Dayton Flyers senior drafted No. 5 overall in MLS Draft

The Columbus Crew drafted Dayton Flyers senior defender Lalas Abubakar with the No. 5 pick in the first round of the Major League Soccer SuperDraft on Friday.

Abubakar is the highest-drafted Dayton athlete in any sport since the Minneapolis Lakers selected Jim Paxson with the No. 3 pick in 1956. He is a native of Ghana who was named Atlantic 10 Defender of the Year last season. He played in 61 games in his career.

“I want to thank the @ColumbusCrewSC organization for believing in me and excited to start with the team,” Abubakar wrote on Twitter.

Abubakar played in the MLS Combine earlier this week in Carson, Calif, and, according to Goal.com, The Dayton central defender pushed himself into top 10 territory by showing off good passing ability and leadership qualities, as well as some versatility as he played in central defense and as a defensive midfielder.

Abubakar is the sixth Flyer to be drafted. He follows: Denny Clanton (2004); Chris Rolfe (2005); Dasan Robinson (2006); Isaac Kissi (2010); and Amass Amankona (2016).

What @LALASABUBAKAR1 will be bringing to #CrewSC https://t.co/8FLiqeBUts
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) January 13, 2017

.@ColumbusCrewSC select @DaytonMSoccer forward @LALASABUBAKAR1 with the 5th overall pick. #SuperDraft pic.twitter.com/8u7xS5OLPl
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) January 13, 2017