Revolution select midfielder Joshua Bolma at No. 4 overall following trade with San Jose; Club adds central defenders Victor Souza (No. 39) and Andreas Ueland (No. 68)
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – The New England Revolution selected three players in Wednesday’s 2023 MLS SuperDraft presented by adidas. The Revolution acquired the No. 4 overall selection from the San Jose Earthquakes and selected University of Maryland midfielder Joshua Bolma in Round One, followed by Boston College defender Victor Souza (39th overall) in Round Two and University of Virginia defender Andreas Ueland (68th overall) in Round Three. In exchange for the No. 4 overall selection, New England sent the No. 10 overall pick, $200,000 in 2023 GAM (General Allocation Money), and $50,000 in 2024 GAM to San Jose.
Revolution Sporting Director and Head Coach Bruce Arena and first-round selection Joshua Bolma met with the media in a virtual press conference night following Wednesday’s MLS SuperDraft. View the links below to below to access footage and transcript, photos of Bolma, Souza, and Ueland, and additional Revolution media assets.
Bolma, 20, was named Big Ten Freshman of the Year in 2021 and earned selections to the All-Big Ten First Team and Big Ten All-Freshman team after recording four goals and four assists in 18 appearances during his first collegiate season. As a redshirt sophomore in 2022, Bolma became the fourth Maryland player in program history to earn a second All-Big Ten First Team selection behind two goals and eight assists over 20 appearances. Bolma, who was signed to the Generation adidas Class of 2023, helped lead the Terrapins to a 2022 Big Ten regular season title and a second straight NCAA Tournament bid. The midfielder grew up in Accra, Ghana and attended South Kent High School in South Kent, Conn., where Bolma helped guide the Cardinals to a 63-3-5 record and a National Championship during his four-year tenure.
Souza, 21, finished his four-year collegiate career at nearby Boston College with 48 appearances, all starts, and over 4,000 minutes played. Named to the All-ACC Third Team in each of the last two seasons, the Ozone Park, N.Y. native was invited to the MLS College Showcase in Cary, N.C. earlier this month. Souza leapt onto the scene during his first year with at Chestnut Hill in 2019, playing every minute for the Eagles and earning ACC All-Freshman Team honors.
Ueland, 23, played four seasons at the University of Virginia, amassing over 6,700 minutes played across 73 appearances, all starts, and finishing with eight goals scored and three assists. The 2022 ACC Defensive Player of the Year was named to the All-ACC First Team this past season after helping the Cavaliers to eight clean sheets and a 1.05 goals against average. Ueland, who also earned two selections to the All-ACC Third Team in 2019 and 2020, has been capped by the Norway U-17, U-18, and U-20 sides after developing for 12 years and earning professional experience with his hometown club, Bryne FK.
TRANSACTIONS: New England Revolution received the No. 4 overall selection in the 2023 MLS SuperDraft from the San Jose Earthquakes in exchange for the No. 10 overall selection, $200,000 in 2023 GAM (General Allocation Money), and $50,000 in 2024 GAM.
New England Revolution select midfielder Joshua Bolma (1st round; 4th overall), defender Victor Souza (2nd round; 39th overall), and defender Andreas Ueland (3rd round; 68th overall) in the 2023 MLS SuperDraft on December 21, 2022.
JOSHUA BOLMA
Pronunciation: BOLE-mah
Position: Midfielder
Height: 5-9
Weight: 135
Hometown: Accra, Ghana
Date of Birth: 04/10/2002 (Accra, Ghana)
Nationality: Ghana
How Acquired: Drafted 4th overall in 2023 MLS SuperDraft.
BOLMA AT A GLANCE:
Finished collegiate career with six goals and 12 assists in 38 career appearances. Became the fourth player in program history to earn two selections to the All-Big Ten First Team. Set a career high with eight assists in 2022 as a redshirt sophomore, along with two goals. Named Big Ten Freshman of the Year in 2021 after recording four goals and four assists in 18 appearances during his first collegiate season.
VICTOR SOUZA
Pronunciation: SUE-zah
Position: Defender
Height: 6-2
Weight: 195
Hometown: Ozone Park, N.Y.
Date of Birth: 04/06/2001 (Ozone Park, N.Y.)
Nationality: United States
How Acquired: Drafted 39th overall in 2023 MLS SuperDraft.
SOUZA AT A GLANCE:
Finished collegiate career with 48 appearances, all starts, and nearly 4,400 minutes played. Earned two selections to the All-ACC Third Team as well as ACC All-Freshman Team honors in 2019. Finished freshman season in 2019 as one of two players on the roster to play every minute during the season. Invited to the 2023 MLS College Showcase in Cary, N.C. Registered first collegiate assist on Aug. 25, 2022 in a season-opening victory against Quinnipiac.
