After helping take the Coastal Carolina men’s soccer team to the second round of the NCAA tournament and its best finish since 2003, senior Cyprian Hedrick will now see how far he can take his playing career.
Hedrick was drafted in the second round of Major League Soccer’s SuperDraft on Thursday, going to Sporting Kansas City with the 30th overall selection.
“He’s pleased,” CCU soccer coach Shaun Docking said. “I think he was pleased, but ... all it means is he gets to try out with them. It’s an invitation tryout is kind of what [being drafted] means. There’s no guarantee of any contract, so I think he’s well aware of that.”
Hedrick is the second-highest draft pick the program has had behind Joseph Ngwenya, who went third overall in 2004. He is the fourth Chant to be selected in the SuperDraft and the seventh to be taken by an MLS team overall, including supplemental draft picks.
The midfielder was a key cog in the Chants’ push toward an 18-4 overall record this past season as they went undefeated in Big South play to claim the conference’s regular season championship and then defeated Elon in the first round of the NCAA tournament.
Hedrick finished with five goals and an assist -- including a score in the tournament opener against Elon -- and was named the Big South’s defensive player of the year.
Academically, he was named a first-team Scholar All-American by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America.
“I think he’s a great leader,” Docking said. “He’s such a good person. And he is the all-around epitome of a student athlete.”
Hedrick is expected to join Sporting KC at the end of the month to begin preseason training, where he’ll try to prove himself at the next level.
“He’ll be on their roster, and after a week or two then they’ll start to try to negotiate a contract for him if he does well,” Docking said.
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