Official: Who's leaving early? 2011-12 edition.

With the season over, it's time to chart what underclassmen are turning pro with eligibility remaining.

I'd like to keep this thread clean of speculation like "player X SHOULD go pro" or "MLS should sign this player."

I don't mind inside dope you can't source with a link. A lot of you are connected to a player or coach or an agent so if you hear that player X has an offer or has signed but it hasn't been released, by all means share it.

And, even better, if there's a link discussing a player leaving early, please post it.

To that end, here we go.

It's no secret Darren Mattocks of Akron was going to be leaving early. But Ives reports today he's signed with an agent (and is leaning towards signing in Europe) so his college career is over.

According to Mattocks' agent, Patrick McCabe, clubs in Norway, Sweden and Denmark have made offers to the Akron sophomore and he is set to select one of those options over the MLS Generation adidas offer.

http://www.soccerbyives.net/soccer_...-toward-europe-ownby-trialing-in-germany.html

In case some of you missed it, a pair of red-shirt juniors were invited to the MLS Combine, a pretty sure-fire sign they aren't coming back for their fifth years.

North Carolina's Billy Schuler and Creighton's Greg Jordan both were invited to the combine.

MIDFIELDERS (19): Greg Jordan (Creighton);

-snip-

FORWARDS (13): Billy Schuler (UNC);

http://www.mlssoccer.com/news/artic...ces-initial-list-invitees-2012-player-combine

Whether this means they'll be signing GA deals or being in the draft remains to be seen. MLS has an inconsistent track record with red-shirt juniors. Some, like Rob Valentino and Stefan Frei, get GA deals. Others, like Steve Shak and Milos Kocic, go straight into the draft with the seniors.

Between GA deals, homegrown signings and players looking to sign abroad, there should be plenty more activity with players leaving early so please post what you know and/or find.

Sandon - if a redshirt junior completes all their coursework to graduate before leaving (I know some of the residency kids start school in the spring, so seems feasible), are they eligible for GA? If not, would be easy to leave some classes undone, but I was just wondering how that worked since you mentioned redshirt juniors here.

Colgate Fr. Jimmy McLaughlin has signed a homegrown contract with the Philadelphia Union.

http://www.mlssoccer.com/news/article/2011/12/12/union-sign-second-home-grown-player-mclaughlin

I have no idea. As with a lot of these things, MLS keeps it close to the vest which allows for a lot of flexibility and inconsistency on their part.

With MLS, it's often hard to see the past as precedent for the future.

Ohio State red-shirt junior GK Matt Lampson has given up his final season of eligibility and signed a homegrown contract with the Columbus Crew.

http://www.thecrew.com/news/2011/12/crew-signs-gk-matt-lampson-second-homegrown-player

Via Twitter, (SoccerBy)Ives Galarcep reports that both UC Santa Barbara's redshirt junior F Sam Garza and UCLA Jr. F Chandler Hoffman have signed Generation Adidas deals and thus have given up their final seasons of eligibility.

Good weekend to be a West Coast college striker. Multiple sources tell me UCLA striker Chandler Hoffman has been offered a GA contract.

It's a good weekend to be a Garza. Sources have told both me and SBI West Coast guru @adamserrano that UCSB's Sam Garza has signed a GA deal

http://twitter.com/SoccerByIves

Here's the full article at Soccer By Ives:

http://www.soccerbyives.net/soccer_by_ives/2011/12/wenger-mattocks-sign-with-mls.html#more

Ives now has Darren Mattocks and Andrew Wenger signing GA deals.

http://www.soccerbyives.net/soccer_by_ives/2011/12/wenger-mattocks-sign-with-mls.html

Your likely top two picks in the draft.

Have you seen Mattocks play and what are your impressions? I have watched almost all of the Akron games and he does not look to me like he ought to be a top pick even though he has great numbers.I thought his play was inconsistent.

Of course he's inconsistent.

If he wasn't inconsistent he wouldn't have been at Akron to begin with.

Despite his inconsistency, he's the top forward prospect out there.

As for whether that makes him the top pick will depend on team need. Personally, I'd look at the history of college forwards vs college mids and defenders and ask take the best defender or MF and look for a forward from a different source.

But that's just me. If you're looking for a forward and Mattocks is on the board, odds are he's your guy.

Virginia MF Brian "Cobi" Span is giving up his final two seasons of eligibility and signing with a team in Sweden's top flight.

http://tithenai.tumblr.com/post/3215186237/two-churches-located-across-the-street-from-each-other

The article is in Swedish but I'm sure there will be English confirmation soon.

In a scenario that other underclassmen would be wise to follow, Span spent part of last summer training with teams over there and getting himself on their radar then returned to school to bide his time till the Scandinavian off-season and is now signing over there.

Edited to add SBI's story of Span signing, in English!
http://www.soccerbyives.net/soccer_by_ives/2011/12/span-signs-with-djurgarden.html

Well that sucks for MLS... wish they had made Span a GA offer. His first goal against Clemson in this highlight reel is Brek-Shea-esque:

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lsh0l1zI5yI"]Brian "Cobi" Span Goals - YouTube[/ame]

Chandler Hoffman officially going GA.
http://www.mlssoccer.com/news/article/2011/12/23/generation-adidas-qa-chandler-hoffman

He joins Darren Mattocks, Andrew Wenger and Sam Garza on the announced/confirmed GA list, Brian Span who has signed in Europe and Matt Lampson and Jimmy McLaughlin who signed homegrown deals. Also, Billy Schuler and Greg Jordan were invited to the MLS Combine despite being redshirt juniors and presumably aren't returning for their fifth years.

