NEW YORK, N.Y. - Seniors Abdou Mbacke Thiam, Dylan Greenberg and Jacob Hauser-Ramsey have been invited to the 2019 MLS Player Combine in Chicago on Jan. 3-9, as announced by Major League Soccer Thursday afternoon.
Top collegiate players from across the country will have the opportunity to showcase their talents in front of representatives from all 24 MLS clubs in Orlando, Fla. NCAA Division I players invited to the combine will be eligible for the 2019 SuperDraft, which will take place on Friday, Jan. 11 at Chicago's McCormick Place at 12 p.m., in conjunction with the United Soccer Coaches Convention.
Abdou Mbacke Thiam (Dakar, Senegal) started in all 77 possible games in his Huskies career, proving to be a volatile threat on the offensive end of the field. In 2018, Mbacke Thiam was a unanimous American Athletic Conference First Team selection after tallying 15 goals and 10 assists and pacing UConn to a 12-6-2 record and a second round appearance in the NCAA Men's Soccer Championships. The forward notched double-digit goals in each of his four seasons and finishes his UConn career with 46 goals, tied for fourth all-time in program history.
Jacob Hauser-Ramsey (Seattle, Wash.), the 2018 AAC Defensive Player of the Year, was an All-Conference member for two seasons with the Huskies, being named to the AAC All-Conference First Team (unanimous selection in 2018) in both years. He was a two-time captain at UConn and served as an integral part of the defensive unit. Hauser-Ramsey helped the Huskies to a 10-match unbeaten streak and five shutouts during the 2018 campaign was a member of two top-three AAC defenses in 2017 and 2016.
Dylan Greenberg (Dix Hills, N.Y.) was a two-time All-Conference selection during his career in the UConn uniform. He contributed on both ends of the field. Defensively, Greenberg was a part of 33 shutouts and served as an integral part of the UConn defense that allowed just a 0.96 goals against average in 2017 and a conference-leading 0.77 goals against average in 2016. On the offensive end, Greenberg tallied three goals and four assists.
The Husky trio was a part of 51 wins with Connecticut, racking up three 10 or more win seasons. In 2018, Mbacke Thiam, Greenberg and Hauser-Ramsey led UConn back to the NCAA Tournament after a two-year hiatus, winning the first round game over Northeast Rival URI 4-3 (OT), before bowing out in the second round to Indiana.
The Huskies have had 37 players taken in the MLS draft since the league began in 1997. The Huskies made history in 2015 when Cyle Larin was picked No. 1 overall by Orlando City SC. With the selection, UConn became the first program to have back-to-back first overall picks after Andre Blake was selected with the first pick in 2014.
