As one of the top high school soccer players in the nation in the late 1990s, Chris Gbandi had quality options for where he could play in college.
The Cypress Falls senior had scholarship offers from St. John's, Connecticut, Cincinnati, Alabama-Birmingham and Rhode Island, but not a single offer from an in-state school.
That was not because he wasn't good enough. At the time, Texas had only one Division I men's soccer program.
As the NCAA men's College Cup kicks off at BBVA Compass Stadium Friday night the irony is that Gbandi still would not have many choices if he was a senior today.