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Former Akron men's soccer player DeAndre Yedlin was named to Jurgen Klinsmann's 30-man preliminary roster of players heading to the the World Cup in Brazil, as announced Tuesday, May 12.
The right back, who currently plays for the Seattle Sounders, had two standout seasons with the Zips coming in to the program right after they won their first NCAA National Championship in 2010. After being ranked seventh in the nation for recruits, he came onto the Akron scene and wasted no time getting acclimated to college soccer, starting 20 of the 23 games he appeared in that year.
Yedlin was named to the All-MAC First Team that year as well, along with being rated the No. 10 freshman in the country by Top Drawer Soccer. He was solid at the back for the Zips and bagged six assists, four of them game winners, and he had more to come in his sophomore season.
The Seattle native was once again named to the All-MAC First Team and rated No. 35 overall in the country for upperclassman. He matched his freshman total of six assists, good for third on the team, and started in 21 of the 22 games he was featured in.
All of this set the stage for Yedlin's call up to the Major League Soccer and the United States Men's National Team.
Yedlin became the Sounders' first homegrown player and made an immediate impact for his club, playing 31 games and making the MLS All-Star team as a rookie. Klinsmann decided to call him into USMNT camp in January after a proactive year in MLS and it seemed that a international debut was imminent. He got his wish in February.
He has two caps for the USMNT, making his debut as a substitute against Korea on Feb. 1 and getting his second cap against Mexico, once again as a sub, on April 3.
Now in his sophomore season with the Sounders, Yedlin is enjoying a great year with Seattle. He's started all 11 games and has been a rock at the back for a Sounders team that is currently No. 1 in MLS with 25 points (8-3-1).
Now he must prove himself worthy to board the plane to Brazil over names like Geoff Cameron, Timothy Chandler and Brad Evans. Yedlin has already proved he has quite a bit of potential, both on the domestic scene and internationally, but the question remains whether Klinsmann will choose to use the 20 year-old's services in Brazil.