Their impact in the First Team has been limited to date, but the Seattle Sounders have shown that Tacoma Defiance is the preferred proving ground for potential Homegrown Player signings. Five current HGPs started their journeys in the professional game with Defiance, and with the impacts of the pandemic on the Sounders Academy in 2020, it’s even more likely that any new Homegrowns signed in 2021 will come from the USL team’s ranks.
As we approach the coming season and the start of training camp with a roster undeniably in flux in a number of positions, it makes sense to gaze to the south and try to determine which players could potentially see the lights of Lumen Field in their immediate future.