I have no inside info - yet - but with the season over it's time to start this annual thread. Between homegrown signees from MLS academies, Generation Adidas deals, players signing abroad and even the occasional player leaving for a lower division team in the US, let's try and use this thread to track the players who are leaving school for pro soccer with eligibility remaining.
Ah, the annual who is coming out thread. See, I was ready for it this year. I predict this to be the most active HG off season to date. There are only two I that I really care about: Bryan Gallego (Timbers HG) and the a lesser extent; Adam Najem (Red Bulls HG). Here something? HBO!
http://www.mlssoccer.com/superdraft...s-blue-chippers-one-month-out-2014-superdraft For what it is worth - mlssoccer.com latest's mock draft assumes the following GA players: G - Blake (CONN) D - Dean (CAL), Miller (CREIGHTON) M - Holness (UNC), Hairston (LOUSIVILLE) With 7 GAs last season, there may be a few more in the mix for this season.
Only four non-pros remain from the last U20 roster: McIntosh, Miller, Steffen and Torre. Of those, I would guess Miller is the likeliest early departure (though Steffen may be more highly coveted).
has anyone heard anything on tommy thompson? @SJTillIDie? i'd hate to see him go after one season, but it's clear the kid can play.
Unfortunately, it's not that simple. Unlike other (North) American sports, he just can't enter the draft. As an underclassmen, he has to be signed to a Generation Adidas deal to be able to go into the draft. And there are a very few of those given to underclassmen. It's a very stupid, short-sighted and now outdated policy. That said, I think there's a decent chance Larin gets a GA offer. Whether or not Ray Reid convinces him to turn it down or not is another matter.
That said...the rest of the conference hopes he's gone next season too. Dude is a straight up handful.
Alright...that was funny. If I weren't at work I'd post the Joe Pesci scene from GoodFellas...I amuse you? You think I'm a clown?...
Ives Galarcep @SoccerByIves7h For those asking re: MLS Homegrown Players, Jordan Allen to RSL & Jalen Robinson to D.C. United = 2 signings I'm told are expected to happen
http://www.soccerbyives.net/2013/12/generation-adidas-candidates.html Ives GA candidate rankings: 1. Dean - D - California 2. Stolz - M - UCLA 3. Tshuma - F - Maryland 4. Blake - G - Conn 5. Cochran - D - Wisconsin 6. Hariston - M - Louisville 7. Miller - D - Creighton 8. Larin - F - Conn 9. Mares - M - Indiana 10. Gentile - F - Charlotte Sounds like Mares and Gentile are GA long shots at best. Larin is doubtful given Conn's GA track record with Reid as coach. Stolz may need big $ to go GA.
mares has no shot at a ga deal. he was not good last season. he showed little ability to combine with teammates and little ability to beat defenders on his own.
Not to mention - if Mares makes the pk against UCLA, quite possibly the season doesn't spiral out of control during the regular season for the Hoosiers. Too many missed easy chances. Thompson is three to four times the player.
It's not in anyway a surprise but we have our first official underclassmen leaving early. http://www.mlssoccer.com/news/artic...roduct-jordan-allen-homegrown-player-contract
Has a men's soccer program had more players leave early than Virginia? John Harkes, 1987 – 3 Tony Meola, 1989 – 2^ Claudio Reyna, 1993 – 3 Ben Olsen, 1997 – 3 Scott Vermillion, 1997 – 3 Brian West, 1997 – 2 Michael Green, 1998 - 2 Jason Moore, 1998 – 2 Chris Albright, 1998 – 2 Kyle Martino, 2001 – 3 Alecko Eskandarian, 2002 – Jacob LeBlanc, 2002 – 3 Hunter Freeman, 2004 – 3 Nico Colaluca, 2006 – 3 Bakary Soumare, 2006 – 1^ Tony Tchani, 2009 – 2 Chris Agorsor, 2009 - 2 Shawn Barry, 2009 - 2 Brian Spann, 2 - 2011 Jordan Allen, 1 – 2013 A couple of weeks ago I posted the players from Maryland that had left early and had it at, I think, 18. Akron has a had a lot of players leave early since 2009 but I don't know if they're to UVa/Maryland levels yet and I'd guess UCLA and Indiana have had a bunch, too.
the latest news is some obscure hispanic MLS blogger posted an article saying MLS has granted San Jose's homegrown claim to Thompson. Doesn't mean he's gonna sign though. Still waiting to see what happens. http://futbolmls.net/2013/12/27/next-gen-tommy-thompson/ @Sergiogut 6h Los Quakes han reclamado formalmente a la #MLS la firma como Homegrown de Thompson y parece que la liga aceptara. https://twitter.com/Sergiogut/status/416694342409940992
He appears to be some random guy from Spain, but he's done some college player interviews like Jordan Morris and a recent one with Victor Munoz. Great stuff, I wonder how he got word about Thompson.
http://pressbox.mlssoccer.com/content/four-players-sign-generation-adidas-contracts Official confirmation of Blake, Tshuma, Miller, and Hairston. Interestingly, no Dean or Stolz (yet). EDIT: Actually, the text of this release makes it sound as though there won't be any other GA's in the draft.
In case anyone was wondering. Barry is in Austrian 3rd division. Agorsor is a coach: http://www.arundelsoccer.com/docs/ASA_Ajax.pdf Spann just got released from his club in Sweden and we're not sure on his next moves.