March 22, 2011

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BERKELEY - The 2011 Major League Soccer season recently opened with 15 former California players - including six Golden Bears from the 2010 squad - on various teams' rosters. That ties Cal with North Carolina for second place on the list of most alumni currently playing in MLS; UCLA leads with 18.

"Having 15 former Cal players on MLS rosters culminates the great work and high-performance culture that our student-athletes have put into their Cal careers," Cal head coach Kevin Grimes said. "It is quite an achievement for Cal to rank with only a few schools as one of the highest producers of current players in MLS. We look to continue this tradition of developing talent for Major League Soccer."

The six players from the 2010 team in MLS are David Bingham, Servando Carrasco, Hector Jimenez, Demitrius Omphroy, Davis Paul and A.J. Soares. With six, Cal ties Wake Forest in 2009 for providing the second-most rookies to MLS in one offseason.

Here are the MLS teams with former Bears currently on their rosters, the players and the details on their entry into the league. The players are still with their original teams unless otherwise noted:

Chicago Fire - Midfielder Davis Paul (2011 MLS SuperDraft, third round, No. 51 overall).

FC Dallas - Midfielder Andrew Jacobson (2008 MLS SuperDraft, second round, No. 24 overall by DC United), forward Andrew Wiedeman (2010 MLS SuperDraft, second round, No. 21 overall).

Houston Dynamo - Forward Calen Carr (2006 MLS SuperDraft, first round, No. 10 overall by Chicago Fire).

Los Angeles Galaxy - Goalkeeper Josh Saunders (2003 MLS SuperDraft, fourth round, No. 36 overall), midfielder Hector Jimenez (2011 MLS SuperDraft, second round, No. 34 overall).

New England Revolution - Defender A.J. Soares (2011 MLS SuperDraft, first round, No. 6 overall).

Portland Timbers - Defender Steve Purdy (2007 MLS Supplemental Draft, first round, No. 5 overall by Los Angeles Galaxy)

San Jose Earthquakes - Goalkeeper David Bingham (2011 MLS lottery).

Seattle Sounders - Midfielder Servando Carrasco (2011 MLS SuperDraft, second round, No. 27 overall), defender Tyson Wahl (2006 MLS SuperDraft, second round, No. 19 overall by Kansas City Wizards).

Sporting Kansas City - Goalkeeper Eric Kronberg (2006 MLS SuperDraft, fourth round, No. 40 overall by Kansas City Wizards), midfielder Luke Sassano (2008 MLS SuperDraft, third round, No. 32 overall by New York Red Bulls).

Toronto FC - Goalkeeper Stefan Frei (2009 MLS SuperDraft, first round, No. 13 overall), defender Demitrius Omphroy (2011 MLS SuperDraft, second round, No. 26 overall).

Cal currently has 18 alumni in the professional ranks altogether, including Leo Krupnik (Maccabi Netanya) in the Israeli Premier League, Troy Roberts (Rochester Rhinos) in the USL Pro League and Jeff Cosgriff (NSC Minnesota Stars) in the latest incarnation of the North American Soccer League, now a Second Division outdoor professional league in the United States.