With the holidays rapidly approaching, the San Jose Earthquakes have been busy preparing for the 2018 season. Last weekend, the Quakes organized a local combine to get a first-hand look at numerous players on the team’s radar ahead of the 2018 MLS SuperDraft next month.
In addition to keeping an eye open for First Team players, San Jose was also earmarking talent that could develop with the club’s USL affiliate Reno 1868 FC. Reno, which the Quakes hold technical control over, has served as both an extension of the First Team and an excellent learning platform since entering USL ahead of the 2017 season.
The Earthquakes brought in 60 field players and four goalkeepers for a two-day combine. After dividing the players into six balanced teams, each side was given one match on Saturday and another on Sunday to show their potential to the Quakes’ brass. Representatives from Reno were also in attendance to take in the sights and sounds.
“To see the amount of talented young players competing at Avaya Stadium last weekend was very encouraging. Thank you to the Bay Area colleges, and in particular their coaches, for having recommended their most talented players to us! The opportunity to work directly with the players will be invaluable as both Reno and us create a pathway for promising prospects.”
The players have a wide variety of backgrounds, including collegiate Division I and Division II, and foreign youth national teams. Colleges represented include Santa Clara, Gonzaga, San Diego State, Cal, UC Davis, Cal Poly, Saint Mary’s, Loyola Marymount, Oregon State and many others. Local powerhouse Stanford was off winning their third consecutive national championship.
