Brady Ballew (Marysville, Wash.) is a 5'10", 150-pound forward/midfielder presently attending Marysville-Pilchuck High School. A captain during the 2009 season, he helped the squad reach the 4A state semifinals, earning second team all-state and first team all-district honors as well as the 4A Sportsmanship Award. Ballew is also a player for Snohomish United Soccer Club as well as a two-year captain of the Olympic Development Program team.
Renato Bandeira (Sammamish, Wash.) has played both forward and midfield for Eastlake High School and the Crossfire Development Academy. An honor student at Eastlake High, he earned honorable mention All-KingCo recognition in 2009. A two-year member of the Washington State ODP, the 5'11", 145-pound player has participated in the U.S. Soccer Development Academy for the past three years and helped his club team advance to the USYS Far West regional tournament in 2004, 2005, and 2007.
Nico de la Cruz (Port Orchard, Wash.) has been a center-midfielder for both South Kitsap High School and the WPFC U-18 Academy. A member of the varsity team since his freshman year, the 5'8", 145-pound player helped his high school squad reach the state finals all four years, with championships in both 2007 and 2009. de la Cruz, a two-year member of the ODP team, also made it to finals week of the academy tournament, finishing fifth overall.
Jacob Feener (Rocklin, Calif.) is a 6'2", 170-pound goalkeeper for Jesuit High School in Sacramento, Calif., one of the top teams in the country last season, and the California Developmental Academy. He holds the state records for shutouts in a season with 22 and shutouts in a career with 52, breaking the single-season mark in his senior year that he previously set as a junior. Earning All-America honors from both the NSCAA and ESPN Rise, he was a four-time captain as he moved up within the Placer United club organization, picking up U17 Player of the Year honors in 2009.
Darwin Jones (Des Moines, Wash.) is a 5'8", 155-pound forward who has made a name for himself as a member of the U.S. Soccer Development Academy. After scoring 14 goals in the first 21 matches of the 2009-10 Academy season, he was named to the U.S. Soccer Development Academy All-Star Team that faced the U.S. Under-20 National Team on Dec. 20, 2009. A two-time first team all-league selection at Mount Rainier High School, Jones is ranked 73rd nationally, 21st on the West Coast, and third within the Northwest region among high school soccer players to watch by Top Drawer Soccer.
Logan Richards (Woodinville, Wash.) is a 6'3", 200-pound goalkeeper from Woodinville High School and the Eastside Football Club. A member of the National Junior Honor Society, he earned second team all-conference honors as his squad finished third in the 4A state tournament in 2009. His club team won the state championship in both 2008 and 2009, and Richards has been a part of the Olympic Development Program in Washington since 2005.
Ben Striar (Portland, Ore.) is a 5'8", 145-pound midfielder from Cleveland High School and the Eastside United Football Club. He is a two-time conference player of the year as well as a three-time first team all-state honoree and the MVP of the state championship game as a freshman. An honor roll student, Striar helped his club team win the state championship three times and will be practicing with the Portland Timbers starting this month.
These seven will join a program that will be eligible for the NCAA Division I Tournament for the first time as it looks to improve on its fourth-place finish in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) during the 2009 season.