ANDREAS UELAND
Pronunciation: AN-dray-us YOU-land
Position: Defender
Height: 6-5
Weight: 190
Hometown: Bryne, Norway
Date of Birth: 08/19/1999 (Bryne, Norway)
Nationality: Norway
How Acquired: Drafted 68th overall in 2023 MLS SuperDraft.
UELAND AT A GLANCE:
Amassed over 6,700 minutes across 73 appearances, all starts, and finished with eight goals and three assists. Named 2022 ACC Defensive Player of the Year after helping the Cavaliers to eight clean sheet and a 1.05 goals against average. Selected once to the All-ACC First Team (2022) and twice to the All-ACC Third Team (2019 & 2020). Capped by the Norway U-17, U-18, and U-20 sides. Made 60 professional appearances for his hometown club, Bryne FK, after developing in the club’s academy for 12 years.
Sporting Director and Head Coach Bruce Arena
On if second-round pick Victor Souza (Boston College) could be the overall package as a defender:
Arena: “Well, we hope so. That’s why we drafted him. We’ll have him in preseason. The transition from the collegiate level into MLS is not an easy one, especially for defenders. There’s going to be a learning curve, btu we think he has the tools necessary to be successful.”
On selecting two center backs in the second and third rounds in Souza and Andreas Ueland (Virginia):
Arena: “I think that’s an area we need to strengthen on our roster. We need some depth there. We could be better there. It was a position last year we had difficulty with. We had injuries to [Andrew] Farrell a little bit, but [Henry] Kessler for a fair amount, and Jon Bell who is now with St. Louis. So, we needed to strengthen the position and we drafted two players out of the college ranks with a good background that if they acclimate themselves quickly, have a chance to help our team.”
On trading up to No. 4 to select Joshua Bolma (Maryland) and how the trade with San Jose came about:
Arena: “The deals come together when you offer them some money and they make a decision, so that was pretty quick. There were two players we were interested in in the first 10 picks. We had the opportunity to move up and that assured us we were going to get one of those players, and that was the case. Joshua Bolma is a really good, quick attacking player. He can play in a number of positions. We’re going to try him as a No. 8 in the central midfield. It’s one area where we lack speed, is in the central part of midfield, and we wanted to get a player there that could offer us a little more quickness, and Joshua certainly does that. So, it’ll be again interesting to see how he adjusts quickly into MLS and makes the adjustments and see if he is a player that can help us in the early going.”
On his assessment of how the team will improve heading into 2023:
Arena: “Well, you know, we did transfer three petty good players. MLS is an unusual league in terms of that. Typically, in any league in the world, when you transfer players, you then have the resources to replace them. In all honesty, in MLS, you don’t. It was real difficult to make up the void we had with the loss of those guys. In the goal, we were very fortunate to bring in Petrovic, who did an outstanding job, but we weren’t able to replace our attacking players due to a lot of injuries. Vrioni was injured and basically missed the whole year. Borrero was injured and missed an awful lot. Bou was injured, so our attack was really depleted. We made a trade for Tajouri-Shradi with LAFC, he was injured and never played for us. So, in the attacking end of the field, we were certainly limited. We put a lot of pressure on Carles Gil. Defensively, we had injuries in the backline, specifically in the center back position at times that hurt us, and we didn’t get good enough play there ad made some mistakes, no question about it. We’ve reflected on that. We’ve started to work in the offseason to get a little bit better, we think, in the attack. We’re going to be strengthened with the addition of Bobby Wood. We’re going to make it very competitive for guys to get on the field, so in the attacking end of the field, we think we’ll certainly be better. Defensively, we’ve got to continue to work with that group and get them better, and I think we’ve added some depth in this drat as well.”
On Jozy Altidore’s status entering preseason:
Arena: “Right now, he’s on our roster. When he shows up in preseason, it will be interesting to see where he’s at. We have a very competitive attacking group of players now. As a coach, I’m pleased by that. It’s going to put a lot of pressure on everybody, and Jozy included. So, we’ll see how that works out and we’ll make our decision accordingly.”
On if he expects more offseason moves in the coming weeks:
Arena: “We’re continuing to look and see if we can add some pieces. We think we can add another player in the midfield in a defensive role, for sure. So, that’s one position we’re going to be looking to strengthen as well. But right now, we are getting a little closer to having the kind of roster we want.”
