Generation Adidas

Generation Adidas official logo

Generation Adidas is a joint venture between Major League Soccer and U.S. Soccer aimed at raising the level of young soccer talent in the United States.[1] The program, sponsored by Adidas, encourages early entry (without college graduation) of American players into MLS. Until 2005, the program was sponsored by Nike and was called Project-40.[2]

Carlos Parra was the first Project-40 player when he signed with the league and was allocated to the New York/New Jersey MetroStars in 1997. Since then, the program has included players such as Tim Howard, DaMarcus Beasley, Maurice Edu, Carlos Bocanegra, Clint Dempsey, Jozy Altidore, Ben Olsen, Sacha Kljestan, Freddy Adu, Brad Guzan, Michael Bradley, Nick Rimando, and Kyle Beckerman.

Generation Adidas players do not count against the MLS senior roster and usually earn a much higher salary than the league minimum. Entering into the program automatically classifies a player as professional, and thus disqualifies them from playing college soccer. As a result, Generation Adidas players are also guaranteed scholarships to continue their college education should their professional career not pan out.

From 1998 to 2000, MLS entered a team of Project-40 players, supplemented by other MLS players who did not get much playing time, into the A-League in the USL.

Players

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

Generation Adidas graduates are announced at the end of the MLS season (prior to 2008,[3] 2009,[4] 2010,[5] and 2011[6]) so in the charts below the graduation year represents the season after which the player was announced by MLS as a Generation Adidas graduate.

1997

Player Age Pos Home Town College/prior
Ubusuku Abukusumo 19 D Albuquerque, NM North Carolina State
Jose Botello 20 M Los Angeles, CA East Los Angeles (Comm) College
Nino Da Silva 17 M Hoffman Estates, IL
Joey DiGiamarino 19 D Corona, CA Fullerton State
Brian Dunseth 19 D Upland, CA Fullerton State
Carlos Parra 19 M West Haven, CT
Eric Quill 18 F Missouri City, TX Clemson
Esmundo Rodriguez 19 M Dallas, TX Indiana
Tim Sahaydak 19 D Bethlehem, PA North Carolina
Juan Sastoque 19 F Brooklyn, NY CSUN

1998

Player Age Pos Home Town College/prior
Jamar Beasley 18 F Fort Wayne, IN
Judah Cooks 21 M Bethesda, MD Maryland
Tim Howard 18 GK North Brunswick, NJ US Under-20
Justin Cox 16 GK Greensboro, NC US Under-17
Andy Kirk 20 GK Milwaukee, WI Maryland
Chad McCarty 20 D Clovis, CA Washington
Matt Napoleon 20 GK Feasterville, PA Columbia
Ben Olsen 20 M/F Middletown, PA Virginia
Barry Swift 20 F Port-of-Spain, Trinidad
Scott Vermillion 21 D Olathe, KS Virginia
Brian West 19 F Columbia, MD Virginia
Josh Wolff 20 F Stone Mountain, GA South Carolina

1999

Player Age Pos Home Town College/prior
Chris Albright 20 F Philadelphia, PA Virginia
DaMarcus Beasley 16 M Fort Wayne, IN Bradenton Academy
Scott Bower 20 F/M Tampa, FL Clemson
Sergi Daniv 23 M Lviv, Ukraine Wake Forest
Francisco Gomez 19 M Watsonville, CA
Michael Green 20 D Columbia, MD Virginia
Dema Kovalenko 21 M Rochester, NY Indiana
Alen Kozic 22 D/M Tampa, FL Florida International
Matt Nyman 22 G Westbrook, CT Dartmouth
Antonio Otero 21 M Tampa, FL American
Marvin Quijano 19 F North Hollywood, CA Rio Honda Comm College
Maurizio Rocha 22 M Santa Cruz, Bolivia Connecticut
Scott Vallow 21 GK Naperville, IL Bowling Green

