Quakes sign goalkeeper JT Marcinkowski to Homegrown Player Contract

The San Jose Earthquakes have signed United States U-20 goalkeeper JT Marcinkowski to a Homegrown Player contract. He becomes the third product of the Quakes Academy to sign with the First Team, following Tommy Thompson and Nick Lima ahead of the 2014 and 2017 seasons, respectively.

“JT has emerged as one of the brightest goalkeeper prospects in the nation,” said Earthquakes general manager Jesse Fioranelli. “He established himself as a regular with the U.S. U-20s and we’re excited about his potential as a professional. He is also further proof of the strides that our youth system has made and expect more Academy products to follow in his footsteps.”

Marcinkowski, 20, has competed for Georgetown University for the last three years, where he helped them win the BIG EAST Conference Championship twice. During his time at GU, Marcinkowski led the Hoyas to a 34-15-7 record, allowing just 49 goals in 56 starts (0.84 GAA) and keeping 21 shutouts.

This past season, Marcinkowski and the Hoyas finished the regular season with a 12-3-2 record and would go on to win the 2017 BIG EAST Men’s Soccer Championship and earn a first-round bye in the NCAA Division I Championship. For his performance in the conference tournament, he was selected as the competition’s Most Outstanding Defensive Player and named to the All-Tournament Team.

He allowed just 15 goals in 20 games (0.75 GAA) across all competitions in 2017, where he earned a 14-4-2 record and kept eight shutouts en route to an All-BIG EAST Second Team selection.

During his first collegiate season in 2015, he was named the BIG EAST Freshman of the Year and a First Team All-BIG EAST honoree after keeping nine shutouts and earning a 16-2-3 record. His 0.69 goals against average was among the best in the nation. The Hoyas won the BIG EAST Men’s Soccer Championship, the first in their history, and also finished with the conference’s best regular season record that season. He was named to the conference’s All-Tournament Team for his efforts during the postseason competition and he was also named to the BIG EAST All-Academic Team for his work in the classroom.

Marcinkowski was then named a team captain in 2016 as well as the BIG EAST Preseason Goalkeeper of the Year and a Preseason All-BIG EAST selection. After missing part of the season while training with the national team, he finished with four shutouts and 63 saves in 15 starts. Georgetown had lost three defenders from the year before to the 2016 MLS SuperDraft, including the second and third overall selections in Josh Yaro and Keegan Rosenberry.

Marcinkowski has represented the United States at various youth levels over the years, keeping 13 shutouts in his 24 caps between the U-14 and U-18 levels. He most recently competed for the U.S. U-20s at the 2017 FIFA U-20 World Cup in South Korea and the 2017 CONCACAF U-20 Championship in Costa Rica. In October of 2016, Marcinkowski was ranked as the fourth-best U.S. National Team goalkeeper prospect under 25-years-old by mlssoccer.com, where he drew comparisons to Columbus Crew SC’s Zack Steffen and Molde’s Ethan Horvath.

In addition to playing for the Quakes Academy for four years where he was widely considered one of the top youth players in the country, Marcinkowski also suited up for the Quakes’ PDL affiliate Burlingame Dragons FC and spent significant time training with the First Team. He previously attended De La Salle High School in Concord, the same as Chris Wondolowski, where he was on the high honor roll.