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The initial list of invitees to the 2016 MLS Player Combine was announced Friday, including some familiar Sounders academy names, but the door isn't closed for Home Grown deals for those players with the Sounders first team, Sounder at Heart has learned.
Washington goalkeeper Ryan Herman and Denver midfielder Jordan Schweitzer were expected to at least be considered as Home Grown prospects for the Sounders (Herman in particular is one of the top keepers in NCAA soccer), so their inclusion on the Combine list raised questions that the players either did not complete the required training hours to qualify for HGP status or were not in the Sounders plans as signings out of the academy. However, a Sounders spokesperson says that both college players remain eligible for HGP contracts according to league guidelines.
Those contracts may be hard to come by this year, though, considering General Manager Garth Lagerwey's recent comments suggesting that Jordan Morris' expected signing ties up all available "off-cap" funds earmarked for HGP deals for 2016.
They are not the only former MLS Academy players on the combine list, and circumstances vary from case to case. Even if Herman and Schweitzer attended the combine and later signed HGP deals, it wouldn't be an unprecedented move for an MLS academy player.
Herman has had an excellent year in goal for UW as a redshirt senior, anchoring the team to the sixth-best goals against average in the country and also tied for sixth in shutouts with 10. He earned Pac-12 player of the week honors in October and was named to the All-Far West first team, the Pac-12 first team, and the All-American third team.
Schweitzer co-captained his Denver team as part of a central defensive midfield pair, making 19 appearances and helping his team to an even better defensive record than Washington, with a .4 goals against average. He also tallied one assist on the season.
The full list of combine invitees follows;
2016 adidas MLS Player Combine NCAA DI College Participants
(Alphabetical by last name)
|
First Name |
Last Name |
School |
Pos. |
Hometown/Citizenship |
BIO |
|
Brandon |
Allen |
Georgetown University |
FW |
Old Bridge, NJ; USA |
|
|
Emmanuel |
Appiah |
University of Cincinnati |
MF |
Westerville, OH; USA |
|
|
Duncan |
Backus |
UC Santa Barbara |
DF |
Highland Village, TX; USA |
|
|
Hadji |
Barry |
University of Central Florida |
M/F |
Rochester, NY; USA |
|
|
Justin |
Bilyeu |
SIU-Edwardsville |
DF |
St. Louis, MO; USA |
|
|
Colin |
Bonner |
UNC Wilmington |
FW |
Fulton, MD; USA |
|
|
Bradley |
Bourgeois |
University of Tulsa |
DF |
Cypress, TX; USA |
|
|
Neco |
Brett |
Robert Morris University |
FW |
Kingston, Jamaica; Jamaica |
|
|
Jonathan |
Campbell |
UNC Chapel Hill |
DF |
Greensboro, NC; USA |
|
|
Zach |
Carroll |
Michigan State |
DF |
Grand Blanc, MI; USA |
|
|
Robert (TJ) |
Casner |
Clemson University |
FW |
Irvine, CA; USA |
|
|
Dennis |
Castillo |
Virginia Commonwealth University |
DF |
San Jose, Costa Rica; Costa Rica |
|
|
Paul |
Clowes |
Clemson University |
MF |
Cheshire, UK; UK |
|
|
Tyler |
David |
Saint Louis University |
MF/DF |
Minneapolis, MN; USA |
|
|
Mikhail |
Doholis |
Oregon State |