2000

Player Age Pos Home Town College/prior Drafting Team
Shaker Asad 20 M Raleigh, NC North Carolina State New England Revolution
Kyle Beckerman 17 M Crofton, MD US Under-17 Miami Fusion
Carlos Bocanegra 20 D Alta Loma, CA UCLA Chicago Fire
Danny Califf 19 D Orange, CA Maryland Los Angeles Galaxy
Bobby Convey 16 M Philadelphia, PA Bradenton Academy D.C. United
Micah Cooks 18 M Washington, DC D.C. United
Nick Garcia 20 D Plano, TX Indiana Kansas City Wizards
Mario Longo 19 M Apex, NC Columbus Crew
Rusty Pierce 20 D The Woodlands, TX UNC Greensboro New England Revolution
Nick Rimando 20 GK Montclair, CA UCLA Miami Fusion
Seth Trembly 17 M Littleton, CO Bradenton Academy Colorado Rapids
Sergio Salas 18 F Falls Church, VA D.C. United

2001

Player Age Pos Home Town College/prior Drafted Team
Devin Barclay 17 F Annapolis, MD US Under-20 Tampa Bay Mutiny
Isaias Bardales 21 F San Jose, CA San Jose State Los Angeles Galaxy
Edson Buddle 19 F New Rochelle, NY State Fair Comm College Columbus Crew
José Burciaga, Jr. 19 D Duncanville, TX US Under-20 Kansas City Wizards
Chris Carrieri 20 F Stafford, VA North Carolina San Jose Earthquakes
D.J. Countess 19 GK Sacramento, CA UCLA MetroStars
Nick Downing 20 D Redmond, WA Maryland New England Revolution
Eddie Johnson 16 F Palm Coast, FL Bradenton Academy Dallas Burn
Martin Klinger 20 F Kearny, NJ MetroStars Black MetroStars
Santino Quaranta 16 F Baltimore, MD Bradenton Academy D.C. United
Miguel Saavedra 17 M Milwaukee, WI US Under-18 Dallas Burn

2002

Player Age Pos Home Town College/prior Drafted Team
Nelson Akwari 19 D Houston, TX UCLA MetroStars
Craig Capano 16 M Hyde Park, NY Bradenton Academy Chicago Fire
Brad Davis 20 M St. Charles, MO Saint Louis MetroStars
Kelly Gray 20 D Palo Alto, CA Portland Chicago Fire
Justin Mapp 17 M Brandon, MS Bradenton Academy D.C. United
Kyle Martino 20 M Atlanta, GA Virginia Columbus Crew
Jordan Stone 17 D Allen, TX US Under-17 Dallas Burn

2003

Player Age Pos Home Town College/prior Drafting Team
Arturo Alvarez 17 F/M Houston, TX US Under-17 San Jose Earthquakes
Brian Carroll 21 M Fairfax, VA Wake Forest D.C. United
Ricardo Clark 19 M Jonesboro, GA Furman MetroStars
Alecko Eskandarian 20 F Montvale, NJ Virginia D.C. United
Eddie Gaven 16 M Hamilton, NJ Bradenton Academy MetroStars
Guillermo Gonzalez 16 M Paramount, CA Bradenton Academy Los Angeles Galaxy
Nate Jaqua 21 F Eugene, OR Portland Chicago Fire
Jacob LeBlanc 21 M Palo Alto, VA Virginia MetroStars
Ricky Lewis 20 D Spring, TX Clemson Los Angeles Galaxy
Mike Magee 18 F/M South Barrington, IL Bradenton Academy MetroStars
Logan Pause 21 D Hillsborough, NC North Carolina Chicago Fire
David Stokes 20 D Dumfries, VA North Carolina D.C. United
Jason Thompson 21 F Garland, TX Eastern Illinois Dallas Burn

