ORLANDO -- University of Charleston men's soccer Thomas Vancaeyezeele is spending a week in Orlando, Fla. as an invitee to the adidas MLS Player Combine, participating with 70 of the best collegiate players in the country leading up to the 2018 MLS SuperDraft.
Vancaeyezeele, the United Soccer Coaches Division II Men's Soccer National Player of the Year, helped guide University of Charleston their first ever NCAA Division II National Championship with a 3-1 win in PK's over Lynn University at Swope Soccer Village in Kansas City in December.
The adidas MLS Player Combine brings together MLS technical staffs and the most promising graduating collegiate soccer players in the nation, along with select underclass prospects, and non-collegiate internationals for four days of rigorous trials and matches.
The Combine, which occurs in the week preceding the annual MLS SuperDraft presented by adidas, gives MLS coaches and general managers a final chance to evaluate talent in preparation for their draft picks. The 2018 MLS SuperDraft will take place on Friday, January 19 in Philadelphia, PA at 11 a.m. ET.
WHEN: January 11-17, 2017
WHERE: Orlando City Stadium
655 W Church St, Orlando, FL 32805
The adidas MLS Player Combine will take place at Orlando City Stadium in Orlando, FL for the first time. The 25,500-seat state-of-the-art soccer stadium is the home of Major League Soccer's Orlando City SC. One of the newest stadiums in the league, Orlando City Stadium opened in 2017 and has already played host to notable national and international events, including a 2018 FIFA World Cup Qualifying match between the United States and Panama.
WHO: Combine participation is by invitation only. A committee of NCAA Division I coaches from every conference, along with MLS representatives, choose up to 70 seniors from schools throughout the country who have completed their college eligibility. Additional players are invited to the MLS Player Combine as Generation adidas players. Generation adidas is a joint program between MLS and adidas that is dedicated to developing exceptional domestic talent in a professional environment. All Combine participants are automatically eligible for the SuperDraft. In December of 2010, the MLS Competition Committee approved a League initiative to invite select non-collegiate players (domestic and international) to participate in the adidas MLS Player Combine and the MLS SuperDraft presented by adidas.
FORMAT: The players are divided into four separate teams that are led by prominent collegiate coaches and select youth coaches. Matches are played as doubleheaders on January 13, 15 and 17.
COACHES: A mix of collegiate soccer head coaches and MLS Academy personnel will make up the Combine coaching staff. University of Wisconsin-Madison head coach John Trask, Indiana University head coach Todd Yeagley, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee head coach Kris Kelderman and East Tennessee State head coach Bo Oshoniyi will serve as the head coaches for the four Combine teams. The assistant coaches will be FC Dallas Academy Director Luchi Gonzalez, NYCFC Academy Director Rodrigo Marion, New England Revolution Director of Youth Development Bryan Scales and Solar Soccer Club Head of Soccer Operations, Executive Director of Coaching Elite Programs and Technical Director Adrian Solca.
