Major League Soccer made some good news on Friday, signing UC-Davis defender Ramon Martin Del Campo despite interest from Club Tijuana and Saprissa. Brooke Tunstall has the details.

BY Brooke Tunstall Posted

January 02, 2015

6:26 PM SHARE THIS STORY



seen it lose several top college players to foreign teams, Major League Soccer has kept at least one top college prospect from signing abroad.

Ramon Martin Del Campo , a strapping defender from UC-Davis who came from obscurity to being a member of the U.S. U-23 national team pool this summer, turned down offers from Tijuana Xolos in Liga MX and Saprissa in Costa Rica and has come to terms with MLS, American Soccer Now has learned.

A six-foot-three center back who is strong in the air, Martin Del Campo has drawn plaudits for his on-field leadership and vocal ability.

“He’s a coach on the field,” said UC Irvine coach Chris Volk, who recruited and competed against Martin Del Campo. “He’s always talking, always leading and organizing. Coaches notice things like that.”

Martin Del Campo was unknown in most soccer circles a year ago despite three solid-but-unspectacular seasons at UC-Davis, which plays in the Big West Conference. But last winter he successfully auditioned for the Premier Development League team of the San Jose Earthquakes, and Martin Del Campo’s profile suddenly began to rise.

Because of its proximity to Stanford University, where last spring the U.S. national team was training in preparation for the World Cup, the Earthquakes' U-23s were asked to scrimmage the U.S., and it was there that Marin Del Campo shined.

“It was crazy," Martin del Campo said. "I hardly knew any of my teammates names because we hadn’t been together that long. I’m pretty vocal in the back and instead of calling a player by name I was like, 'Hey, No. 4, push-up!' or whatever," Martin Del Campo told American Soccer Now this summer.

“And on corner kicks I marked Omar Gonzalez and [John] Brooks. I was nervous but not bad-nervous. More like Rocky Balboa-nervous, on your toes. I knew what I needed to do and I went and executed it.”

He played so well marking the likes of Aron Johannsson and Chris Wondolowksi during the run of play that he caught the eye of U.S. assistants Tab Ramos and Andreas Herzog, who are running the U-23 program until Jurgen Klinsman appoints a coach. They invited Martin Del Campo to a friendly against the Bahamas in August. In his international debut, Martin Del Campo played the second half and had an assist.

Meanwhile, he continued to shine for the Earthquakes' PDL team, being named to the team’s 11-person All-League team. Earthquakes management were enamored enough with Martin Del Campo’s potential that they inquired to MLS about trying to sign him last summer but were told they had no homegrown claim to him because he had not been developed in their academy.

Instead he returned to Davis for his senior year, where he helped the Aggies become the last team in Division I to lose a game this season. Unfortunately, many of those games were ties and the Aggies finished 7-4-9 and missed the NCAA Tournament, though Martin Del Campo was named all-Big West Conference.

The Earthquakes will now get a chance to draft Martin Del Campo, though now he’s no longer an unknown and he’ll be on display at the league’s annual scouting combine, which begins next Friday in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.

A dual citizen, Martin Del Campo was born in Mexico to American parents of Mexican descent and raised in the United States on the border town of Chula Vista, Calif., just outside San Diego. That heritage and proximity to the Mexican border made him a natural candidate for Tijuana Xolos, the border outfit that has become a power in Mexican soccer in part by signing several Mexican-American players, many from Southern California.

However, after trialing with Tijuana and Saprissa, MLS increased its offer to Martin Del Campo and the defender came to terms earlier this week.

This was a much-needed signing for MLS for this draft as the league has already seen several college players leave for overseas. Maryland sophomore goalkeeper Zack Steffen signed with Freiburg in Germany while Saint Louis University's All-American forward Robbie Kristo signed with a team in Italy’s Serie B and two-time All American Leo Stolz is in Germany looking to find a club there after rejecting an MLS offer.

Brooke Tunstall is an American Soccer Now contributing editor and ASN 100 panelist. You can follow him on Twitter