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Blake and Tshuma among four players to sign MLS Generation adidas deals

UConnBlake (Getty)

Photo by ISIPhotos.com

By IVES GALARCEP

The 2014 Generation adidas class has begun to take shape.

MLS revealed the first four members of the 2014 Generation adidas contracts on Thursday night, announcing the signings of Andre Blake (UConn), Marlon Hairston (Louisville), Eric Miller (Creighton) and Schillo Tshuma (Maryland).

The players are the first underclassmen to agree to Generation adidas deals this year, but more signings are expected to be announced in the coming days, with sources telling SBI that Cal defender Christian Dean and UConn forward Cyle Larin are also considering offers made by MLS.

Sources have confirmed to SBI that highly-regarded UCLA midfielder Leo Stolz has passed on a Generation adidas contract offer and will return to UCLA for his senior season.

In addition, MLS also announced that it has signed breakout forwards Patrick Mullins of Maryland and Steve Neumann of Georgetown. Mullins had won the coveted MAC Hermann Trophy in 2012 and is up again for the 2013 award that will be announced next week. Nuemann scored 10 goals this past season. Sources have confirmed to SBI that Cal defender Steve Birnbaum has also been made an offer by MLS but has yet to sign.

MLS also announced the addition of nine more college seniors to the annual adidas MLS Player Combine in South Florida, which is set to begin on Jan. 10.

Here is the list of added players:

Player                          Position           Citizenship       School

Tesho Akindele             F                      USA/Canada     Colorado School of Mines (Division II)

Chris Duvall                  D                      USA                 Wake Forest University

Oliver Gore                   F                      England            Rocky Mountain College (NAIA)

Pierre Omanga              F                      France              Southern New Hampshire University (Division II)

Fabio Pereira                MF                   Brazil                University of Michigan

Kyle Renfro                   GK                   USA                 Virginia Tech University

Patrick Slogic               D                      Brazil                Cornell University

Wojciech Wojcik            F                      USA                 Bradley University

Tomislav Zadro             MF                   Canada             University of Wisconsin

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The 2014 MLS SuperDraft will be held Jan. 16 in Philadelphia.

What do you think of the signings? Which player are you most excited to see coming to MLS?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. It’s been many years since I have been involved in college advising but way back when, the Colorado School of Mines had a top five rating in salary earned by its graduating class.

    Reply
  2. As a Union fan I was really hoping Stolz would sign as he is a dude who would fill a major need. Dean is the only other GA candidate who does, and I worry the Union won’t get value out of the 2nd pick if Dean goes to DC.

    Reply
      • Stolz is talented but focused on getting his degree. He had several paths to a professional contract and decided long ago to get a degree first.. And UCLA is pretty special…Leo will carve his path just fine. I do not think Mullins at Maryland or Neumann at Georgetown regret their decisions. This is not a knock on MLS or the Generation Adidas program – the league is not “losing” these kids to other leagues and the kids all know the positives and negatives because their coaches ensure that.

  3. Nice to see players from Div 2 and NAIA schools getting a shot at the MLS combine. Would love to see a pathway for the top CIS (Canada) players to the MLS combine. Maybe have a pre combine similar the Caribbean one where 50 or so of the top NCAA II, NAIA and CIS players are showcased, and then invite the top 10 or so to the MLS combine. Could be a good way ensure the draft remains strong as more and more NCAA D1 players bypass the combine/draft all-together to sign home grown deals.

    Reply
    • The CIS is a different system entirely, though. There is no amateur rule in the CIS; Milos Kocic actually played college soccer in Canada during his first two or three MLS offseasons, and I’m pretty sure a couple other players have done so as well.

      Reply

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