UCSB picked up another star men’s soccer recruit from the L.A. Galaxy Academy on Thursday as midfielder Ryo Fujii signed a National Letter of Intent with the Gauchos.
He is the fourth player in this recruiting class and the sixth in the past two seasons to join the Gauchos from the Galaxy Academy. All six were part of the USSF National Championship-winning 2011 team.
“We are very excited that Ryo is going to join our program in the fall,” said UCSB coach Tim Vom Steeg. “He is an excellent central midfielder whose physical abilities and technical skills will allow him to be able to contribute right away.”
This past season, Fujii was a fixture in a Galaxy starting XI that featured Wednesday signees Adonis Amaya, Jeff Quezada, and Axel Mendez.
“As a program, we made it a priority to recruit the best players who compete in our region,” said Vom Steeg. “With the addition of Ryo to our group of players Wednesday, we feel like we have really accomplished that goal.”
Fujii, who attends South Torrance High and sports a 3.5 GPA, ends his club career with a full trophy case, winning the Surf Cup Championship in 2010, the US Nike Manchester Cup Championship and National Cup Championship (where he had 13 goals in seven games) in 2011, and participating in the Manchester Premier Cup World Finals in England in 2011. He also participated in four ODP events between 2009-10.
