U.S. forward Jordan Morris rejects Sounders' offer to return to Stanford

United States national team forward Jordan Morris has spurned a Homegrown Player contract offer from the Seattle Sounders for another year at Stanford, the

Liviu Bird | Jan 2, 2015

U.S. forward Jordan Morris rejects Sounders' offer to return to Stanford /

United States national team forward Jordan Morris has spurned a Homegrown Player contract offer from the Seattle Sounders for another year at Stanford, the player told SI.com on Friday.

American Soccer Now reported the news first, and Morris confirmed it moments later. The 20-year-old from Mercer Island, Wash., said his upcoming junior season would likely be his last in college.

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“I just wanted to go back for another year,” he said.

Morris broke onto the U.S. scene late in his development as a player, joining the under-20 team for a tournament in France ahead of the 2013 FIFA U20 World Cup. Although he didn’t make the final roster, Morris still received his first senior team call-up and cap in 2014 in separate friendly training camps.

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In an interview with ESPN in September, when Morris received his first call-up ahead of a friendly against the Czech Republic, U.S. manager Jurgen Klinsmann said he’s been watching Morris for about two years.

“During World Cup preparation at Stanford, we played against him, and he scored against us,” Klinsmann said. “He reads the game very well ahead; he sees the space in front of him and can take people on one-against-one, and at the same time, he knows his path is a different one. We see the talent.”

Morris became the first college player to pull on a U.S. shirt since 1995 in a 15-minute substitute appearance at left wing in a 4-1 drubbing in Ireland on Nov. 18, 2014. His first major tournament could be the 2015 Gold Cup or the 2016 Summer Olympics, as he is firmly embedded with coach Tab Ramos and the under-23 team.

Published Jan 2, 2015

LIVIU BIRD

Liviu Bird is a soccer analyst with more than 20 years of experience in the game. He learned how to play in the streets of Romania before moving to the soccer wilderness of Fairbanks, Alaska, escaping to play collegiately as a goalkeeper at Highline Community College and Seattle Pacific University, where he also earned his B.A. in journalism. Bird played semiprofessionally and had tryouts at professional clubs but hung up his gloves in 2012 to focus on writing and coaching at the youth and collegiate levels. He joined Sports Illustrated in March 2013 as a freelance contributor and has also written for NBC Sports, Soccer Wire, The New York Times, American Soccer Now and the Telegraph (UK).