On Thursday afternoon, the San Jose Earthquakes announced that the club had signed three players from USL affiliate Reno 1868 FC. Defender Jimmy Ockford and midfielders Chris Wehan and Luis Felipe helped Reno climb the table in the team’s record-setting USL campaign en route to a postseason berth. The three players will all be competing with the First Team in 2018, while the possibility remains, as it does with every player, they could return to Reno on loan to get more minutes throughout the season.
Thursday’s announcement, however, was far deeper than just the transition of three players from USL to MLS.