Diego Walsh invited to MLS combine

[PonyPride]

SMU's Diego Walsh invited to participate in adidas MLS combine
MLS SuperDraft to be held January 17

NEW YORK, N.Y. -- SMU's Diego Walsh is one of more than 40 players who have been invited to participate in the 2003 adidas MLS Player Combine which begins this Sunday, Jan. 12, and will lead to the 2003 SuperDraft. Walsh, a two-time first team All-America selection and the 2002 Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year, has prospects of being one of the top five players selected in the draft.

Many of the top college and Project-40 prospects for the 2003 SuperDraft will gather for the 2003 adidas MLS Player Combine from Sunday, Jan. 12 to Tuesday, Jan. 14 in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. Every MLS general manager and members of each of the 10 coaching staffs will be in attendance to scout talent at the event leading up to the 2003 SuperDraft presented by adidas, which will be held on Friday, January 17 at the Kansas City Convention Center (3:30 – 7:30 ET) in Kansas City, Missouri.

More than 40 invitees will be divided into three squads and join the U.S. Under-20 National Team in the three-day, four-team round-robin tournament. As the title sponsor of the 2003 Player Combine, adidas will outfit all three college squads. The company will also be the presenting sponsor of the SuperDraft on Friday, which will be held in conjunction with the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) Convention, one of the largest annual soccer gatherings in the United States. adidas has been an MLS commercial affiliate since the League’s inaugural season in 1996, and earlier this year extended its relationship with MLS through the 2005 season.

The adidas MLS Player Combine, organized by KICS International, will take place at the sports complex of the Ft. Lauderdale Sunrise Hilton. A schedule of matches is to be played at the Sunrise Hilton Sports Complex and are open to the public.

The field of players was determined by a select panel of Division I college coaches in conjunction with representatives of MLS coaches. The names of the latest Project-40 signings, who are expected to be part of the event, will be announced at a later date.

Under-20 U.S. National Team head coach Thomas Rongen will reveal his roster for the event in the coming weeks. In November, Rongen’s team clinched a spot in the 2003 FIFA World Youth Championship to be played in the United Arab Emirates from March 25 - April 16, 2003. Six young MLS stars figured prominently during qualifying, as Devin Barclay (San Jose Earthquakes), Bobby Convey (D.C. United), Eddie Johnson (Dallas Burn), Justin Mapp (D.C. United), Santino Quaranta (D.C. United) and Jordan Stone (Dallas Burn) could each be named to the Under-20 squad at the adidas MLS Player Combine.

Of the players in camp at last year’s Player Combine, 31 were eventually among the 65 draft picks at the 2002 SuperDraft, including 12 of the 19 picks.

Following is a breakdown of the college players on the three teams that will join the Under-20 U.S. National Team in the adidas MLS Player Combine round-robin tournament (alternates will be called upon in the case a player is unable to attend the Combine due to injuries or national team call-ups). Teams have been broken down based on geographical location into East, Central and West squads. MLS coaches will assist in managing the three teams during the course of the three-day competition.

EAST
GOALKEEPER: Michael Behonick (American University); DEFENDERS: Will Thornton (University of Connecticut), Rich Bradley (St. John’s University), Guy Abrahamson (Rutgers University); MIDFIELDERS: Anthony Curtis (University of Connecticut), Trevor Perea (Duke University), Donald McIntosh (Duke University), Sherif El Bialy (Rutgers University); FORWARDS: Damani Ralph (University of Connecticut), Matias Asorey (Florida International University), Phil Swenda (Seton Hall University), Machel Millwood (Towson University)

CENTRAL
GOALKEEPER: Doug Warren (Clemson University); DEFENDERS: Tim Glowienka (University of South Carolina), Brent Jacquette (Penn State University), John Swann (Indiana University); MIDFIELDERS: Diego Walsh (Southern Methodist University), Matt Crawford (University of North Carolina), Ryan Mack (Indiana University), David Testo (University of North Carolina); FORWARDS: Jordan Quinn (University of South Carolina), Dimelon Westfield (Clemson University), Byron Carmichael (Marshall), Pat Noonan (Indiana University)

WEST
GOALKEEPER: Josh Saunders (University of California); DEFENDERS: Todd Dunivant (Stanford University), Tim Regan (Bradley University), Steve Lawrence (Marquette University), Jason Cole (St. Louis University); MIDFIELDERS: Ryan Futagaki (UCLA), Nick Walls (St. Louis University), Jack Jewsbury (St. Louis University), Andres Murriagui (Loyola Marymount University); FORWARDS: Mike Tranchilla (Creighton University), Tim Pierce (UCLA), Roger Levesque (Stanford University)

[PonyGirl]

If they're doing their homework, the MLS teams will make him the top overall pick. Diego is the best player in the country, and got screwed out of the Hermann Award because they didn't want to give it to an SMU player two years in a row, and because we weren't #1 all year. He'll be a great pro.