On Monday morning, the NCAA unveiled the bracket for the 2018 Men’s College Cup postseason tournament. As the top collegiate programs vie for a national championship, over a dozen Sounders Academy alums will suit up and take the pitch.
Here’s a quick look at some of the key players contending for the College Cup.
Trey Muse (Goalkeeper) – Indiana University
Recently named the Big Ten Conference Goalkeeper of the Year, Muse has gone from strength to strength in his sophomore season after a breakout freshman campaign for IU. With a Big Ten regular season and tournament double under his belt, the Sounders Academy alum enters the NCAA Tournament with nine clean sheets, a 79.2 percent save rate and a .55 Goals Against Average. Last season, Muse led the Hoosiers to the brink of a national championship, falling just short in the title game to Stanford. Indiana enters the tournament as the No. 2 seed and will face either UConn or Rhode Island in the second round.
Jackson Ragen (Center back) – University of Michigan
A teammate of Muse’s in the Academy and his opponent in the Big Ten Tournament final, Ragen has established himself as a dominant defender at the college level. The Seattle United product started 19 matches as a sophomore, earning 19 starts and a place on the All-Big Ten Tournament Team. Ragen, who can also operate as a defensive midfielder, plays in an important role in the attack for the Wolverines, as he’s tallied two goals and one assist in 2018. Michigan will face Princeton, with a potential fixture against his longtime teammate Paul Rothrock and Notre Dame in the second round.
Jacob Hauser-Ramsey (Center back) – UConn
In his final season of college soccer, Hauser-Ramsey was named the American Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Year. Another first in his NCAA career, the Seattle native tallied two assists from center back. With 52 starts to his name, Hauser-Ramsey’s veteran experience will be critical to a run in the NCAA Tournament for the Huskies.
Dylan Teves (Midfielder, Forward), Kasey French (Right back), Saif Kerawala (Goalkeeper) – University of Washington
In total, six Huskies that saw action in 2018 spent time in Sounders Academy. Teves, who spent three years in the Rave Green youth system, broke into the starting lineup midway through the season, tallying five goals and two assists. French has 13 starts at right back, while redshirt junior Kerawala has locked down the starting job in goal. The likes of Gio Miglietti and John Magnus have also contributed in midfield for UW.
Other Sounders in the NCAA Tournament
Kei Tomozawa (Midfielder) – Stanford University
Paul Rothrock (Midfielder, Forward) – Notre Dame
Joe Hafferty (Defender) – Oregon State University
R.J. Stretch (Midfielder) – University of Portland
Tor Saunders (Goalkeeper) – Akron University
Tosh Samkange (Defender) – Denver University
