Fifty-eight NCAA Division I athletes have been named to the initial list of participants at the 2007 adidas MLS Player Combine, which is set for Jan. 5-8 at Lockhart Stadium in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. Additional players from the Generation adidas program and NCAA Divisions II and II, as well as NAIA players and Division I alternates will be added at a later date.
The 2007 adidas MLS Player Combine will see the players divided into four separate teams, which will play doubleheaders at Lockhart Stadium on Jan. 5, 6 and 8. John Trask (University of Illinois at Chicago), John Rennie (Duke University), Mike Noonan (Brown University) and Greg Andrulis (George Mason University) will coach the four teams. MLS coaching staffs and general managers from all 13 MLS teams will be on hand to scout players for the 2007 MLS SuperDraft, which will take place in Indianapolis on Jan. 12. The SuperDraft is held in conjunction with the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) Convention.
The 58 players named on Wednesday were selected by a panel of Division I coaches representing all NCAA conferences. The college coaches nominated and voted for players in conjunction with their counterparts from MLS.
Five goalkeepers, 11 defenders, 19 midfielders and 23 forwards make up the initial list of participants. Forty-four universities are represented on the list, with Clemson University, the University of North Carolina and Wake Forest University leading the way with three players each.
M.A.C. Hermann Trophy finalist Jay Needham, a defender from Southern Methodist University, is on the list, though the other two finalists, forward Charlie Davies (Boston College) and forward Joseph Lapira (Notre Dame), are both juniors. They would have to enter the Generation adidas program should they decide to leave school early in order to join Major League Soccer.
Of the 48 players selected in the 2006 MLS SuperDraft, 23 participated in the 2006 adidas MLS Player Combine.
Jonathan Nierman is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or it clubs.
