Six Players With Portland Timbers Ties In the MLS Draft Combine

The Portland Timbers U-23s are well represented in the ranks of Major League Soccer, with first round pick Erik Hurtado and well regarded striker Mark Sherrod active in the league and a number of others on its periphery. This year the U-23s seem likely to add to that number with six players tied to the team invited to the 2015 MLS Superdraft Combine.

Representing the U-23s' 2014 squad are Fatai Alashe, Miguel Aguilar, Jose Ribas, and Will Seymore. From the U-23s' 2013 side are Saad Abdul-Salaam and Khiry Shelton.

One of Caleb Porter's final players coming out of Akron and potentially into MLS, Abdul-Salaam is a versatile player who can play across the back line or in the midfield. Since being moved into a fullback and winger role on hte right for Akron, Abdul-Salaam has been a regular contributor of assists for the Zips, picking up eleven in the last two years.

Alashe is a well regarded defensive midfielder out of Michigan State. Having been the bulwark in the midfield for a State side that has reached the NCAA Tournament quarter-finals in each of the last two years. Alashe scored two goals for the U-23s in just eleven games with the team from his holding midfield position.

A forward for the University of San Francisco,  Aguilar is a big boy who seems more well-known for his hold up play than any sort of goal scoring prowess. With the U-23s, a side that tended to spread out the goalscoring responsibilities, Aguilar ended up with one goal and one assist in eight games, while with his college side in 2014 he notched four goals and three assists.

Ribas has played all across the backline for Creighton, but looks like a fullback at the MLS level. He is only listed at 5'9", but his intelligence on the pitch and passing ability out of the back have served Creighton well over the last four years, including in the 2013 season when he managed to lead the team with six assists from his position in the defense.

The longest serving of the Timbers U-23s alums, Seymore played with the U-23s in 2013 and 2014, slotting in as both a defender and a defensive midfielder in his two years with the team. A consistent player for the Oregon State Beavers, only Shelton started more games than Seymore this year.

For his part, Shelton put together his first full season without injury in some time and definitely made it pay off; scoring ten goals and notching twelve assists in 21 games at forward  with the Beavers in 2014. For the 2013 U-23s, Shelton never had a chance to make an impact as he was forced to miss the short summer season due to injury. Another player getting some significant first round buzz, Shelton could go very high in this year's draft if teams ignore his record of injuries.

Would you take any of these players with the Timbers' No 5 pick?

The MLS press release:

55 College Seniors Invited to 2015 adidas MLS Player Combine

Invited players to showcase their talents in front of 20 MLS clubs in Fort Lauderdale, FL

NEW YORK (Thurs., Dec. 11, 2014) – Major League Soccer today announced the 55 NCAA DI college seniors invited to participate in the 2015 adidas MLS Player Combine. Top collegiate athletes from across the country will have the opportunity to showcase their talents in front of representatives from all 20 MLS clubs in Fort Lauderdale, FL from Jan. 8-13, 2015. All invited players will be eligible for selection in the 2015 SuperDraft presented by adidas that will take place on Thursday, Jan. 15 in Philadelphia, PA.

A committee of NCAA Division I coaches from every conference, as well as MLS coaches, selected the invitees, all of whom completed their college eligibility this season.  Generation adidas signings, non-collegiate players, and additional college seniors will be announced in the coming weeks.

Among the top invitees looking to impress MLS clubs is midfielder Leo Stolz (UCLA), a 2014 Hermann Trophy semifinalist and 2013 finalist. The German native also earned a first team All-American selection and Pac-12 Player of the Year honors in 2013. Similarly, eyes will be set on goalkeeper Tyler Miller (Northwestern), who took home the 2014 Big Ten Goalkeeper of the Year award and led the Big Ten in save percentage (85%) and goals against average (.56), while tying for second in shutouts (9). Also invited to the annual showcase is midfielder Nick Besler, younger brother to U.S. Men’s National Team and Sporting Kansas City defender Matt Besler. The Notre Dame product was named to the All-ACC first team in 2013, while leading the Fighting Irish to the 2013 NCAA Championship title.

Seven players participating in this weekend’s 2014 Men’s College Cup Final Four are among the Combine invitees – four players from UCLA (Earl Edwards Jr., Aaron Simmons, Leo Stolz, Andrew Tusaazemajja), one from Providence College (Fabio Machado), one from University of Virginia (Eric Bird) and one from UMBC (Oumar Ballo).

· Media interested in covering the 2015 adidas MLS Player Combine should contact Jane Sexton (Jane.Sexton@mlssoccer.com) to request a credential for the matches.

· Media interested in covering the 2015 SuperDraft presented by adidas should contact Sal Della Monica (Sal.DellaMonica@mlssoccer.com) to request a credential for the event.

To download the SuperDraft logo, please CLICK HERE.

To download the Combine logo, please CLICK HERE.

To view the schedule of Combine matches, please CLICK HERE.

