Important to note this could end up being our first home grown player. He is an England native and is committed to play for Wake Forest next season.
Wait shit, he can't qualify as a home grown player because he only played for a youth affiliate, not an academy team. We have only announced a U13/14 team, which won't begin play until August (I think the USSDA season runs year round from August to June?) He's probably going to get away.
A club may sign a player to his first professional contract without subjecting him to the MLS SuperDraft if the player has been a member of a club’s youth academy for at least one year and has met the necessary training and retention requirements. Players joining MLS through this mechanism are known as Homegrown Players.
So I have to conclude that Manhattan SC doesn't count as an academy team. But does anyone know if BW Gottschee counts as an academy team for us? They are our only "youth affiliate" to play in the USSDA (all the academy teams), so I'm confused as to their classification. We have only officially announced as creating a new U13/14 academy team.