MANHATTAN – Former FGCU men's soccer standout and 2015 Atlantic Sun Conference Player of the Year Rodrigo Saravia has become the first player in program history to be selected as an invitee to the Major League Soccer Player Combine.
 
Saravia, a native of Guatemala City, Guatemala, was one of 59 Division-I players who were invited to participate in the 2016 adidas MLS Player Combine. Top collegiate players from across the country will showcase their talents in front of representatives from all 20 MLS clubs in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Jan. 7-12.
 
All invited players are eligible for selection in the 2016 SuperDraft which will take place on Thursday, Jan. 14, in Baltimore. A committee of MLS coaches and D-I coaches from every conference selected the invitees, all of whom completed their college eligibility this season. The combine – which will break players into four teams and also feature several games open to the public – allows coaches, general managers and scouts an opportunity to see some of the best players showcase their skills in advance of the SuperDraft.
 
Not only is Saravia the first FGCU product to be invited to the combine, he's just the third A-Sun player to be chosen since the Eagles joined the league in 2007 – which also coincided with the program's first year of competition. The other two conference selections were Richard Jata from former league member Campbell in 2009 and Jonathan Mendoza from Stetson in 2013.
 
Saravia is currently taking part in the Seattle Sounders combine in Las Vegas, which is also being attended by representatives from the New York City FC and Toronto FC.
 
"This is a terrific opportunity for Rodrigo, and one that is so well-deserved," said FGCU head coach Bob Butehorn. "Rodrigo is truly reaping the rewards of all of his incredible hard work, and I'm so happy for him. He has been a vital piece to our success since he stepped foot on campus and has gotten better each season. It's also a great recognition for our program that we can produce players like Rodrigo who have put themselves in a position to play professionally."
 
Last week, Saravia earned likely the last of a long list of collegiate awards as he was named to the NSCAA All-Region Third Team. Saravia has been tabbed as an A-Sun First Team selection each of the past two seasons, was an A-Sun Second Team pick as a sophomore and a member of the A-Sun All-Freshman Team. Additionally, he was an A-Sun All-Academic Team member last year.
 
A central midfielder, Saravia controlled the middle of the pitch for the Eagles for the past four years. In that timeframe, FGCU played 69 total games, and Saravia appeared in 67 of them with 65 starts. He finished his career with 11 total points off two goals and seven assists – with three of those helpers coming this past season.
 
Not only did Saravia put together an outstanding collegiate career, he did so by playing against some of the best competition in the nation every year. Proof of that can be shown in this year's MLS Combine invitee list. Of FGCU's eight non-conference opponents this past fall, five of them had at least one player invited to the combine, while Georgetown had four.
 
Saravia led FGCU to A-Sun regular-season championships each of his four years with the Green and Blue, a pair of A-Sun Tournament titles and two berths in the NCAA Championship where they earned a 0-0 tie before failing to advance on penalty kicks at USF in 2012 and allowed a diving-header goal in the 86th minute in a 1-0 loss at Coastal Carolina in 2014. Saravia helped lead FGCU to a record of 34-24-12 in his career, including a dominant 20-3-4 mark in conference games.
 
