Stuart Hawkins is now the latest in an ever-growing line of players to take the step from the Sounders Academy into the professional ranks with Tacoma Defiance. Hawkins, a lanky 15-year-old centerback, has already spent several years in the Seattle Sounders system, having joined the Sounders Discovery Program at the age of 12.
Hawkins spent time with the Sounders First Team during this year’s preseason, where he made a lasting impression on the staff and veteran players around him. Stefan Frei, in particular, recalled Hawkins’s performance in a scrimmage: “I remember … right around the time when we started Champions League, we played a scrimmage here — First Team against second team — and Stu had to actually slide in on my side and I was quite impressed.