2004

Player Age Pos Home Town College/prior Drafting Team
Freddy Adu 14 M Potomac, MD US Under-17 D.C. United
Michael Bradley 16 M Palatine, IL US Under-17 MetroStars
Ryan Cochrane 20 D Portland, OR Santa Clara San Jose Earthquakes
Steve Cronin 20 GK Sacramento, CA Santa Clara San Jose Earthquakes
Clint Dempsey 20 M Nacogdoches, TX Furman New England Revolution
Josh Gardner 21 M Houston, TX Cincinnati Los Angeles Galaxy
Clarence Goodson 21 D Springfield, VA Maryland Dallas Burn
Ned Grabavoy 20 M New Lenox, IL Indiana Los Angeles Galaxy
Chad Marshall 19 D Riverside, CA Stanford Columbus Crew
Danny Szetela 16 M Clifton, NJ US Under-17 Columbus Crew

2005

Player Age Pos Home Town College/prior Drafting Team
Chad Barrett 19 F Beaverton, OR UCLA Chicago Fire
Nikolas Besagno 16 M Maple Valley, WA US Under-17 Real Salt Lake
Hunter Freeman 20 D Allen, TX Virginia Colorado Rapids
Brad Guzan 20 GK Homer Glen, IL South Carolina Chivas USA
Christian Jimenez 18 M San Dimas, CA US Under-20 Chivas USA
Will John 19 F Kansas City, MO Saint Louis Chicago Fire
Quavas Kirk 16 F Aurora, IL US Under-17 Los Angeles Galaxy
Drew Moor 20 D Dallas, TX Indiana FC Dallas
Michael Parkhurst 20 D Cranston, RI Wake Forest New England Revolution
Ryan Pore 21 F Mansfield, OH Tulsa Kansas City Wizards
Tim Ward 17 D Waukesha, WI Saint Louis MetroStars
Jamie Watson 18 F Dallas, TX North Carolina Real Salt Lake

2006

Player Age Pos Home Town College/prior Drafting Team
Jozy Altidore 16 F Boca Raton, FL US Under-20 MetroStars
Yura Movsisyan 18 F Pasadena, CA Pasadena Lancers Kansas City Wizards
David Arvizu 17 F Santa Ana, CA US Under-20 MetroStars
Patrick Ianni 20 D/M Lodi, CA UCLA Houston Dynamo
Kei Kamara 21 F Lawndale, CA Cal State Dominguez Hills Columbus Crew
Sacha Kljestan 20 M Huntington Beach, CA Seton Hall Chivas USA
Dax McCarty 18 M Winter Park, FL North Carolina FC Dallas
Jacob Peterson 19 F Portage, MI Indiana Colorado Rapids
Willie Sims 21 F Los Angeles, CA Cal State Northridge New England Revolution
Nathan Sturgis 18 D/M St. Augustine, FL Clemson Los Angeles Galaxy
Blake Wagner 17 D Tampa, FL US Under-20 FC Dallas
Marvell Wynne 19 D Poway, CA UCLA MetroStars
Jed Zayner 21 D Orland Park, IL Indiana Columbus Crew

2007

Player Age Pos Home Town College/prior Drafting Team Graduated
Chris Seitz 19 GK San Luis Obispo, CA Maryland Real Salt Lake 2009
Bryan Arguez 17 D/M Miami, FL US Under-20 D.C. United
Anthony Wallace 17 D/M St. Petersburg, FL South Florida FC Dallas 2009
Amaechi Igwe 17 D Belmont, CA Santa Clara New England Revolution 2009
Maurice Edu 20 M Fontana, CA Maryland Toronto FC 2007
Nico Colaluca 20 M/F Coventry, RI Virginia Colorado Rapids 2010
Bakary Soumaré 21 D New York, NY Virginia Chicago Fire 2008
Fuad Ibrahim 15 F Richfield, MN US Under-17 FC Dallas 2010

