COLUMBUS, Ohio - Keegan Hughes has signed a homegrown contract with the Columbus Crew, the team announced on Wednesday. Hughes marks the third homegrown signing of Stanford's senior players after Keegan Tingey and Cam Cilley signed with the San Jose Earthquakes last week.
"Keegan Hughes, a four-year starting central defender has just been an absolute cornerstone of the program," said The Knowles Family Director of Men's Soccer Jeremy Gunn. "He had such a level of consistency, maturity, and composure from that position, and really was just somebody that was reliable and rock solid for us. Getting to sign a homegrown contract with his local pro team is certainly a dream for him, and it'll be an incredible opportunity for him to continue to advance his career and hopefully follow in the footsteps of other great players who have gone on from the program into the pro environment. As a team captain, he really just set the standard of that wonderful humility that we really champion in the program."
Hughes was a constant force for Stanford over his career and had a phenomenal senior leading from the back. The Heath, Ohio native started all 20 games for the Cardinal this year, including its second and third round NCAA Tournament matches. He added plenty of individual honors to his resume, including a MAC Hermann Trophy Semifinalist recognition, the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year award which was the first for a Stanford player since Tanner Beason in 2019, and a First Team All-Pac-12 selection.
He also earned a spot on the Top Drawer Soccer Best XI Second Team for his efforts during the 2022 season. During the year, he was named to the Top Drawer Soccer National Team of the Week (Sept. 27) and the College Soccer News National Team of the Week (Sept. 27). For his efforts in the classroom, Hughes earned CSC Academic All-District honors.
The six-foot-three defender led a stout Cardinal defense that recorded nine shutouts during the regular season, the most in the Pac-12. Hughes was a dominant force on the back line, guiding the Cardinal to the top ten in shutout percentage in the NCAA (10th, 0.500), 22nd in goal differential (+23), and 26th in goals against average (.889) during the regular season.