VANCOUVER, BC – NCAA Signing Day is here and a number of Vancouver Whitecaps FC youth players have committed to universities to both further their education and continue their playing careers this fall.

Three players from the club will be moving to Ivy League schools this coming year. Residency defender/midfielder Vana Markarian will be attending Columbia University, while Residency striker Cole Morokhovich and Girls Elite REX defender Olivia Sheppard are both headed to Princeton University. Sheppard follows in the footsteps of former Girls Elite graduate Alessia Azermadhi on the women’s soccer team, while Morokhovich joins the squad that produced Whitecaps FC 2016 MLS SuperDraft second round pick Thomas Sanner.

Two players remain in the Pacific Northwest, playing in the Pac-12 Conference. Residency striker Daniel Sagno has committed to the University of Washington, a program which has had six players selected in the MLS SuperDraft in the last two years, including current Whitecaps FC 2 (WFC2) goalkeeper Spencer Richey. Defender Frazer Poulter heads to Oregon State, where he will be teammates with former Residency goalkeeper Nolan Wirth. Current WFC2 defender William Seymore also attended Oregon State.

Goalkeeper Luciano Trasolini will remain on the West Coast as he heads to California Polytechnic State University. Among the Cal Poly men’s soccer alumni are former WFC2 striker and 2014 MLS SuperDraft fourth round pick Mackenzie Pridham.

Defender Andre Baires ventures to the Midwest to attend the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. The Phoenix were previously home to current Canadian men’s national team striker Tosaint Ricketts.

Additional commitments are expected in the coming weeks.

2016 Whitecaps FC NCAA Commitments Name School Andre Baires University of Wisconsin-Green Bay Vana Markarian Columbia University Cole Morokhovich Princeton University Frazer Poulter Oregon State University Daniel Sagno University of Washington Olivia Sheppard Princeton University Luciano Trasolini California Polytechnic State University

For more information on Whitecaps FC youth programs, visit whitecapsfc.com/youth.