The sides have been picked for the upcoming 2016 adidas MLS Player Combine that will be held from Jan. 7-12 in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.
A total of 60 college players have been split into four teams of 15 each, pending the announcement of Generation adidas signings (underclassmen) and other international invitees who will be added after their names are released.
And there are some updates to the preliminary list of 59 college invitees that was unveiled back on Dec. 11. There are five players who are no longer on the list: Brandon Allen (Georgetown), Bradley Bourgeois (Tulsa), Brendan Hines-Ike (South Florida), Jordan Schweitzer (Denver) and Andrew Souders (Akron). Allen signed a Homegrown Player deal with the New York Red Bulls on Dec. 21.
- READ: MLS Combine details
Replacing those five players are six additions which bring the current total to 60 rostered Combine players: Tony Alfaro (Cal State-Dominguez Hills), Connor Klekota (Notre Dame), Alex Morrell (North Florida), Norberto Ochoa (UC-Riverside), Miguel Salazar (Elon) and Taylor Washington (George Mason).
Four former Portland Timbers U-23s players are included in the Combine: Todd Wharton (Virginia), Kyle Fisher (Clemson), Dennis Castillo (Virginia Commonwealth) and James Moberg (Washington). Wharton and Castillo were both named to the 2015 PDL All-League team and Castillo was named 2015 PDL Defender of the Year. New Timbers Academy youth technical director Larry Sunderland is also participating as an assistant coach for Team X.
The 60 players will look to leave an impression on the 20 MLS coaching staffs that will be on hand at Central Broward Regional Park for three doubleheaders that will take place on Jan. 8, Jan. 10 and Jan. 12.
Coaching assignments and current rosters for the four teams follow below:
Team Ace
| Name | School | Position | Hometown/Citizenship |
|---|---|---|---|
| Duncan Backus | UCSB | D | Higland Village, TX; USA |
| Justin Bilyeu | SIU-Edwardsville | D | St. Louis, MO; USA |
| Jonathan Campbell | North Carolina | D | Greensboro, NC; USA |
| Zach Carroll | Michigan State | D | Grand Blanc, MI; USA |
| Robert 'T.J.' Casner | Clemson | F | Irvine, CA; USA |
| Tsubasa Endoh | Maryland | M | Tokyo, Japan; Japan |
| Josh Heard | Washington | M | Victoria, BC; Canada/UK |
| Callum Irving | Kentucky | GK | Vancouver, BC; Canada |
| Darius Madison | UMBC | F | Philadelphia, PA; USA |
| Zach Mathers | Duke | M | Keller, TX; USA |
| James 'C.' Nortey | Marquette | F | Accra, Ghana; Ghana |
| Keegan Rosenberry | Georgetown | D | Ronks, PA; USA |
| Tyler Thompson | Stanford | M | Sacramento, CA; USA |
| Taylor Washington | George Mason | D | Somers, NY; USA |
| Todd Wharton | Virginia | M | Glen Allen, VA; USA |
Team Ace Coaches – Head Coach: Greg Andrulis (George Mason); Asst. Coach: Junior Gonzalez (Seattle Sounders) | |||
Team Chaos
| Name | School | Position | Hometown/Citizenship |
|---|---|---|---|
| Neco Brett | Robert Morris | F | Kingston, Jamaica; Jamaica |
| Paul Clowes | Clemson | M | Cheshire, UK; UK |
| Liam Doyle | Ohio State | D | Isle of Man, UK; UK |
| Kyle Fisher | Clemson | D | Easley, SC; USA |
| Ryan Herman | Washington | GK | Fall City, WA; USA |
| Patrick Hodan | Notre Dame | M | Brookfield, WI; USA |
| Femi Hollinger-Janzen | Indiana | F | Goshen, IN; USA |
| Connor Klekota | Notre Dame | MF | Amherst, OH; USA |
| Max Lachowecki | Notre Dame | D | Evansville, IN; USA |
| Jordan McCrary | North Carolina | D | Marietta, GA; USA |
| Chase Minter | Cal Poly | M | Heath, TX; USA |
| Kyle Parker | Charlotte | F | Marvin, NC; USA |
| Michael Salazar | UC Riverside | F | Cayo, Belize; USA/Belize |
| Cole Seiler | Georgetown | D | Anderson, SC; USA |
| Keegan Smith | San Diego | F | Temecula, CA; USA |
Team Chaos Coaches -- Head Coach: Kris Kelderman (Wisconsin-Milwaukee); Asst. Coach: Jeff Baicher (DeAnza Force) | |||
Team Control
| Name | School | Position | Hometown/Citizenship |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tony Alfaro | Cal State-Dominguez Hills | D | Santa Barbara, CA; USA/Mexico |
| Hadji Barry | UCF | F | Rochester, NY; Guinea |
| Colin Bonner | UNC Wilmington | F | Fulton, MD; USA |
| Tyler David | Saint Louis | M/D | Minneapolis, MN; USA |
| Ryan James | Bowling Green | M | Mississauga, ON; Canada |
| Jamie Luchini | Lehigh | F | Wexford, PA; USA |
| Mitchell Lurie | Rutgers | D | Atlanta, GA; USA |
| Antonio Matarazzo | Columbia | M | Fair Lawn, NJ; USA/Italy |
| Alex Morrell | North Florida | F | Lakeland, FL; USA |
| Timo Pitter | Creighton | M/F | Oberschwarzach, Germany; Germany |
| Thomas Sanner | Princeton | F | Indianapolis, IN; USA |
| Rodrigo Saravia | Florida Gulf Coast | M | Guatemala City, Guatemala; Guatemala |
| Connor Sparrow | Creighton | GK | St. Louis, MO; USA |
| Josh Turnley | Georgetown | D | Beaver, PA; USA |
| Eric Verso | Stanford | M | Los Angeles, CA; USA |
Team Control Coaches -- Head Coach: Kevin Anderson (Columbia); Asst. Coach: Bryan Scales (New England Revolution) | |||
Team X
| Name | School | Position | Hometown/Citizenship |
|---|---|---|---|
| Emmanuel Appiah | Cincinnati | M | Westerville, OH; USA |
| Dennis Castillo | VCU | D | San Jose, Costa Rica; Costa Rica |
| Mikhail Doholis | Oregon State | M | Vancouver, WA; USA |
| Michael Gamble | Wake Forest | F | Columbia, MD; USA |
| Wade Hamilton | Cal Poly | GK | Murrieta, CA; USA |
| Vincent Keller | Creighton | D/M | Freiburg, Germany; Germany |
| Sven Lissek | Furman | GK | Sewau, Germany; Germany |
| Ivan Magalhaes | Maryland | D | Sao Paulo, Brazil; Brazil |
| Vincent Mitchell | Butler | M | Reckford Clarendon, Jamaica; Jamaica |
| James Moberg | Washington | M | Windsor, CA; USA |
| Norberto Ochoa | UC-Riverside | F | Riverside, CA; USA |
| Ben Polk | Syracuse | F | Herkimer, NY; USA/UK |
| Miguel Salazar | Elon | D/M | Tucson, AZ; USA/Mexico |
| Mitchell Taintor | Rutgers | M | Storrs, CT; USA |
| Brandon Vincent | Stanford | D | Valencia, CA; USA |
Team X Coaches -- Head Coach: Jared Embick (Akron); Asst. Coach: Larry Sunderland (Portland Timbers) | |||
* = Timbers U-23s alum
