Greenville, S.C. -- Former Furman men's soccer standouts Shea Salinas and Jon Leathers were both selected by Vancouver Whitecaps FC in the Major League Soccer Expansion Draft held on Wednesday afternoon.

Salinas, a midfielder from Grapevine, Texas, was the fourth pick of the Whitecaps.  He earned seven starts and appeared in 17 matches this past season for the Philadelphia Union.  Salinas, who started his MLS career with the San Jose Earthquakes, scored his only goal with the Union in Week 10 versus the Houston Dynamo.  The strike was voted as the MLS Goal of the Week.

Leathers, a defender, was the Whitecaps ninth pick.  The Athens, Ga., native, appeared eight times and made three starts this past season for Sporting Kansas City.  He tallied his first career assist in the club's season finale.

Leathers and Salinas helped guide Furman to a 19-4-0 record, Southern Conference regular season title, tournament title and NCAA Tournament second round appearance as seniors at Furman in 2007.  Both were All-SoCon and NSCAA All-America selections while Leathers was named SoCon Player of the Year in 2006 and 2007.

The Whitecaps and Portland Timbers will begin their first seasons of play in MLS in 2011.