For the first time in eight years, the United States Men's National Team has qualified to play in the FIFA World Cup. As even the most super of stars have beginnings, follow along as we highlight seven players who started out in D1 men's soccer–which just goes to show that your recruiting process can take you anywhere!

Jordan Morris 

Morris, earning the College Cup Offensive Most Outstanding Player, the 2015 Mac Hermann Trophy, and scoring twice in the final of the National Championship all in the same year at Stanford. 

Related: Rate Stanford University

Matt Turner 

Before locking down his spot as the record-setting starting goalkeeper at Fairfield, Turner spent his freshman and sophomore seasons coming off the bench. In his upperclassmen seasons, he set records for both of them, with 20 career clean sheets in 39 games, tied for program best. He was also named MAAC All-American in these two final seasons and set a single-season program record in goals against average and clean sheets. 

Sean Johnson

Another goalkeeper for the books, Johnson came into UCF with fire in his cleats, starting games since he was a freshman. He tied for the third-highest single-season total in UCF history his sophomore season, with 108 saves. 

Related: Rate your Coaches, Facilities, and Campus Visits

Walker Zimmerman 

At Furman, Zimmerman mastered the art of defense, being named the SoConn Freshman of the Year, All-SoCon First Team Honors while being placed on the NSCAA All-America third team.  In his first year there he helped the team earn an NCAA tournament berth and in his second, he was named to the All-American second team. 

Tim Ream 

Starting 63 out of his 82 appearances at Saint Louis, he led them to the NCAA tournament all four years while being named defensive player of the year in 2009. 

DeAndre Yeldin 

Playing all 45 games of his college career, and starting every one of them but 4, Yeldin earned All-MAC First Team honors for both of his  seasons at Akron. 

Cristian Roldan 

Over his two seasons at Washington, Roldan scored ten goals earning him two All-Pac-12 First Team nods and the title of Soccer American National Freshman of the Year in 2013. 

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* Originally published on November 21, 2022, by Ava Soodek