Ciaran O’Brien is on his way to Major League Soccer! The 2007 Tacoma Tide star who was selected to 1^st Team, All PDL honors, has signed a 3 year deal with Generation Adidas. This officially makes him a professional, essentially inking a Major League Soccer contract. By signing Generation Adidas, O’Brien forgoes his remaining two years of eligibility at the University of California , Santa Barbara , and is available to be drafted in the MLS SuperDraft. The MLS team that drafts his rights will not have to pay his contract because Adidas has already taken care of the deal. This makes it is a great way for the MLS to affordably bring on the best young talent in the country while these players receive strong contracts for the beginning of their pro careers. These players will also receive compensation directed toward finishing their college education following their pro career.  

                                                                                  Photo courtesy of www.goaltacoma,com photographer, Jenni Conner

O’Brien’s designation as Generation Adidas is an exceptional honor. He is one of just nine players who were signed this past week to represent Adidas. Last season’s class of eight Generation Adidas players produced seven of the 13 first round selections in the MLS SuperDraft, including the top three of the top five selections - Maurice Edu (Toronto FC, 1st overall), Bakary Soumare (Chicago Fire, 2nd overall) and Chris Seitz (Real Salt Lake, 4th overall).  If history is any indicator, Ciaran O’Brien will most likely be drafted in the first round to one of the, now, fourteen teams in Major League Soccer. When asked where O’Brien assumes he’ll be drafted to he said, “You really never know until your name is called out at the draft,” and where he’d like to go? “LA would be a good place. It would be nice to stay in California . San Jose would be cool too, but anywhere I go will be fine because I’ll be playing and that’s all that matters.”  

The rest of January is a busy time for Ciaran; he’ll fly down this weekend for the MLS invitational combine to compete with 60 players in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida in front of scouts from all over the world. This can be pressure filled environment for some, but the stress is relieved for Ciaran. “It should be fun. The pressure is not on me since I’ve already signed. I just want to go out and play well,” O’Brien said. A good combine performance could improve a player’s draft status. He’ll then fly back to tie loose ends in Southern California, his college stomping grounds, before heading back across to Baltimore for the 2008 MLS SuperDraft.  

The MLS SuperDraft can be seen on ESPN 2, January 18^th @ 11:00a.m. Pacific Time. Keep an eye on it; you might just see a face you recognize up on stage.