SEATTLE -- The Seattle Sounders may soon have another one of their Homegrown Players join them in the professional ranks.
Darwin Jones, a senior forward currently playing for the University of Washington, told GoHuskies.com Tuesday that he expects to sign with Seattle following the conclusion of the college season.
"As soon as the season's done, I'm technically Seattle Sounders property," Jones told the site. "I'll be signing with them, but I try not to think of it like that. It's an exciting thing, because at least I'll know where I'm going unlike most people who enter the draft."
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Jones starred for Seattle’s U-18 academy team, leading the squad in goals in 2011 before committing to Washington. He has showcased a dynamic skill-set in his time with the Huskies, scoring seven goals and tallying four assists in 22 games last season, while helping lead UW all the way to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament.
Jones has been even better this year, scoring eight goals to go along with four assists through 15 games for a UW squad that is currently second in the Pac-12 and ranked 11th in the country.
Speaking with reporters following Seattle’s training session Wednesday at CenturyLink Field, Seattle head coach Sigi Schmid stressed that nothing has been finalized with the young prospect and that Jones' collegiate career needs to conclude before any serious negotiations can take place.
However, Schmid did say that the raw skill and potential Jones possesses will make him an intriguing option for the Sounders as they try to stock up on young talent for the future.
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“Obviously, he’s our Homegrown Player, he’s a player that we’ve had and monitored for a while,” Schmid said. “He’s trained with us in his offseason from college, and he’s a player that we’re very interested in. Right now he’s still finishing at the University of Washington, but he’s definitely somebody who is on our radar.”
Jones joins another prospective Homegrown signing, Jordan Morris, and the Sounders' first Homegrown signing DeAndre Yedlin as players who have excelled coming through Seattle’s academy system. Morris, currently a sophomore at Stanford, already earned a call-up to the US national team this season, while Yedlin has nine US caps of his own to go along with an impending transfer to Tottenham Hotspur.
