As MLS commissioner Don Garber walked on stage with still more than two minutes for the Portland Timbers to announce their first-round pick in the MLS SuperDraft, Ben Polk was sure Garber was about to announce another trade.

Seven teams within the first 19 picks had already swapped draft picks, and Polk thought the Timbers’ selection was coming too quickly to have already decided on a player.

But as the words “Syracuse University” spilled out of Garber’s mouth, Polk recalled uttering, “Oh my God.” He embraced Syracuse volunteer assistant coach Blair Stevenson and headed up the stage to meet the commissioner.

“I tried to play it cool,” Polk said, “pretend I wasn’t nervous.”

He was so caught up in his “play it cool” act, Polk realized on stage he forgot to bring up his speech notes he’d held on to the entire day. But he delivered short words, thanking his former coach Pepe Aragon at Herkimer Community College and SU head coach Ian McIntyre and his staff.

Polk walked off the stage in the Baltimore Convention Center as a member of the Timbers and the final first-round selection of the MLS SuperDraft on Thursday, picked nine spots after former Orange teammate Julian Buescher. It was a weight lifted off his shoulders, as with each passing first-round pick he tried not to think about his lackluster performance at the MLS Player Combine just days prior.

He’ll head to Portland, Oregon, for the first time ever on Wednesday, and three days later he’ll fly to training camp in Arizona to begin his professional career.

“I’m nervous,” Polk said. “But they obviously saw something they liked in me. They’re going to work with me.

“I’m only gonna get better.”

After Syracuse’s season ended in a penalty-kick loss to Clemson in the College Cup semifinal on Dec. 11, Polk struggled to stay in shape. Inclement weather at home in Banbury, England, kept Polk off the pitch.

He didn’t touch a soccer ball again until working out with Toronto FC on Jan. 5 — 25 days since losing to the Tigers in his final collegiate match. Polk could tell immediately that his touch was off, and that translated to his workouts in the combine two days later.

The first game of the combine “was like a million miles an hour,” and Polk knew he wasn’t in good enough shape. He was more capable of long-distance running instead of executing quick sprints and cuts.

“I just wasn’t the same player,” Polk said. “There was times where I was like ‘Aw for God’s sake Ben they’re coming to watch you do what you do well.’

“And I was just not doing it well.”

He shook off the rust in the second scrimmage, netting a shot past the 6-foot-2 frame of former Creighton goalie Connor Sparrow. The familiar presence of McIntyre and Buescher helped too, Polk said, but Buescher was likely the most talented player on the field, according to Polk.

Eight MLS teams conducted face-to-face interviews with Polk toward the end of the combine — not Portland though — and he flew back to Syracuse to meet up with McIntyre, Stevenson and assistant coach Matt Verni to drive to the draft in Baltimore.

“See, I’m still taking care of you,” Polk recalled McIntyre joking with him on the drive. “Still needing things from me and you’re not even one of my players anymore.”

Playing at Syracuse was a life-changing experience for Polk, he said, and the program’s historic success in 2015 gave him the platform to end up playing professionally.

As he spends his final hours on campus, primarily sifting through the 300-plus social media notifications he received on draft day, he’s still struggling to fathom what’s transpired in the five short months since he arrived at SU.

“To go in the first round is obviously crazy,” Polk said. “I didn’t expect that to happen coming to Syracuse in August.

“(Being at Syracuse) was definitely one of the high points in my life.”

Published on January 19, 2016 at 9:47 pm

Contact Connor: cgrossma@syr.edu | @connorgrossman