The University of Akron Athletics
Bunbury, Gavin, Zemanski Selected in 2010 MLS SuperDraft
January 15 | Men's Soccer
AKRON, Ohio - Three starters from last season's
record-setting men's soccer campaign, Teal Bunbury, Blair
Gavin and Ben Zemanski were selected in
the 2010 Major League Soccer SuperDraft held at the Pennsylvania
Convention Center in Philadelphia Thursday.
Bunbury, who was the 2009 Hermann Trophy winner and Soccer
America's Player of the Year, was selected No. 4 overall by
the Kansas City Wizards while Gavin, a two-time All-Mid-American
Conference First Team honoree and team co-captain, went No. 10
overall to Chivas USA, which is based in the Los Angeles suburb of
Carson, Calif.
Chivas USA then made Zemanski, who was a CoSIDA Academic
All-American and UA's other team captain, the third Akron player to
be drafted on the day by selecting him in the third round (No. 47
overall).
"This is a tremendous honor for our program and an exciting day for
Teal, Blair and Ben for them to achieve their dreams of playing
professional soccer," said UA head coach Caleb Porter. "It's a
credit to the hard work and talent they have. They're going to have
great careers and represent themselves well."
"To have two players go in the top ten and three players taken
overall is a statement that our program is one that is not only
competing for championships but also developing players for the
next level. That's something that we feel very strongly about. Not
only are we allowing student-athletes to get an education but we're
also building them into professional players and helping to grow
the sport in this country."
Under Porter's direction, the UA soccer program has now produced
three players taken in the top 10 of the MLS draft in the past two
seasons. Steve Zakuani, a Hermann
Trophy runner up in 2009, was the No. 1 overall pick of the draft
last year prior to starting 24 games for the Seattle Sounders.
All three players signed Generation adidas contracts and left
school early to pursue their dreams. Bunbury and Zakuani made the
jump after their sophomore seasons while Gavin just completed his
junior campaign. 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.
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.
"Not everyone gets the chance to leave school early," Porter
said. "Signing a Generation adidas contract - with its stability
and educational stipend - gives Teal and Blair a great platform to
start their professional careers. The Generation adidas contract is
highly coveted and is an opportunity that is too good to pass
up.
"To have three players - counting Steve last year - receive that
opportunity in the past two years is a testament to their hard work
and talent and also our program's ability to develop players."
Bunbury becomes the first son of a former MLS player to join the
league. Coincidentally, Teal's father Alex Bunbury was a striker
for the same Kansas City franchise in 1999 and 2000 after an
illustrious career in Canada and Europe.
"I feel so blessed and honored by the Kansas City organization for
giving me this opportunity," Bunbury said. "Going to Kansas City
makes it a little more special because my Dad played there and it's
something that's never happened before. There will be high
expectations to live up to, but I'm looking forward to that
challenge."
Bunbury, who was named to the All-America First Team by the NSCAA
in 2009, was the most dangerous striker in the nation for the
country's top-ranked attacking unit. Of his nation-leading 17 goals
scored, five were game-winners. Moreover, four of his five assists
on the campaign set up game-winning goals.
"I'm really going to miss my teammates at Akron because of how
close we were," Bunbury said. "I loved my time at Akron, being
around top-notch players, top-notch coaches and top-notch fans. It
was a great time in my life, but it's time to move forward."
Gavin was often the unsung hero on one of the most dominating
college soccer teams of all time last fall. The defensive
midfielder and team captain finished with five goals - including
three game-winners - and three assists while also directing a unit
that recorded the second-highest shutout total (19) and third-best
goals-against-average (0.27) in NCAA history.
"It's hard for me to put into words how much my time at Akron meant
to me because they were the best years of my life," Gavin said. "As
a player and as a person, I've grown so much and I can't thank
everyone who had a role in that enough. From all my teammates
through the years to Caleb and his staff, they have really shaped
the person I am today."
"I'll never forget the friends that I made there and the support
the A-K Rowdies and community showed us no matter what kind of
weather we were playing in or where we were playing. I'm going to
miss that and playing at Lee Jackson Field tremendously."
Rounding out the trio is Zemanski, who was one of Porter's first
recruits at Akron. The defensive midfielder and native of Akron is
a two-time All-MAC Second Team honoree who had started every game
for the Zips the past two seasons. He finished the 2009 campaign
with a pair of goals and four assists, including a header that set
up the game-winning goal against Stanford in the NCAA
quarterfinals.
"It has always been a dream to have the opportunity to play
professionally," Zemanski said. "I spoke to Caleb the other day and
he said he would be shocked if I didn't get drafted, so I was
pretty confident I'd get picked. It means a lot definitely to the
whole program with guys getting drafted year-in-and-year out. It
speaks volumes for what Caleb and his staff are doing at
Akron."
Overall, six UA players have been taken in the MLS draft. Sinisa
Ubiparipovic (New York Red Bulls, third round, 2007) and Cameron
Knowles (Real Salt Lake, fourth round, 2005) are the others. All
but Knowles were coached by Porter at UA.
The MLS SuperDraft consists of four rounds with sixteen selections
each, for a total of 64 players selected during the draft.
Akron MLS Draft
History
Teal Bunbury, First Round,
Kansas City Wizards, 2010
Blair Gavin, First Round,
Chivas USA, 2010
Ben Zemanski, Third Round,
Chivas USA, 2010
Steve Zakuani, First Round,
Seattle Sounders, 2009
Sinisa Ubiparipovic, Third Round, New York Red
Bulls, 2007
Cameron Knowles, Fourth Round, Real Salt Lake,
2005
