MLS Draft Interview: Roman Torres, Minnesota United

With the No. 25 overall pick in the 2025 MLS SuperDraft, Minnesota United selected Roman Torres, a midfielder out of Creighton.

Torres is a true underdog story. He had an unreal high school season in 2020, scoring a whopping 47 goals. Despite the performances, Torres did not get much love from colleges.

"It’s kind of funny because I didn’t have any offers coming out of high school so I had to take a gap year," Torres said. "Then, I was able to train with North Texas my 19 year so I felt good to be recognized in my club. I think the one thing that I learned that year though was to keep my head down and keep pushing and if you do the right things, all it takes is one person to notice."

The beauty of soccer is that no two paths are exactly the same. There are so many different ways to get noticed in the American soccer landscape, though far too many talented players never get a fair opportunity due to the pay-to-play culture in the country. As Torres says, though, all it takes is one person.

Torres began at Iowa Western Community College, where he caught the eye of Creighton as a central midfielder. He played a variety of positions throughout his career, though his roots were in the midfield.

"My U19 year was the first year that I played center forward," Torres said. "Before that, I played midfield since I was 14 and then before that I played right back and then right wing, so I kind of played everywhere on the field."

With the Bluejays, head coach Johnny Torres was integral to Roman's development in the center of midfield . Johnny played in the early days of MLS, notching 88 appearances for the New England Revolution from 1998-2001. He also appeared for the Miami Fusion and Chicago Fire. He has been coaching at Creighton since 2007 and became the head coach in 2018.

"I just felt a lot more comfortable in the middle," Torres said. "Johnny Torres kind of helped me establish my role as where my strengths are and all of that, so I’d want to say an eight or six is where I feel the most comfortable."

In 2024, Torres started all 17 games he played in for Creighton. He was selected to the All-BIG EAST Third Team. He scored three goals and assisted two during the year. Torres became the first Bluejay selected in the draft in two years, when Orlando City picked Duncan McGuire at No. 6 in 2022. Fellow Creighton player Owen O'Malley went three picks after him.

Torres is a silky smooth midfielder that has quick feet and can advance the ball. His experience playing all sorts of positions certainly shows. Having a midfielder who is a confident finisher and dribbler is a massive advantage for any team.

"I think for the people who haven’t seen me play, I want to say my passing and dribbling are my strengths as well as my ability to cover ground," Torres said. "I like to think of myself as a hard worker and an engine."