STANFORD, Calif. – Defender Tomas Hilliard-Arce has signed a senior contract with Major League Soccer ahead of Friday's SuperDraft and leads a trio of Cardinal into the event on Jan. 19 in Philadelphia.
"I feel grateful and blessed to have fulfilled a lifelong dream of signing a professional contract," Hilliard-Arce said. "I cannot thank Coach Gunn and the rest of the staff enough for giving me the opportunity to study and compete at such an amazing university. With their guidance and the help of my teammates I am confident that I am prepared to take the next step as a professional. I'm eager to see where I get selected and look forward to working hard and improving that club in any way possible."
Stanford has had four players drafted the past two years including a pair of first-rounders in Brandon Vincent and Brian Nana-Sinkam. Vincent, currently in camp with the U.S. Men's National Team in Carson, Calif., went fourth overall to the Chicago Fire in 2016 and was an All-Star his first season in the league. Brian Nana-Sinkam was taken 22nd overall by the Seattle Sounders last January.
Stanford's current crop of draftable players – Hilliard-Arce, Drew Skundrich, Nico Corti – are some of the most accomplished in men's soccer history. Winners of the last three national championships, Stanford also claimed four Pac-12 titles and posted a 65-10-13 overall record (.813) during their four years on The Farm.
"Tomas, Drew and Nico have helped to set an incredible standard for our program," Cardinal head coach Jeremy Gunn said. "Their success wasn't an accident. It was the product of constant and deliberate improvement. They exemplify exactly what we hope the Stanford men's soccer student-athlete to be: they're driven, have incredible work ethics and love to compete."
Hilliard-Arce, a consensus top-five selection and projected by some to go No. 1 overall is one of three two-time, first-team All-Americans in program history. A two-time Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year and the 2017 Top Drawer Soccer Player of the Year, he championed a Cardinal defense that posted 47 shutouts among his 87 career appearances at center back. Stanford had a 0.59 team goals against average with Hilliard-Arce in the lineup and finished in the top 10 nationally that category each of the last three years, including second this season (0.382).
Skundrich is another consensus first-round talent and has been the engine powering the Stanford men's soccer machine the past few seasons. A versatile, two-time team captain, he had career highs in goals (5) and assists (5) as a senior in being named to the Top Drawer Soccer Best XI second team. He finished his career with nine goals and 13 career assists.
After starting all 23 games at right back during Stanford's 2015 championship run, Skundrich moved to the central midfield and started every match in the 2016 and 2017 title campaigns. He earned spots this year on the United Soccer Coaches All-Far West Region first team and All-Pac-12 first team.
"Obviously our senior class was a big part of the title this year, but there were a lot of unsung heroes," Hilliard-Arce said. "Someone that was really, really important on our team is Drew. He was our captain, our rock and someone we always looked to when we needed that mental boost. He's probably the biggest reason why we are three-time national champions."
Corti just completed the best statistical season for a goalkeeper in Stanford men's soccer history. He finished second in the country with a school-record 0.386 goals against average and posted 14 solo shutouts, a Pac-12 record and the second-highest total in the nation this year. Corti didn't allow a goal in five postseason matches, becoming the sixth keeper in NCAA history to not allow a goal in the tournament, and also became the NCAA's career postseason goals against average leader (0.00) in the process. He ended his season not conceding a goal in his final 674 minutes and Stanford upped its NCAA-record postseason shutout streak to 1,214:20.
The first two rounds of the SuperDraft will be held in Philadelphia on Friday, while the third and fourth rounds will be held via conference call on Jan. 21.