COLUMBUS — The Columbus Crew is pleased to announce that 22 players, both male and female, from the Crew Youth Development Program have committed to play collegiate soccer. On Wednesday, February 5, the National Letter of Intent Signing Day, a special ceremony is set to be held in the Upper 90 Club at Crew Stadium to recognize each individual player.
In 2013, the event was streamed live on TheCrew.com, drawing viewers from across the country. This year’s event is also slated to be streamed live by visiting TheCrew.com at 6:00 p.m. ET on Wednesday, February 5.
Of the 22 graduating seniors that committed to collegiate programs in 2014, nine signed National Letters of Intent to play at NCAA Division I programs. Crew Youth has helped over 130 players realize their dream of playing college soccer since the program began in 2007. Crew Youth has produced nine players that have gone on to sign with the Crew First Team, including eight Homegrown Players. Seven Homegrown Players are currently rostered on the Senior Team, including: Chad Barson, Ross Friedman, Matt Lampson, Ben Speas, Wil Trapp, Matt Walker and Matt Wiet.
Many more graduating seniors in the Crew Youth system are finalizing their college plans and are expected to make announcements soon. The 21 Crew Youth players that have committed to play college soccer in the fall of 2014 are:
Darby Burch – Malone University
Hometown: Pickerington
Position: Midfielder/Defender
Nicole Karavakis – Wittenberg University
Hometown: Canal Winchester
Position: Defender
Julia Bruno – Miami University
Hometown: Powell
Position: Midfielder/Forward
Nathan Kohl – University of Michigan
Hometown: Hilliard
Position: Forward
Rachel Koch – Marshall University
Hometown: Pickerington
Position: Center Midfield
Casidy Simonis – Carson-Newman University
Hometown: Pickerington
Position: Center Midfield
Trevor Funk – Capital University
Hometown: Dublin
Position: Goalkeeper
Matthew Millard – Huntington University
Hometown: Mount Gilead
Position: Defender/Midfielder
Maureen Kelly – Heidelburg University
Hometown: Gahanna
Position: Center Midfield
Brock Bishop – Mount Vernon Nazarene University
Hometown: Delaware
Position: Center Midfield
Morgan Greer – Bellarmine University
Hometown: Pickerington
Position: Midfielder
Andrew McKelvey – University of Kentucky
Hometown: Dublin
Position: Forward/Midfielder
Michael McCloskey – University of Cincinnati
Hometown: Powell
Position: Midfielder
Brady Blackwell – San Diego State University
Hometown: Columbus
Position: Midfielder
John Schuman – Wake Forest University
Hometown: Columbus
Position: Midfielder
Noah Hutchins – University of Kentucky
Hometown: Columbus
Position: Forward
Kenda Revis-Nixon – Tiffin University
Hometown: Westerville
Position: Midfielder
Aidan Bean – University of Dayton
Hometown: Powell
Position: Defender
Hunter Robertson – The Ohio State University
Hometown: Westerville
Position: Defender
Former Club: Classics/Eagles
Joey Cipicchio – Brown University
Hometown: Columbus
Position: Goalkeeper
Former Club: Classics/Eagles
Silankonet Bayo – Wright State University
Hometown: Columbus
Position: Forward
Jack Rademacher – Case Western Reserve University
Hometown: Powell
Position: Midfielder