Revolution Midfielder Joshua Bolma
On his emotions after being selected by New England in the SuperDraft:
Bolma: “Yeah, as I said before it’s just so special, so surreal. Just thinking about it, how it happened, not knowing what was going to happen. Then they traded up and they got me. It got me in a lot of different emotions. I’m just so grateful and that’s mostly what I’ve been feeling all night long.”
On his experiences developing at South Kent High School and Black Rock FC:
Bolma: “At South Kent, I came fresh from Ghana. I didn’t know much about high school, college, or MLS in general. I started picking up on a few things. I wasn’t really big on watching MLS, but I had heard of the Revolution. I played against the [Revolution] Academy teams a few times. [The Revolution] are a great team. They have the reputation and everything. I’ve definitely heard a lot about them. My journey at South Kent was special and one of the places that prepared me for this kind of moment. Being there, being able to adjust to the weather, the food, everything else. Coming up from Ghana and being in this different environment, it was definitely a tough transition but at South Kent everything went smoothly. The coaches, people, everyone else was really, really nice. They welcomed me and everything, so it felt like home. Moving on, fast forward, I played with Black Rock [FC] at the club level. It was great to get out there and do different showcases in different parts of the country. Seeing different places, meeting different people and just playing and having fun. Through those, you get all the recruiting guys, scouts ranging from MLS to college. I know a lot of people have been following my journey. I’m just so grateful that I was able to get the opportunity to go to South Kent, first of all, and be able to get on this journey that’s about to begin with the New England Revolution.”
On being able to play different positions and where he feels most comfortable:
Bolma: “That’s one thing about me, being able to be versatile and fit in different roles. Just growing up and even playing at South Kent, I’ve played in the middle of the field a lot and that’s where I feel most comfortable. That’s where I’ve played the longest. However, I can really fit in different roles. As I moved on from high school to college, [Maryland coach Sasho Cirovski] saw me as more fast paced and everything and they tried me on the wing. That went well. I was able to do that as well. I played as a wing and that was when I had my breakout year at Maryland. The following year, [Cirovski] he tried me in a different spot, in the central area where I’ve played most of my life. It felt great being back in there. and I feel like that was where I’m most productive. However, everywhere else I’ve played and with the help of the team and everyone else on the field, I feel like I should be able to thrive and do well. And yes, I’ve also played outside back before, but that was when I was growing up back in Ghana in the [Rising Stars] Academy, filling in different spots and outside back was one of them. Even at Maryland I also played in the wing back position a little bit. They’re all very familiar positions.”
On getting the call from Bruce Arena and what he hopes to bring to the team:
Bolma: “When I got the call, I was just going through all the emotions. I talked to him. It was really brief. He sounded very kind and helpful. He’s just trying to help me navigate this whole situation right now, which is great. About Joshua Boma, there’s not much to it as to what they see and everything else, my journey at Maryland and South Kent. I’m just very much focused and ready to go. I’m just going to put everything I have. People that knew me from back then, everywhere I go I just try to bring the best out of me and the people around me. Coming in there, I’m definitely going to come in there and just work, work, and work, and help the team get to wherever we want to get to.”
On how his versatility can help the team:
Bolma: “Being able to be versatile is one of my strengths, filling into different roles. I like to be dynamic, I like to move around a lot, I like to go in different spots and try to be unpredictable, and that’s how I thrive. Coming into New England this is a very big step for me, obviously. I’m just humbled, focused, and ready to do whatever’s required to be able to help the team in whichever way possible. Coming in there, I’m just ready to meet the guys, the crew, everyone else and just ready to work with everyone else for the betterment of this club. I can’t wait. I’m looking forward to it.”
On the Revolution trading up to select him at No. 4 overall:
Bolma: “This is just surreal that they did that. I can’t wait to get together with the team, looking forward to it. I’m just ready to be able to do whatever is required to help the club in whichever way possible. I’m super pumped and excited. At the same time, I know it’s going to be a lot of work and a lot of expectations. I’m going to come in and try to do the best I can to be able to live up to those expectations and be able to help the team to get wherever they belong.”
On comparisons to former Revolution midfielder Tajon Buchanan:
Bolma: “I’m really humbled. [Buchanan’s] such a great player. I’ve been watching him too, even when he was at the Revs. I’ve heard of him. He’s a really, really talented guy. Just like myself, he’s very versatile. He plays in different roles, in different places, and that’s how he thrives. That’s how he got to where he is now. People making that comparison, I’m just humbled that people see what I’m capable of and my potential. Coming in there, I don’t really have any great expectations for myself. I’m just ready to work and ready to do whatever’s required and be able to help the team get to where they belong. I watched him in the World Cup too, he was phenomenal. If I’m able to provide and produce like he did, I’m sure great things are going to happen. I’m just so excited and I can’t wait to get started.”