2015 adidas MLS Player Combine NCAA DI College Senior Participants

(Alphabetical by last name)

First Name	Last Name	School	Position	Hometown/Citizenship	BIO
Saad	Abdul-Salaam	University of Akron	DF	Gahanna, Ohio - USA	BIO
Miguel	Aguilar	University of San Francisco	FW	Sacramento, CA – Mexico	BIO
Fatai	Alashe	Michigan State	M/D	Northville, Mich. - USA	BIO
Tyler	Arnone	University of Michigan	DF	Hicksville, N.Y. - USA	BIO
Dominique	Badji	Boston University	FW	Dakar, Senegal - Senegal	BIO
Oumar	Ballo	UMBC	DF	Baltimore, Md. - Mali/ process USA	BIO
Laurie	Bell	UW-Milwaukee	D/M	Poynton, England - UK	BIO
Salvador	Bernal	UNLV	M/F	Las Vegas, Nev. - U.S. Resident	BIO
Nick	Besler	Notre Dame	MF	Overland Park, KS - USA	BIO
Adria	Beso Marco	UConn	MF	Lleida, Spain - Spain	BIO
Andrew	Bevin	West Virginia University	F/M	Napier, New Zealand  - New Zealand	BIO
Eric	Bird	University of Virginia	MF	Virginia Beach, Va. - USA	BIO
Connor	Brandt	University of San Diego	MF	Temecula, CA - USA	BIO
Sergio	Campbell	UConn	DF	Clarendon, Jamaica - Jamaica	BIO
Seth	Casiple	California	MF	Rocklin, Calif. - USA	BIO
Wesley	Charpie	University of South Florida	DF	Tarpon Springs, Fla. -  USA	BIO
Andy	Craven	University of North Carolina	FW	St. Simons Island, Ga. - USA	BIO
Otis	Earl	UC Riverside	DF	London, England - British/USA	BIO
Earl	Edwards, Jr.	UCLA	GK	San Diego, Calif. - USA	BIO
Marc	Fenelus	California State University Fullerton	FW	Providenciales, Turks and Caicos - Turks and Caicos	BIO
Oniel	Fisher	University of New Mexico	MF	Portmore, Jamaica - Jamaica	BIO
Tomas	Gomez	Georgetown	GK	Webster Groves, Mo. - USA	BIO
Connor	Hallisey	California	MF	Granite Bay, Calif. - USA	BIO
Cameron	Iwasa	UC Irvine	FW	Sacramento, Calif. - USA	BIO
Daniel	Keller	University of Louisville	DF	Carmel, Ind. - USA	BIO
Robert	Kristo	St. Louis University	FW	St. Louis, Mo.  - USA/Croatia	BIO
Sagi	Lev-Ari	California State University Northridge	FW	Haifa, Israel - Israel	BIO
Rob	Lovejoy	University of North Carolina	F/M	Greensboro, N.C.  - USA	BIO
Fabio	Machado	Providence College	MF	Santa Catarina, Brazil - USA	BIO
Ignacio	Maganto	Iona College	FW	Madrid, Spain - Spain	BIO
Anthony	Manning	St. Louis University	DF	Mesquite, Texas - USA	BIO
Ramon	Martin DelCampo	UC Davis	DF	Chula Vista, Calif. - USA	BIO
Shawn	McLaws	Coastal Carolina University	DF/MF	Edmond, Okla. - USA	BIO
Dan	Metzger	University of Maryland	MF	Holmdel, N.Y. - USA	BIO
Tyler	Miller	Northwestern	GK	Woodbury, N.J. - USA	BIO
Luke	Mishu	Notre Dame	DF	Knoxville, TN - USA	BIO
Adam	Montague	Michigan State	FW	Toledo, Ohio - USA	BIO
Craig	Nitti	Loyola Marymount	DF	Calabasas, Calif. - USA / Italy	BIO
Boyd	Okwuonu	University of North Carolina	DF	Edmond, Okla. - USA	BIO
Tim	Parker	St. John's University	DF	Hicksville, N.Y. - USA	BIO
Nikola	Paunic	University of South Florida	DF	Toronto, Ontario - Canada	BIO
Matt	Polster	SIU-Edwardsville	DF	Las Vegas, Nev. - USA	BIO
Jose	Ribas	Creighton University	D/M	Guayaquil, Ecuador - Ecuador	BIO
Sidney	Rivera	Old Dominion University	FW	Hampton, N.J. - USA	BIO
James	Rogers	University of New Mexico	FW	Sierra Leone - USA	BIO
Manolo	Sanchez	Clemson University	MF	Philadelphia, Pa. - USA	BIO
Will	Seymour	Oregon State	MF	Soham, England - USA/UK	BIO
Khiry	Shelton	Oregon State	FW	Leander, Texas - USA	BIO
Aaron	Simmons	UCLA	DF	Mansfield, Texas - USA	BIO
Leo	Stoltz	UCLA	MF	Munich, Germany - Germany	BIO
Andy	Thoma	University of Washington	MF/DF	Los Alamos, N.M. - USA	BIO
Skylar	Thomas	Syracuse University	DF	Pickering, Ontario - Canada	BIO
Andrew	Tusaazemajja	UCLA	MF	Panorama City, Calif.  - USA	BIO
Christian	Volesky	SIU-Edwardsville	F/M	Henderson, Nev. - USA	BIO
Andrew	Wolverton	Penn State	GK	Atlanta, Ga. - USA	BIO

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