The Sounders are deeply rooted in Seattle’s local clubs and soccer community.
Beginning in 1974, the team has utilized players from their own city to help form a strong roster. The Pacific Northwest side has continued this approach today, locating potential prospects through nearby clubs to join their Academy pathway with the hope of one day adding them to the First Team.
This roster-building method came to life on Sunday night, when local players Reed Baker-Whiting, Jackson Ragen and Paul Rothrock displayed standout performances in the Sounders’ 3-0 victory over Eastern Conference side Inter Miami to win the club’s first Leagues Cup title. Rothrock came up clutch with the team’s third goal of the night while Ragen and Baker-Whiting’s strong defensive efforts prevented Miami’s lethal offense led by Argentine All-Star Lionel Messi from scoring.
“That game was very much a validation of the Sounders culture and who we are,” said Rothrock. “We've got more Homegrown kids and college players than anybody else, and that's a credit to Schmetz. That's a credit to the upper office, front office, the staff we have. It was beautiful.”
Following stints at local club Seattle United, Ragen, Rothrock, and Baker-Whiting found their way to the Academy side of the organization before eventually signing a First Team contract. Each of them had different journeys to reach this point with Baker-Whiting signing as a Homegrown Player, Ragen joining after playing collegiately at University of Michigan, and Rothrock returning to the club following stints at colleges Notre Dame, Georgetown and MLS’ Toronto FC.
But, they all share one commonality that has ultimately brought them to the same club today: calling the Sounders their hometown team.
“There's a really special and deep soccer community here that I am still realizing how deep it runs,” said Rothrock. “And with clubs like Seattle United and the Sounders network, there's opportunities available for everybody.”
Even before the three locals joined the club’s Academy, their connection to the Sounders has always been prevalent. Whether it be their roles as ball boys for Sounders matchdays, or players Rothrock and Ragen having the opportunity to be coached by club legends Tommy Jenkins, Jimmy McAllister and Jason Ferrell, the organization is a constant when it comes to supporting the youth soccer community of Seattle and its surrounding areas.
“As a kid, I went to Sounders games. And now you see the same kids in the stands, along with your family and people who have helped you get there and even everyone there is part of this amazing city,” said Baker-Whiting. “And so [as a local player,] you really feel incorporated into the city and the team.”
In addition to this trio, the Sounders roster features six other players that came up through the local youth soccer scene: Cody Baker (Issaquah Gunners), Snyder Brunell (Crossfire Premier), Leo Burney (Seattle United), Jacob Castro (Washington Premier FC), Stu Hawkins (PacNW), and Jordan Morris (Eastside FC).
To make it into the professional soccer space is what most youth players hope to achieve. But to do it with your hometown club is something that is truly a special feat.
“[It’s] a dream come true,” said Ragen. “This is the team that I grew up watching and supporting, and it just feels like a reward to a lot of hard work.”
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Those that have earned the chance to compete at that next level with the Sounders have not taken it for granted as many of them look to give back to the soccer community that has been with them from the beginning.
Rothrock, for example, serves as a council member at Seattle United to talk about different development ideas for the club while also all making it out to practices occasionally, “just like players did in the past,” he said.
Ragen recently made a “special guest appearance” for his former club teammate’s soccer camp, Jungla, where he signed autographs and took pictures for the 80 kids who were in attendance.
As players who once aspired to reach the big stage, they now strive to show young hopefuls that anything is possible through their own journeys to the First Team.
“I'm still in touch with a lot of the Seattle United coaches and kids are showing up to the field with number 14 Rothrock jerseys, and that's a really special feeling for me, because, we didn't have a kid from Seattle United that was on the Sounders when I was there,” said Rothrock. “[So,] to be a role model and an example for little kids in the area is something I don't take lightly.”
