4 NCAA underclassment are going pro through the Generation Adidas program ahead of the 2010 Superdraft on January 14th.
Teal Bunbury: This 19-year old sophomore led the Akron Zips on an undefeated streak that ended with a loss to Virginia in the title game. Bunbury was the highest scoring player in D1 soccer with 17 goals this season. He was recently named Soccer America’s player of the year.
Dilly Duka: A goal-scoring standout at the 2009 U-20 World Cup, Duka joins Generation Adidas from Rutgers University.
Blair Gavin: A teammate of Bunbury’s at Akron, Gavin trained with the IMG Academy in Florida and has since proven to be one of the most competent midfielders on the U-20 national team.
Jack McInerney: The youngest player to join the Generation Adidas lineup, McInerney was plucked from the U-17 national squad after proving himself worthy in CONCACAF and World Cup competition. Despite being courted by European clubs earlier in 2009, Generation Adidas seems to have convinced him to give the MLS a chance.
Generation Adidas also signed college seniors Andre Akpan (Harvard’s all-time leading goal-scorer), Zach Lloyd from the Tarheels, and Toni Stall from UConn.
Generation Adidas is an elite youth-development program that began at Nike in 1997 (originally called Project-40) and was taken over by Adidas in 2005. It is intended to help young players make it to the MLS before graduating from college. Each player in the program is deemed professional upon induction and can no longer play at the college level. In turn, Adidas compensates the players and readies them for successful careers in the MLS. Adidas also pays for completion of college courses at the players’ convenience.
Tags: Adidas, Blair Gavin, Dilly Duka, Jack McInerney, mls, Nike, OLFC, One Love Soccer, ONELOVE FC, Superdraft, Teal Bunbury
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