Nash to Participate in MLS Player Combine
12/6/2004 7:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
OMAHA, Neb. - Creighton men's soccer player Julian Nash has been announced as one of 66 college seniors who will attend the annual adidas Major League Soccer Player Combine next month in California. The forward will participate in the event to be held at the Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif., on Jan. 8-11, days before the 2005 MLS SuperDraft.
Nash was a semifinalist for the Missouri Athletic Club's Hermann Trophy - college soccer's highest individual honor. The forward led the Jays with 21 points as a senior, while his nine assists also topped the team. He added six goals as a senior to end his career with 18 career tallies, just outside of the CU career top-10. Nash was named to the MVC First-Team for the first time as a senior.
The San Leandro, Calif., native owns 58 points in his career and dished out 22 career assists to finish just one helper shy of cracking the CU top-10. Nash's best season came during CU's College Cup run in 2002, when he had career-highs with eight goals and 24 points, earning second-team all-MVC honors and MVC All-Tournament Team accolades as sophomore.
The field of players for the combine was determined by a select panel of Division I coaches in conjunction with MLS coaches and the consultation of select Division II, Division III and NAIA coaches. A total of 47 schools are represented, including teams from Division I, Division II, Division III and the NAIA.
MLS general managers and members of all 12 MLS coaching staffs will be in attendance to scout talent at the event leading up to the 2005 MLS SuperDraft. The adidas MLS Player Combine will take place just a few days before the 2005 MLS SuperDraft, which will be held in Baltimore, Md., Friday, Jan. 14. A total of 42 players who participated in last year's combine were selected in the 2004 MLS SuperDraft.
The Bluejays have had at least one player picked in every MLS Draft since the league's inaugural draft in 1996. Creighton is the only school in the nation which has had a player selected in each draft. Last year, David Wagenfuhr kept the streak alive when he was selected by the Dallas Burn in the fourth round of the draft.
CU ended this season in the third round of the NCAA Tournament, after appearing in its 13th consecutive NCAA postseason. The Bluejays recorded a 14-4-2 mark in 2004.
ADIDAS MLS PLAYER COMBINE LIST BY POSITION
GOALKEEPERS (6): Dan Kennedy (UC-Santa Barbara); Jay Nolly (Indiana); John O'Hara (George Mason); Noah Palmer (Maryland); Christopher Sawyer (Notre Dame); T.J. Tomasso (Southern Methodist)
DEFENDERS (23): Stephen Arias (Connecticut); Drew Cavanagh (College of Charleston); Chris Corcoran (St. John's); Dan Gargan (Georgetown); Kevin Goldthwaite (Notre Dame); Ugochukweu Ihemelu (Southern Methodist); Ryan Kelly (St. John's); Craig Klaas (Washington); Cameron Knowles (Akron); Matt Kovar (Loyola Marymount); Jeff Larentower (Brown); Tony Lockhead (UC-Santa Barbara); Aaron Lopez (UCLA); Guy Melamed (Boston College); Tim Merritt (North Carolina); Matt Oliver (Virginia); Aaron Pitchkolan (West Virginia); Nick Pollard (SW Missouri); James Riley (Wake Forest); Troy Roberts (UC-Berkeley); Gonzalo Segares (Virginia Commonwealth); Jack Stewart (Notre Dame); Danny Sullivan (Bowdoin College)
MIDFIELDERS (19): Hans Bevers (New Mexico); Mubarike Chisoni (Coastal Carolina); Michael Enfield (UCLA); Kevon Harris (Old Dominion); Chris Karcz (Rutgers); Thabiso Khumalo (Coastal Carolina); Jeffrey Krause (New Mexico); Luke Kreamaimeyer (Bradley); Doug Lascody (SW Missouri); Amir Lowery (Wake Forest); Domenic Mediate (Maryland); John Minagowa-Webster (Michigan State); Danny O'Rourke (Indiana); Steven Rhyne (Clemson); Ian Rodway (Maryland); Simone Salinno (St. Johns); Jamal Shteiwi (Kentucky); Marcus Storley (North Carolina); Nick Van Sicklen (Wisconsin - Madison)
FORWARDS (18): Knox Cameron (Michigan); Justin Cook (Ohio State); Jamie Holmes (Birmingham Southern); Antouman Jallow (Wisconsin - Milwaukee); Ryan Latham (Southern Methodist); Jerrod Laventure (Seton Hall); Chris Lee (Marquette); Alon Lubezky (Hartford); Julian Nash (Creighton); Orlando Ramirez (Fresno Pacific University); Chris Rolfe (Dayton); Edwin Ruiz (Hartwick); Scott Selay (Wake Forest); Eugene Sepuya (Alabama A & M); Chad Severs (Penn State); Abe Thompson (Maryland); Mychal Turpin (Michigan); Usiel Vasquez (Southern Connecticut)
