With the MLS SuperDraft being the first event of the 2016 season, the MLS Player Combine is one of the tools used in assessing prospects for it, and the initial list released Friday includes players who spent time on D.C. United's U-23 team over the summer who will attend next month's (January 7-12) event in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
UNC Wilmington forward Colin Bonner was a Top 10 scorer in this past year's PDL campaign and will be participating in the combine. Joining Bonner as a former DCU U23 player is midfielder Jamie Lucchini (Lehigh University). Local players in the combine include forward Brandon Allen and defenders Keegan Rosenberry, Cole Seiler and Josh Turnley from Georgetown, midfielder Tsubasa Endoh and defender Ivan Magalhaes from Maryland, and midfielder Todd Wharton from Virginia.
The list will be a static one with the addition of players to it, as teams are eliminated from the College Cup matches this weekend, but in terms of the Combine itself, precedent would lend to the fact that D.C. United tends to put some value in it, as Miguel Aguilar, Steve Birnbaum, Nick DeLeon, Taylor Kemp and Luke Mishu have been in past Combines before eventually joining the first team, excluding Kofi Opare, another Combine vet who was drafted by the LA Galaxy.
Regardless of who is in or out of the Combine, it's worth keeping an eye on.