylvania to a Honduran mother and a Salvadoran father and grew up in Virginia, he said. He said he has often spent summers training in Honduras, where he described the competition as physical and the conditions demanding.

Allentown Mayor Matt Tuerk announced the No. 2 pick: goalkeeper William Banahene from the Milwaukee Wave, who will also serve as the Spirits’ assistant general manager and director of community relations.

The 32-year-old Rochester, New York, native is an eight-year MASL veteran of the Harrisburg Heat and the Wave and was selected to the 2025 MASL All-Star Game, according to the team. Oliviero called him “probably the best shot-stopper in the MASL.”

Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Tony Iannelli announced the third pick: defender John Gates from the St. Louis Ambush. Oliviero said Gates, whose father played for the Ambush, has the speed to “get up and down the field like no one in our league.”

Bryson, a patient at Lehigh Valley Reilly Children’s Hospital, announced the fourth pick in a pre-recorded video shown on the arena’s screens: midfielder David Stankovic from the Kansas City Comets.

Oliviero said Stankovic, who previously played for the Texas Outlaws, is an athletic two-way player the team will let “go in the attack” while building defensive structure around him.

Phantoms hockey head coach John Snowden made the fifth pick: midfielder Douglas Lima from the Tacoma Stars. Oliviero called Lima “dynamic” and a one-on-one player capable of putting defenders on their heels.

Spirits Vice President Jordan Cannon announced the sixth pick: defender Ben Suddeth from the Empire Strykers. Oliviero said the team had been “very interested” in another Empire player — 2012 Olympic gold medalist and two-time World Cup veteran Marco Fabián — but Fabián, who is married and recently bought a house in Los Angeles, did not plan to relocate, Oliviero said.

The Spirits instead took Suddeth, who Oliviero described as a strong, physical defender out of Loyola Chicago.

The Phantoms’ mascot, meLVin, made the seventh pick, holding up a paper sign to announce the selection of midfielder Stephan Teixeira from Utica City FC. Oliviero said Teixeira has limited MASL experience but called him a potential “diamond in the rough.”

Miguel Reyes, an inaugural season ticket holder and coach of the local Thunderbolts Soccer Club, brought several of his players onto the stage to announce the final pick: midfielder Nilton de Andrade from the reigning MASL champion San Diego Sockers.

De Andrade, a 2024-25 MASL All-Star while with Utica City FC, won the Ron Newman Cup with San Diego in April.

“Championship pedigree. Super excited,” Oliviero said of the selection.

Under the draft format approved at this year’s MASL league meetings, each of the league’s eight existing clubs could protect 10 field players and one goalkeeper, the league said in announcing the team.

The Spirits could select up to one player per club across eight rounds, and no club could lose more than one player. The team was also permitted to negotiate with unprotected players from May 11 through May 25.

MASL Commissioner Keith Tozer, who was traveling to a tournament in Cary, North Carolina, addressed the event in a pre-recorded video, calling the draft a “milestone for the growth” of the league.

He said he expects similar drafts to accompany future expansions, including a Sacramento, California, franchise scheduled to begin play in 2027-28.

Spirit’s merchandise, including hoodies, T-shirts, hats and soccer balls, was on sale at the event, and some fans met with ticket sales representatives to secure seats for the inaugural season.

The arena’s main board displayed the Spirits’ logo in high definition, though the playing surface had not yet been converted from its previous configuration.

Oliviero said the Spirits will turn next to free agency and local tryouts scheduled for August, with plans to recruit in the Philadelphia and New York areas as well as the Lehigh Valley.

“It’s a great starting point,” Oliviero said of the draft class. “We feel we can do even better with tryouts and also free agency.”

The Spirits will compete in the MASL’s Premier Level, the league’s top tier. The home opener is set for Dec. 5 at PPL Center.