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Sounders sign Yedlin as first Homegrown Player in club history

BY DARRELL LOVELL

The Seattle Sounders announced Friday that the club has come to terms with University of Akron right back DeAndre Yedlin to become the franchise’s first Homegrown signing.

“We are thrilled to sign DeAndre as our first Homegrown Player,” Sounders owner and general manager Adrian Hanauer said in a team statement. “Darren Sawatzky and Dick McCormick deserve much of the credit, as they have developed a top academy program for Sounders FC. Hopefully DeAndre is the first of many local players who will come through our system and wear the rave green at the professional level.”

The right back made a name for himself in two seasons at Akron for being able to get forward and aid in the attack, notching 12 assists in 45 matches. His production made him a two-time All-Conference selection.

Upon arrival in Seattle he will join incumbent Adam Johansson and Zach Scott in the mix for playing time on the right side of the Sounders’ defense.

As Yedlin prepares to embark on his professional career, he becomes the fourth Akron product to exit via the Homegrown route since Caleb Porter left the program to become head coach of Yedlin’s Cascadia rival, the Portland Timbers. Yedlin joins Scott Caldwell (New England) and Chad Barson and Wil Trapp (Columbus) as MLS Homegrown signings this off-season.

Comments

  1. How about photo attribution? You cropped out the SoundersU23 logo–at least you can do is properly attribute the photo to its owner. I doubt you would like for your story to be reposted on the web without attribution.

    Reply
  2. This is strange, Sounders are never interested in developing young talent. Poor kid, hes probably going to ride the reserve bench all season and will never get a chance to crack the Sounders all-foreign XI

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      • Wow…I had no idea Eddie Johnson, Brad Evans, Jeff Park, Zach Scott, Sammy Ochoa and David Estrada were foreign born! Thanks for enlightening me and others and allowing us to stop being so ignorant to the fact these guys are foreign….oh wait.

        Yeah get over yourself, teams can select foreign players and IF ANY league promotes playing domestic players it’s MLS were teams trade for international slots and it’s encouraged if the players become residents….SMH

      • Yeah me too…Bummer!
        Hell I was guilty of also thinking Scott, Ochoa and Estrada were also Americans….

    • At the very least signing one HG player after being in MLS for four years can fairly be considered developing talent at a snails pace.

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      • Not really, they had to start a youth program from scratch, attract top talent to it and then it takes a couple of years for the players to develop. The program wasnt in place when the team started, now if it takes another 4 years for one player then there is an issue but it takes a bit of time to start up

    • Watch the highlights…..no just watch the whole game of tonights champions league game…..man of the match for me. incredible talent…wish we had him in houston

      Reply
  3. Assuming that other Akron guy signs as a HGP with Colorado soon, how many Akron alumni will that make who are currently on MLS rosters (so not counting Anthony Ampaipitakwong)?

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