2016 adidas MLS Player Combine NCAA Division-I Invitees
 

Name	School	Position	Hometown/Citizenship
Brandon Allen	Georgetown	F	Old Bridge, NJ; USA
Emmanuel Appiah	Cincinnati	M	Westerville, OH; USA
Duncan Backus	UCSB	D	Highland Village, TX; USA
Hadji Barry	UCF	M	Rochester, NY; USA
Justin Bilyeu	SIU-Edwardsville	D	St. Louis, MO; USA
Colin Bonner	UNC Wilmington	F	Fulton, MD; USA
Bradley Bourgeois	Tulsa	D	Cypress, TX; USA
Neco Brett	Robert Morris	F	Kingston, Jamaica; Jamaica
Jonathan Campbell	North Carolina	D	Greensboro, NC; USA
Zach Carroll	Michigan State	D	Grand Blanc, MI; USA
Robert 'T.J.' Casner	Clemson	F	Irvine, CA; USA
Dennis Castillo	VCU	D	San Jose, Costa Rica; Costa Rica
Paul Clowes	Clemson	M	Cheshire, UK; UK
Tyler David	Saint Louis	M/D	Minneapolis, MN; USA
Mikhail Doholis	Oregon State	M	Vancouver, WA; USA
Liam Doyle	Ohio State	D	Isle of Man, UK; UK
Tsubasa Endoh	Maryland	M	Tokyo, Japan; Japan
Kyle Fisher	Clemson	D	Easley, SC; USA
Michael Gamble	Wake Forest	F	Columbia, MD; USA
Wade Hamilton	Cal Poly	GK	Murrieta, CA; USA
Josh Heard	Washington	M	Victoria, BC; Canada
Ryan Herman	Washington	GK	Fall City, WA; USA
Brendan Hines-Ike	South Florida	D	Denver, CO; USA
Patrick Hodan	Notre Dame	M	Brookfield, WI; USA
Femi Hollinger-Janzen	Indiana	F	Goshen, IN; USA
Callum Irving	Kentucky	GK	Vancouver, BC; Canada
Ryan James	Bowling Green	M	Mississauga, ON; Canada
Vincent Keller	Creighton	D/M	Freiburg, Germany; Germany
Max Lachowecki	Notre Dame	D	Evansville, IN; USA
Sven Lissek	Furman	GK	Sewau, Germany; Germany
Jamie Luchini	Lehigh	F	Wexford, PA; USA
Mitchell Lurie	Rutgers	D	Atlanta, GA; USA
Darius Madison	UMBC	F	Philadelphia, PA; USA
Ivan Maghales	Maryland	D	Sao Paulo, Brazil; Brazil
Antonio Matarazzo	Columbia	M	Fair Lawn, NJ; Italy
Zach Mathers	Duke	M	Keller, TX; USA
Jordan McCrary	North Carolina	D	Marietta, GA; USA
Chase Minter	Cal Poly	M	Heath, TX; USA
Vincent Mitchell	Butler	M	Reckford Clarendon, Jamaica; Jamaica
James Moberg	Washington	M	Windsor, CA; USA
James 'C.' Nortey	Marquette	F	Accra, Ghana; Ghana
Kyle Parker	Charlotte	F	Marvin, NC; USA
Timo Pitter	Creighton	M/F	Oberschwarzach, Germany; Germany
Ben Polk	Syracuse	F	Herkimer, NY; USA
Keegan Rosenberry	Georgetown	D	Ronks, PA; USA
Michael Salazar	UC Riverside	F	Cayo, Belize; USA/Belize
Thomas Sanner	Princeton	F	Indianapolis, IN; USA
Rodrigo Saravia	FGCU	M	Guatemala City, Guatemala; Guatemala
Jordan Schweitzer	Denver	M	Everett, WA; USA
Cole Seiler	Georgetown	D	Anderson, SC; USA
Keegan Smith	San Diego	F	Temecula, CA; USA
Andrew Souders	Akron	D	Amherst, OH; USA
Connor Sparrow	Creighton	GK	St. Louis, MO; USA
Mitchell Taintor	Rutgers	M	Storrs, CT; USA
Tyler Thompson	Stanford	M	Sacramento, CA; USA
Josh Turnley	Georgetown	D	Beaver, PA; USA
Eric Verso	Stanford	M	Los Angeles, CA; USA
Brandon Vincent	Stanford	D	Valencia, CA; USA
Todd Wharton	Virginia	M	Glen Allen, VA; USA

 
FOLLOW ALONG
For up-to-the minute information and a behind-the-scenes look at the FGCU men's soccer program, follow on Twitter @FGCU_MSoccer, Instagram @FGCU_MSoccer, Facebook /FGCUMSoccer and YouTube /FGCUAthletics.
 
COACH BUTEHORN
FGCU is led by Bob Butehorn, who has coached 54 A-Sun All-Conference selections since FGCU started its program in 2007. In just four years of postseason eligibility, Butehorn has guided FGCU to three A-Sun Tournament championships and NCAA Tournament appearances – in 2011, 2012 and 2014 – and has won an unprecedented six-straight A-Sun regular-season championships. His teams have been ranked nationally on several occasions by multiple media outlets. Now in his 13th season as a head coach, Butehorn has a 115-90-25 (.554) overall record, 81-58-21 (.572) mark in his 9th season at FGCU and 48-17-6 (.718) record in A-Sun contests.
 
SUPPORT THE CAUSE
FGCU Athletics sponsors events throughout the year to benefit the FGCU Campus Food Pantry (www.fgcu.edu/foodpantry) and the Harry Chapin Food Bank (www.harrychapinfoodbank.org), FGCU Athletics' charities of choice. For more information, including how to make a contribution, please visit www.fgcu.edu/foodpantry and utilize the hashtag #FeedFGCU to help raise awareness.