Wondering who some of the names you'll hear at next Thursday's MLS SuperDraft are? Major League Soccer on Wednesday unveiled a list of nine players who make up the 2009 Generation adidas class and each will surely be prominently featured at the St. Louis Convention Center.
Last year's class of nine players made up six of the top eight picks in the 2008 SuperDraft, including the top three selections -- Chance Myers (Kansas City Wizards, No. 1 overall), Brek Shea (FC Dallas, No. 2), and Anthony Beltran (Real Salt Lake, No. 3). The No. 1 overall selection in each SuperDraft since 2003 has been a member of the program.
This year's list includes three players from the University of Maryland national championship team, as well as the leading scorer in the nation, who is also a finalist for the M.A.C. Hermann Trophy, college soccer's version of the Heisman Trophy.
The nine players are: Kevin Alston (Indiana University), Danny Cruz (University of Nevada Las Vegas), Stefan Frei (University of California), Omar Gonzalez (University of Maryland), Jeremy Hall (University of Maryland), Baggio Husidic (University of Illinois-Chicago), Peri Marosevic (University of Michigan), Rodney Wallace (University of Maryland) and Steve Zakuani (University of Akron). Gonzalez, Wallace and Hall each helped lead Maryland to the NCAA championship last month.
Gonzalez, a 6-foot-5 central defender, was an adidas/NSCAA First Team All-American, M.A.C. Hermann Trophy semifinalist, and the NCAA Men's College Cup Most Outstanding Defensive Player. The Dallas, Texas native was named ACC Defender of the Year as a sophomore.
Before Maryland, the 20-year-old joined the U.S. Soccer Residency Program, earning eight caps and scoring three goals to help secure the U.S. under-17 national team's berth in FIFA Under-17 World Cup.
Wallace, a 20-year-old midfielder from Rockville, Md., started 25 games for the Terps in the back and was the lone freshman to start all 21 games last season. Hall, a fellow 20-year-old junior from Tampa, Fla,, was Maryland's leading scorer with 14 goals and seven assists.
The first-team All-ACC selection was also the first Maryland player ever to be picked ACC Freshman of the Year in 2006. Hall earned 22 caps with the U.S. under-17 national Team, starting 12 games in 2005, including six in the FIFA Under-17 World Cup in Peru.
Steve Zakuani, a 20-year-old forward from the University of Akron, led the nation in goals (20) and points per game (2.14). The sophomore from London, England, scored seven game-winning goals and was named the Mid-American Conference Player of the year, NSCAA/adidas NCAA Men's Division I All-America Team, and the Soccer America Player of the Year.
He is a finalist for the M.A.C. Hermann Trophy, honoring the country's top Division I collegiate soccer player. The award will be announced Friday, Jan. 9 in St. Louis.
Before attending Akron, Zakuani, who was born in the Republic of Congo, was in the Arsenal youth system from 1997-2003 and his older brother, Gabriel, plays for Peterborough United in England.
Kevin Alston, a junior at Indiana, is also on the list. The 20-year-old from Silver Spring, Md., was named First Team All-Big Ten and started all 24 games at left back for the Hoosiers. Alston was also in the residency program and earned 17 caps as a member of the U-17 national team with coaches John Ellinger and John Hackworth.
He started opening two matches at back at the 2005 FIFA Under-17 World Cup, including the quarterfinal match against the Netherlands until sustaining a broken leg in the 16th minute.
Peri Marosevic was also a member of the Under-17 squad. The Michigan forward, a 19-year-old from Rockford, Ill., was second in the Big Ten with 13 goals and was named First Team All-Big Ten.
Stefan Frei, a 22-year-old from the University of California, is the lone goalkeeper in the 2009 class. He started 21 games for the University of California and had a 0.77 goals against average. He was named adidas/NSCAA First Team All-American and First Team All Pac-10 selection in 2007.
The native of Widnau, Switzerland was a member of the Swiss under-15 national team.
Baggio Husidic, a junior at the University of Illinois-Chicago, scored nine goals and added six assists and was named adidas/NSCAA First Team All-American and Soccer America First Team MVP.
Originally from Velika Kladusa, Bosnia, Husidic ran the 100-meter, 200-meter and 400-meter dashes at Libertyville H.S.
Danny Cruz, a 19-year-old midfielder at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas, is the youngest member of the Generation adidas class. The native of Glendale, Ariz., began playing soccer just in his freshman year of high school.
The former youth football and hockey player adapted quickly to the sport and is now a member of the U.S. U-20 national team and in 2007 was the first UNLV player named Conference Newcomer of the Year.
All nine players will participate in the adidas MLS Player Combine Jan. 9-13 at Lockhart Stadium in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. The Combine gives MLS coaches and general managers a final chance to evaluate talent in preparation for their draft day selections.
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