FC Dallas continued their tradition of signing players from their academy by adding center back Aaron Guillen as the club's 14th Homegrown Player on Tuesday. Guillen, 22, recently completed a stellar four-year career at Florida Gulf Coast University in Fort Myers, Florida.
Guillen is the second Homegrown Player signed by FC Dallas via its affiliate program in El Paso, Texas, joining teenager Alex Zendejas. After Dallas established the program in 2011, Guillen was one of the first players to take advantage, playing in 34 games for the FC Dallas U-18s and helping them to the 2011-12 US Soccer Development Academy national championship.
He was a four-year starter at FGCU from 2012-15, helping the Eagles reach the NCAA Tournament in 2012 and 2014, and was named Atlantic Sun Conference Defensive Player of the Year and 2nd team all-Southeast region as a senior this year. He earned all-conference honors all four seasons, three times being named to the first team after earning all-freshman honors in 2012.
Guillen also excelled in the USL's Premier Development League, playing for the Austin Aztex when they won the PDL championship in 2013 on a team that included Khiry Shelton and Kris Tyrpak.
A dual citizen who was born in Chihuahua, Mexico, and went to Coronado High School in El Paso, Guillen is the seventh Homegrown Player on the current FC Dallas roster, joining Zendejas, Kellyn Acosta, Coy Craft, Jesse Gonzalez, Moises Hernandez and Victor Ulloa.
The 14 Homegrown Players signed by FC Dallas rank second in MLS history behind the New York Red Bulls, who signed six players this offseason to reach 16 all-time signings.