2008

Player Age Pos Home Town College/prior Drafting Team Graduated
Eric Avila 20 M San Diego, CA UC Santa Barbara FC Dallas 2010
Tony Beltran 20 D/M Claremont, CA UCLA Real Salt Lake 2009
Roger Espinoza 21 M Aurora, CO Ohio State Kansas City Wizards 2010
Josh Lambo 17 GK Middleton, WI US Under-17 FC Dallas 2011
Chance Myers 20 D/M Thousand Oaks, CA UCLA Kansas City Wizards 2010
Alex Nimo 17 F/M Portland, OR US Under-17 Real Salt Lake 2010
Patrick Nyarko 22 F Kumasi, Ghana Virginia Tech Chicago Fire 2009
Ciaran O'Brien 20 M Tacoma, WA UC Santa Barbara Colorado Rapids 2010
Brek Shea 17 M/D College Station, TX US Under-17 FC Dallas 2010
Rob Valentino 22 D Cave Creek, AZ San Francisco New England Revolution

2009

Player Age Pos Home Town College/Prior Drafting Team Graduated
Kevin Alston 20 D Silver Spring, MD Indiana New England Revolution 2009
Danny Cruz 19 M Glendale, AZ UNLV Houston Dynamo 2011
Stefan Frei 22 GK Widnau, Switzerland California Toronto FC 2010
Omar Gonzalez 20 D Dallas, TX Maryland Los Angeles Galaxy 2009
Jeremy Hall 20 M Tampa, FL Maryland New York Red Bulls 2009
Baggio Husidic 21 M Libertyville, IL UIC Chicago Fire 2010
Peri Marošević 19 F Rockford, IL Michigan FC Dallas 2011
Rodney Wallace 20 M Rockville, MD Maryland D.C. United 2009
Steve Zakuani 20 F London, England Akron Seattle Sounders FC 2009

2010

Player Age Pos Home Town College/Prior Drafting Team Graduated
Corben Bone 21 M Plano, TX Wake Forest Chicago Fire
Teal Bunbury 19 F Prior Lake, MN Akron Kansas City Wizards 2011
Dilly Duka 20 M Montville, NJ Rutgers Columbus Crew 2011
Blair Gavin 20 M Louisville, KY Akron Chivas USA 2011
Luis Gil 16 M Garden Grove, CA US Under-17 Kansas City Wizards
Zachary Herold 17 D Port St. Lucie, FL US Under-17 Toronto FC Retired
Sean Johnson 20 GK Lilburn, GA UCF Chicago Fire 2011
Jack McInerney 17 F Alpharetta, GA US Under-17 Philadelphia Union 2012
Danny Mwanga 18 F Kinshasa, DR Congo Oregon State Philadelphia Union 2011
Amobi Okugo 18 M Sacramento, CA UCLA Philadelphia Union 2012
Ike Opara 20 D Durham, NC Wake Forest San Jose Earthquakes
Tony Tchani 20 M Norfolk, VA Virginia New York Red Bulls 2011
Andrew Wiedeman 20 F San Ramon, CA California FC Dallas

2011

Player Age Pos Home Town College/Prior Drafting Team Graduated
David Bingham 21 GK Castro Valley, CA California San Jose Earthquakes 2014
Will Bruin 21 F St. Louis, MO Indiana Houston Dynamo 2013
Corey Hertzog 20 F Reading, PA Penn State New York Red Bulls n/a
Perry Kitchen 18 M Indianapolis, IN Akron D.C. United 2011
Zac MacMath 19 GK St. Petersburg, FL Maryland Philadelphia Union 2013
Darlington Nagbe 20 M Lakewood, OH Akron Portland Timbers 2013
Michael Nanchoff 22 M North Royalton, OH Akron Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2013
Omar Salgado 17 F El Paso, TX US Under-20 Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2014
Kofi Sarkodie 19 D Huber Heights, OH Akron Houston Dynamo 2013
Michael Tetteh 21 D Accra, Ghana UC Santa Barbara Seattle Sounders FC n/a
Zarek Valentin 19 D Lancaster, PA Akron Chivas USA 2011

