Coming off a respectable fifth place finish, Real Salt Lake is gearing up for 2024. In Tuesday's MLS SuperDraft, they were quite busy, making six selections on the day. With their second pick of the afternoon, they selected right back Kevin Bonilla out of Portland. The No. 18 pick was a semi-finalist for the Hermann Trophy, college soccer's equivalent of the Heisman. In 2023, Bonilla assisted 10 goals, good for eighth-most in the nation. RSL has proved to be willing to play their draft picks, as last year's first round pick, Emeka Eneli, became a key contributor at fullback.
Bonilla grew up in Dallas, TX, where he was a longtime member of the FC Dallas academy. He made 23 appearances with their affiliate team, North Texas SC, prior to entering college. Entering the 2020 season, Bonilla became a Portland Pilot. He was a three-year starter, playing in 57 total games, and tallying 17 assists along with 3 goals. He feels that his time in the FC Dallas youth system helped prepare him for college and the pros.
"Playing at an MLS academy like Dallas definitely came with its pros," Bonilla said. "It was high level and very competitive in a way where if you weren’t performing week in and week out, then you weren’t getting any playing time."
The aspect of Kevin Bonilla's game that jumps out the most is the high volume of assists from his right back position. He has been steadily improving his playmaking ability during his time at the University of Portland. Despite his stable crossing production, Bonilla does not feel it is even the best part of his skillset.
"I wouldn’t say necessarily crossing/passing is the best part of my game, but it definitely is something I have been working on over the past 3-4 years," Bonilla said. "It has become a strength of mine for sure and with the game understanding I have, it has helped me become more efficient in the final third in helping my team convert chances into goals. I love the risk side of it and the adrenaline it brings knowing I’m making a play happen and it became effective once I wasn’t afraid to make a mistake."
In addition to his offensive production, Bonilla is a rock in defense. He possesses the ability to put in strong and accurate tackles with the utmost confidence. He excels at stepping in a timely manner to win possession. He also has no fear of taking players on and transitioning the defense into attack.
While Kevin Bonilla says he does not model his game after anyone in specific, he did highlight two players that he enjoys watching and incorporating their ideas into his play style. The two players were legendary Brazilian and FC Barcelona right back Dani Alves, as well as Manchester City's Kevin De Bruyne. The assist numbers from Bonilla make a lot of sense when KDB is one of his influences.
Due to Real Salt Lake selecting four defenders in this year's draft, breaking into the team and getting a chance will be no easy task. With that being said, the defense is definitely a position in which RSL could use some valuable depth. As long as Bonilla continues to trust himself and take chances going forward and defensively, he has a real shot to become a contributor in MLS.
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