It almost felt meant to be that Harvey Sarajain was drafted by Orlando City SC.
The Naples, Florida, native was just 10 years old when he went to attend his first-ever professional soccer match: Orlando City versus the Chicago Fire at Camping World Stadium in 2015. It was a game that was delayed heavily due to rain, but even then, the memories stuck with him. He remembered the fans chanting through the delays, watching the likes of Kaká and Cyle Larin star for Orlando and Sean Johnson and David Accam play for Chicago.
Now, 11 years later, the Florida native wears the crest of the Lions he watched as a kid.
"It's a dream come true," Sarajian told OrlandoCitySC.com. "My first MLS game was an Orlando game at Camping World. So it's an unreal feeling to be back here, but now wearing the crest and wearing the jersey."
Drafted fifth overall in the 2026 MLS SuperDraft, Sarajian went from a sophomore in college to a full-blown professional in the span of weeks. He had just finished his season with Wake Forest at the beginning of November, falling to SMU in the conference tournament. Then 43 days later, he was getting drafted to the professional ranks. Twenty-five days after that, he was reporting for his first day as a professional for a Club just four hours away from home.
"I can't wait," he said. "It's been a dream of mine for my family to watch me play professional soccer in a stadium like this."
Most rookies in the past signed contracts after weeks of training camp, after coaches evaluated their fitness and tactical understanding. Sarajian officially signed just four days after stepping foot on the training pitch. It's a show of faith from the Orlando coaching staff and scouting department that what they saw in the pre-draft process was enough to show he was ready for the big leagues.
"It's exciting," Sarajian said. "I'm super grateful for the coaching staff for their support, and I'm going to take every opportunity they give me and do what I can with it."
Sarajian now joins a Lions team that is deep in attacking players. Through college, he's mostly played on the wings, cutting inside from the left onto his preferred right foot.
"I love beating guys one-on-one, getting service into the box, scoring goals, taking guys on," he said. "Getting myself and my teammates in good positions to score goals. That's what I pride myself in doing."
With just under a month of preseason down, Sarajian has gotten the full pro preseason experience. He's gotten game minutes in preseason scrimmages, a week-long trip to Mexico full of two-a-day training sessions, and meetings with the coaching staff on improving his game.
"The standards are different, for sure," he said. "Every training you're fighting for a spot, fighting for a job, fighting for everything. Going into preseason, I was just trying to stay composed and stay free, and I'm really enjoying it."
Along with Sarajian, the Lions have brought in three other players out of college, with defender Nolan Miller out of Michigan also officially signing for the Lions recently. Having peers in the same situation has been a big help for Sarajian as he acclimates to the professional world.
"It kind of takes the edge off knowing there's other people in my position," he said. "Some of those boys are fighting for contracts, so it's nice that I'm playing free and able to just express myself for who I am on the field."
While having people in the same situation is helpful, so too is having players with added professional experience. Both Duncan McGuire and Tyrese Spicer, who were former top draft picks in their own rights, understand the transition Sarajian is navigating.
"Duncan McGuire has been super helpful," he said. "Spicer as well. They've been my mentors, people I look up to. They've helped a ton."
As far as what Head Coach Oscar Pareja has told Sarajian through the preseason, it's been a simple message: just keep grinding; continue to grow and to learn from everyone around him.
"I've been embracing the ups and the downs," he said. "I knew coming into it, it wasn't going to be easy. So I'm just trying to embrace everything and have fun with it."
Orlando's current wing group features established talent and young players fighting for minutes. The 21-year-old knows he's got to put in a lot of work in order to earn playing time with this team. But the Naples native isn't focused on that now. He's focused on putting in the work and getting better every day, hoping that his game will speak for itself and eventually, he'll be donning the Lions jersey in front of his friends and family, fulfilling that dream of playing pro that his 10-year-old self once saw back in Orlando all those years ago.