MF |
Vancouver, WA; USA |
|
|
Liam |
Doyle |
Ohio State |
DF |
Isle of Man, UK; UK |
|
|
Tsubasa |
Endoh |
University of Maryland |
MF |
Tokyo, Japan; Japan |
|
|
Kyle |
Fisher |
Clemson University |
DF |
Easley, SC; USA |
|
|
Michael |
Gamble |
Wake Forest University |
FW |
Columbia, MD; USA |
|
|
Wade |
Hamilton |
Cal. Polytechnic State University |
GK |
Murrieta, CA; USA |
|
|
Josh |
Heard |
University of Washington |
M |
Victoria, BC; Canada |
|
|
Ryan |
Herman |
University of Washington |
GK |
Fall City, WA; USA |
|
|
Brendan |
Hines-Ike |
University of South Florida |
DF |
Denver, CO; USA |
|
|
Patrick |
Hodan |
University of Notre Dame |
MF |
Brookiefield, WI; USA |
|
|
Femi |
Hollinger-Janzen |
Indiana University |
FW |
Goshen, IN; USA |
|
|
Callum |
Irving |
University of Kentucky |
GK |
Vancouver, BC; Canada |
|
|
Ryan |
James |
Bowling Green |
MF |
Mississauga, ON; Canada |
|
|
Vincent |
Keller |
Creighton University |
DF/MF |
Freiburg, Germany; Germany |
|
|
Max |
Lachowecki |
University of Notre Dame |
DF |
Evansville, IN; USA |
|
|
Sven |
Lissek |
Furman University |
GK |
Sewau, Germany; Germany |
|
|
Jamie |
Luchini |
Lehigh University |
FW |
Wexford, PA; USA |
|
|
Mitchell |
Lurie |
Rutgers University |
DF |
Atlanta, GA; USA |
|
|
Darius |
Madison |
UM Baltimore County |
FW |
Philadelphia, PA; USA |
|
|
Ivan |
Magalhaes |
University of Maryland |
DF |
Sao Paulo, Brazil; Brazil |
|
|
Antonio |
Matarazzo |
Columbia University |
MF |
Fair Lawn, NJ; USA/Italy |
|
|
Zach |
Mathers |
Duke University |
MF |
Keller, TX; USA |
|
|
Jordan |
McCrary |
UNC Chapel Hill |
DF |
Marietta, GA; USA |
|
|
Chase |
Minter |
Cal. Polytechnic State University |
MF |
Heath, TX; USA |
|
|
Vincent |
Mitchell |
Butler University |
MF |
Reckford Clarendon, Jamaica; Jamaica |
|
|
James |
Moberg |
University of Washington |
MF |
Windsor, CA; USA |
|
|
James |
Nortey |
Marquette University |
FW |
Accra, Ghana; Ghana |
|
|
Kyle |
Parker |
UNC Charlotte |
FW |
Marvin, NC; USA |
|
|
Timo |
Pitter |
Creighton University |
MF/FW |
Oberschwarzach, Germany; Germany |
|
|
Ben |
Polk |
Syracuse University |
FW |
Herkimer, NY; USA |
|
|
Keegan |
Rosenberry |
Georgetown University |
DF |
Ronks, PA; USA |
|
|
Michael |
Salazar |
UC, Riverside |
FW |
Cayo, Belize; USA/Belize |
|
|
Thomas |
Sanner |
Princeton University |
FW |
Indianapolis, IN; USA |
|
|
Rodrigo |
Saravia |
Florida Gulf Coast University |
MF |
Guatemala City, Guatemala; Guatemala |
|
|
Jordan |
Schweitzer |
University of Denver |
MF |
Everett, WA; USA/Canada |
|
|
Cole |
Seiler |
Georgetown University |
DF |
Anderson, SC; USA |
|
|
Keegan |
Smith |
University of San Diego |
FW |
Temecula, CA; USA |
|
|
Andrew |
Souders |
University of Akron |
DF |
Amherst, OH; USA |
|
|
Connor |
Sparrow |
Creighton University |
GK |
St. Louis, MO; USA |
|
|
Mitchell |
Taintor |
Rutgers University |
MF |
Storrs, CT; USA |
|
|
Tyler |
Thompson |
Stanford University |
MF |
Sacramento, CA; USA |
|
|
Josh |
Turnley |
Georgetown University |
DF |
Beaver, PA; USA |
|
|
Eric |
Verso |
Stanford University |
MF |
Los Angeles, CA; USA |
|
|
Brandon |
Vincent |
Stanford University |
DF |
Valencia, CA; USA |
|
|
Todd |
Wharton |
University of Virginia |
MF |
Glen Allen, VA; USA |