There’s a reason Sigi Schmid and his staff are regularly in attendance for local collegiate soccer games. This area has produced a vast amount of talent over the years, and the Washington Huskies have become one of the nation’s most dominant programs.
At least one UW player has been selected in the MLS SuperDraft each of the last three years. It appears that four new Huskies will be arriving in the league this season, as one has signed a Homegrown Player contract with Sounders FC and three others participated in the MLS Player Combine.
With the 2015 SuperDraft less than 24 hours away, here is a look at each of the four UW products that will be playing in MLS starting this year.
Darwin Jones
A speedy forward who led the UW in goals last year, Jones signed with Sounders FC last week as the club’s fifth Homegrown Player. The 22-year-old is a member of the inaugural Sounders FC Academy class and was one of several UW players who started in the Academy. Jones also played for the Sounders FC U-23 squad and has trained with the club’s First Team off and on during the past three years. The Huskies were 28-7-8 in his two seasons, advancing to the NCAA quarterfinals in 2013 for the best finish in program history.
Andy Thoma
Here’s how fast this left back is: Jones won the 30-meter dash competition at Sounders FC training camp in 2012, and UW coach Jamie Clark says Thoma is faster than Jones. Thoma is very similar to DeAndre Yedlin in terms of the speed and attacking ability he brings to the outside back position. A four-year starter at the UW, he was named an NSCAA All-American in 2014.
Thoma is one of eight seniors who signed a contract with MLS prior to the SuperDraft. Most mock drafts have him going in the first round, some even as high as No. 3 overall to the Montreal Impact.
Cristian Roldan
At this time two years ago, Roldan was receiving very little attention from college coaches and wasn’t sure if he would play soccer beyond high school. Now he’s looking at an MLS season in which he could be among the top rookies.
The only underclassman in this group of UW players, Roldan decided to forgo his final two seasons and sign a Generation adidas contract. He and UConn forward Cyle Larin are, according to many mock drafts, expected to be the top two picks Thursday. Another speedy player who also has exceptional passing and dribbling skills, Roldan was mostly used as an attacking central midfielder during college.
There are a couple of reasons why Roldan wasn’t recruited until late in his senior year of high school: He is just 5-foot-8, and his club team rarely traveled to major tournaments. His height turned out to be a non-factor at the UW, where six of his nine goals came on headers.
Spencer Richey
Everything was going as planned for the UW goalkeeper heading into his senior year. Coming off a season in which he had 10 shutouts and just 19 goals against in 21 matches, Richey was named a preseason All-American. Then he broke his leg just four games into the 2013 season.
Richey was awarded a medical redshirt, regained his starting spot in 2014, and led the Huskies to another great season. The 6-foot-2 keeper performed well on the first day of the recent MLS Player Combine, posting a shutout and eight saves in his team’s scoreless draw on Friday. Richey, a native of Seattle, is the only one in this group of UW players who has yet to sign a contract with MLS. However, all signs point to him being drafted.