In a move that should surprise absolutely no one, Kelyn Rowe is giving up his final two seasons of college eligibility.

http://www.soccerbyives.net/soccer_by_ives/2011/12/rowe-signs-generation-adidas-deal-with-mls.html

Creighton So. LB Tyler Polak tells the Omaha newspaper he's turning pro, though his destination is unknown.

He wants to sign with MLS but the league is apparently dragging its feet on a GA offer so he's exploring options abroad. (I think MLS is being short-sighted here.)

http://www.omaha.com/article/20111229/BLUEJAYS/712299805

Absurd that he hasn't been offered a GA contract yet. Really disappointed with this year's GA class so far.

Yeah, but it is not like MLS is losing these guys to Europe like in years past. MLS signed the cream of the crop in this class. They didn't lose a top player. Many assumed Mattocks, Garza, and Rowe were gone. Span was debatable for a GA contract and will probably be back in a couple of years anyway. It is not like he is in a top league.

At best Polak might get a few trials in Denmark. But there is no real demand for him or any solid contract offer. So he will end up also signing with MLS. That's why these players badly want the guaranteed MLS GA contract. That wasn't always the case when MLS was barely paying these GA players. Now they are.

Losing Span sucks and MLS is to blame... they didn't even offer him a GA contract. He has a high ceiling and could be the next Brek Shea. MLS has expanded a lot in recent years and is now at 19 teams next season... so it seems to me the 2012 GA class should be expanded accordingly to ensure there is enough talent to go around so that MLS doesn't suffer from overexpansion-related talent dilution.

Schuler and Enzo Martinez remain unsigned. Schuler reportedly has serious European offers.

Ives reported on twitter today that: "UConn CB& Generation adidas candidate Andrew Jean-Baptiste apparently weighing offer in Portugal. Will MLS let another GA prospect get away?"

How are you so sure Polak will sign with MLS?

Via twitter, SoccerByIves is reporting that North Carolina's Enzo Martinez a has signed Billy Schuler are each giving up their final seasons of eligibility with Martinez signing a GA deal and Schuler following Cobi Span to Sweden.

http://twitter.com/#!/SoccerByIves/status/154213845156626432

So here's what we have so far.

Code:

Sam Garza		F	UC Santa Barbara R-Jr.	Generation adidas
Chandler Hoffman	F	UCLA		Jr.	Generation adidas
Greg Jordan		M	Creighton	R-Jr.	SuperDraft
Matt Lampson		GK	Ohio State	R-Jr.	Homegrown
Enzo Martinez		M	North Carolina	Jr.	Generation adidas
Darren Mattocks		F	Akron		So.	Generation adidas
Jimmy McLaughlin	M	Colgate		Fr.	Homegrown
Tyler Polak		D	Creighton	So.	Unknown
Kelyn Rowe		M	UCLA		So.	Generation adidas
Billy Schuler		F	North Carolina	R-Jr.	Europe (tentatively) 
Brian “Cobi” Span	M	Virginia	So.	Europe
Andrew Wenger		D/M	Duke		Jr.	Generation adidas

Weeeeeeeeeeeee

Following up on previous reports Billy Schuler was Europe-bound, this report says he's signing in Sweden.

http://www.soccerbyives.net/soccer_by_ives/2012/01/report-schuler-bound-for-hammarby.html

Per Ives on twitter, once again... South Florida Jr. F Dom Dwyer, UConn So. D Andrew Jean-Baptiste and Creighton So. D Tyler Polak have signed GA deals.

http://twitter.com/SoccerByIves

Code:

Dom Dwyer	        F	South Florida	Jr.	Generation adidas
Sam Garza		F	UC Santa Barbara R-Jr.	Generation adidas
Chandler Hoffman	F	UCLA		Jr.	Generation adidas
Andrew Jean-Baptiste	D	Connecticut	So.	Generation adidas
Greg Jordan		M	Creighton	R-Jr.	SuperDraft
Matt Lampson		GK	Ohio State	R-Jr.	Homegrown
Enzo Martinez		M	North Carolina	Jr.	Generation adidas
Darren Mattocks		F	Akron		So.	Generation adidas
Jimmy McLaughlin	M	Colgate		Fr.	Homegrown
Tyler Polak		D	Creighton	So.	Generation adidas
Kelyn Rowe		M	UCLA		So.	Generation adidas
Billy Schuler		F	North Carolina	R-Jr.	Sweden (pending physical) 
Brian “Cobi” Span	M	Virginia	So.	Sweden
Andrew Wenger		D/M	Duke		Jr.	Generation adidas

Nothing against Billy Schuler, but it sure looks like MLS came out ahead when he turned them down. For the same money, the league was able to get the Big East offensive and defensive players of the year, as well as one of the country's top outside backs.

Btw, Andrew Jean-Baptiste is my new favorite player, because if things go well for him, Ray Reid will have a much harder time convincing future players to delay their pro careers.

Great to see MLS locked all these guys up except Schuler. A few days ago it looked much more in doubt. Not a bad bit of business in the end.