2012

Player Age Pos Home Town College/Prior Draft Team Graduated
Dom Dwyer 21 F London, England USF Sporting Kansas City 2014
Sam Garza 21 F Highland Village, TX UC Santa Barbara San Jose Earthquakes
Chandler Hoffman 21 F Birmingham, AL UCLA Philadelphia Union
Andrew Jean-Baptiste 19 D Brentwood, NY Connecticut Portland Timbers
Enzo Martinez 21 M Rock Hill, SC North Carolina Real Salt Lake
Darren Mattocks 21 F Portmore, Jamaica Akron Vancouver Whitecaps FC
Tyler Polak 19 D Lincoln, NE Creighton New England Revolution
Kelyn Rowe 20 M Federal Way, WA UCLA New England Revolution
Andrew Wenger 21 D Lititz, PA Duke Montreal Impact

2013

Player Age Pos Home Town College/Prior Draft Team Graduated
Deshorn Brown 21 F Manchester, Jamaica UCF Colorado Rapids 2014
Andrew Farrell 20 D Louisville, KY Louisville New England Revolution 2014
Jason Johnson 22 F Happy News, Jamaica VCU Houston Dynamo
Kekuta Manneh 18 F Austin, TX Austin Aztex Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2014
Mikey Lopez 19 M Dallas, TX North Carolina Sporting Kansas City
Walker Zimmerman 19 D Lawrenceville, GA Furman FC Dallas
Eriq Zavaleta 20 F Westfield, IN Indiana Seattle Sounders FC 2014

2014

Player Age Pos Home Town College/prior Draft Team Graduated
Andre Blake 23 GK May Pen, Jamaica Connecticut Philadelphia Union
A.J. Cochran 20 D St. Louis, MO Wisconsin Houston Dynamo
Christian Dean 21 D East Palo Alto, CA California Vancouver Whitecaps FC
Marlon Hairston 19 M Jackson, MS Louisville Colorado Rapids
Damion Lowe 20 D Kingston, Jamaica Hartford Seattle Sounders FC
Eric Miller 20 D Woodbury, MN Creighton Montreal Impact
Schillo Tshuma 21 F Bulawayo, Zimbabwe Maryland Portland Timbers

2015

Player Age Pos Home Town College/prior Draft Team Graduated
Alex Bono 20 G Syracuse, NY Syracuse Toronto FC
Conor Donovan 19 D Fuquay-Varina, NC North Carolina State Orlando City SC
Cyle Larin 19 F Brampton, ON Connecticut Orlando City SC
Cristian Roldan 19 M Pico Rivera, CA Washington Seattle Sounders FC
Romario Williams 20 F Portmore, Jamaica UCF Montreal Impact

2016

Player Age Pos Home Town College/prior Draft Team Graduated
Julian Buescher 22 M Dülmen, Germany Syracuse D.C. United
Jack Harrison 19 M Bolton, England Wake Forest Chicago Fire
Fabian Herbers 22 F Ahaus, Germany Creighton Philadelphia Union
Omar Holness 21 M Kingston, Jamaica North Carolina Real Salt Lake
Richie Laryea 21 M Toronto, ON Akron Orlando City
Andrew Tarbell 21 G Mandeville, LA Clemson San Jose Earthquakes
Joshua Yaro 21 D Kumasi, Ghana Georgetown Philadelphia Union

Project-40 in the A-League

Year Division League Reg. Season Playoffs Open Cup
1998 2 USISL A-League 5th, Pacific Did not qualify Did not qualify
1999 2 USL A-League 2nd, Central Quarterfinals Did not qualify
2000 2 USL A-League 4th, Central Did not qualify 3rd Round

Notes

  1. US U-20 players headline 2006 class
  2. What is Nike Project 40
  3. "Graduating from Generation Adidas". USA Soccer. Retrieved 14 December 2012.
  4. "MLS Announces The Graduation Of Generation Adidas Players". The Original Winger. Retrieved 14 December 2012.
  5. "Generation adidas players to graduate at season's end". Major League Soccer. Retrieved 14 December 2012.
  6. "Generation Adidas Graduates For 2011". WVHooligan. Retrieved 14 December 2012.
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