College of Charleston Men?s Soccer Player Wes Knight Invited to 2009 MLS Combine
12/11/2008 5:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
CHARLESTON, S.C. -- College of Charleston senior defender Wes Knight (Easley, S.C.) has been invited to the 2009 Major League Soccer Combine. The annual player combine will be held in Ft. Lauderdale, FL. Jan. 9-13.
MLS announced the initial list of 65 college seniors from 45 Division I schools. This event provides MLS coaches an opportunity to evaluate and scout the talent before the MLS Super Draft, which will be held January 15th in St. Louis, Mo.
“This has been a goal of mine for a long time,” said Knight. “All I wanted was an opportunity to prove myself at the next level and it looks like I will get that chance.”
“This is a very fitting honor for Wes Knight,” said Charleston head soccer coach Ralph Lundy. “His dedication and commitment to development has been phenomenal over the last five years. He has worked so hard and now he has been rewarded. I know he will succeed in this new challenge”
The initial list of players for this year's combine was determined by a select panel of Division I college coaches representing all conferences who nominated and voted for players in conjunction with MLS coaches. Youth players from the Generation adidas program will join additional collegiate players from NCAA Division II and III schools, NAIA schools and Division I alternates to finalize the 2009 adidas Player Combine. These players will be announced in the upcoming weeks.
This season, Knight anchored a Charleston defensive unit that paced the Cougars on a run to the 2008 Southern Conference Championship Match, as the team picked up 11 total wins on the season. For his efforts, he was named to the All-Southern Conference team for the second consecutive season.
“Coach Lundy always demands quality both on and off the field from his players, and without his guidance this wouldn't have been possible for me,” said Knight. "Everything that the Charleston program has done this year, from playing elites like Ohio State and Brown to playing on Fox Soccer Channel, provided great exposure for our team. I think this selection was a byproduct of that.”
