With the arrival last week of the NCAA-branded National Signing Day — the first day athletes can officially bind themselves to play for a school — eight current Seattle Sounders Academy players have committed to play the 2017-18 season for various collegiate programs. Alexander Bradbury (Gardner-Webb University), Joseph Hafferty (Oregon State), Lucas Meek (Washington), Jackson Ragen (Michigan), Sam Rogers (Villanova), Paul Rothrock (Notre Dame), Stirling Russell (Washington) and Kei Tomozawa (Stanford) will all leave the Sounders organization this coming fall; it is likely some will eventually return but some will not.
This group of players can be split, roughly, into three categories: those who are not currently catching the attention of professional clubs, thus making college a great next/final step in their soccer career; those with professional potential for whom collegiate soccer is probably the best place for them to get meaningful minutes; and those for whom it is questionable whether college is the best option for them in terms of soccer development.