In the fall of 2013, as he was beginning his first season at the University of Washington, Darwin Jones said his ultimate goal was to follow in the footsteps of his good friend DeAndre Yedlin by signing a Homegrown Player contract with Sounders FC.
“It’d be a crazy experience,” Jones said at the time. “I’m ready for it though.”
After two stellar years with the Huskies, that goal has become a reality for Jones, who signed on Friday as the club’s fifth Homegrown Player. The 22-year-old forward was a part of the inaugural Sounders FC Academy class before attending the UW and earning first-team All-Pac-12 honors in each of his two seasons.
Jones trained with the Sounders FC First Team sporadically over the last two years. Though he has been around the club for a long time, signing his contract was a dream come true for the Seattle native.
“I’m really excited. I’m just happy to be around a good organization and a good group of people,” Jones said on Friday. “I’m looking forward to playing with a lot of great players, learning from them every game, and trying to build on that and get better every day.”
Jones has sound relationships with Sounders FC players both past and present. A speedy striker, he was mentored by Eddie Johnson while the U.S. National Team veteran was in Seattle for two years. Jones says he is also close with Obafemi Martins and looks forward to learning more from the 2014 MLS MVP finalist.
In 2010, he scored 16 goals for a Sounders FC U-18 squad that included Yedlin, Aaron Kovar, and Sean Okoli.
READ: Sounders FC Signs Darwin Jones to Homegrown Contract
Jones was born in Chicago, but grew up in the Seattle area and attended Mount Rainier High School. He played one season at Highline Community College, tallying 15 goals and 10 assists en route to being named Team MVP.
His time at the UW was full of individual and team success: Jones scored 15 goals and added nine assists as the Huskies were one of the nation’s most dominant programs in the last two years. His eight goals in 2014 were tops on the team.
“He's an exciting player that we know well from our Academy ranks and have been monitoring during his career at the University of Washington,” Sounders FC Head Coach Sigi Schmid said. “Our Academy staff has done a tremendous job of developing players like Darwin, and we're excited to add another quality Homegrown Player to our roster.”
Yedlin was Seattle’s only Homegrown Player when Jones started at the UW, but three others have joined him since: Kovar, Okoli, and Victor Mansaray. Lamar Neagle is also a product of the Seattle area.
The rapid development of Yedlin, for one, gives Jones confidence as he begins his professional career.
“It makes you feel good because they paved the way for a lot of young players coming out of the Northwest,” Jones said. “It just lets me know that it can be done and there’s potential to have success here.
“It just shows you that anything is possible.”
Photograph courtesy of University of Washington
