17-year-old soccer starlet Bryan Mann from Texas, has made his choice clear; The University of St. Thomas is the place for him.

As he mulled over the options presented before him in choosing the place of his university education, one of the challenges that weighed heavily on his mind was where was the best for him as a soccer player.

Given his playing career to date, it’s no surprise that he chose a university that would help him not only academically but also sportingly. Bryan has 14 years of playing club soccer under his belt (playing throughout the southern states of Alabama, Florida and now Texas).

Most recently he has been showcasing his talents with the semi professional side Galveston Pirates, who have recently joined the Houston Football Association, with whom he will continue playing during his studies.

The Player

Due to his exceptional speed and fluid movement with the ball at his feet, it became apparent to his recent coaches that his skills would be best utilised as a winger—playing down the flank, out sprinting and dribbling his way past defenders to help set up the ball for strikers in the danger area of the field.

This selflessness has made Bryan a true team player and is unique in today’s game that is full of prima donnas with superstar mentalities.

Bryan has made the All District Varsity team in two of the past three years whilst making the County Varsity side in the other of the three while studying at Clear Creek High School in League City, Texas. During his time at Clear Creek he was chosen for the All District team in both his junior and senior years and has been a huge contributor to the team that has made back to back trips to the state playoffs.

Endorsements

Clear Creek principal Scott Bockart, was full of praise for the young man stating. 

"It’s an awesome accomplishment to be on the receiving end of a college scholarship," said Bockart. "We, as a school, are really proud of how he has represented Clear Creek High School in his years here.”

Chris Cobb, who coached Bryan at Clear Creek was also full of praise saying,

“It has been a pleasure to have had Bryan in the soccer programme here at Clear Creek for the past four years. He made a dramatic impact on our program with his dedication on and off the field which influenced all his teammates around him at every level. The focus and desire he showed has been an example for so many others and his passion for the game of soccer is unparalleled. Although we will miss him here at Clear Creek, I am sure he will relish the experience which will see him move onto bigger things. His style of play will have as much an impact with his new team as it did with ours.”

St. Thomas coach Aaron Champenoy was also full of enthusiasm at the prospect of Bryan’s upcoming arrival,

“I’m really excited to bring Bryan in.” he said.

Talking about what he expects in the future from Bryan he continued on,

“Bryan will bring good experience to the team and will mesh well with the current set of players, especially as he already knows some of them. For Bryan, the main changes he will find include the step up in playing ability from High school soccer but I know that he is more than capable of the change and I am looking forward to integrating him into the playing squad.”

Before signing his letter of intent with the University of St. Thomas, Bryan had been noticed by many different schools.

But the overall factors that made his decision weigh in favour of his final choice came down to education, closeness to family & friends, and also the chances that would be afforded him upon the soccer field.

Soccer is in his blood and it’s a great draw for someone so young to know he will most probably see some playing time whilst still a freshman.

Mann himself is overjoyed at the chance presented to him saying,

"This is a great opportunity to play soccer at a great academic school. I look forward to the challenge ahead.”

Current Galveston Pirate coach Brendan Keyes can not speak highly enough of the player quoting,

"Bryan is hard working, loyal and intelligent on the field, couple this with his appetite to work and fight for his team mates, he deserves the rewards he gets. As a player, Bryan is a great example of a young player coming through the ranks who works hard and listens to instructions. As he grows as a player and individual, his presence will enhance on the field and dressing room where his leadership qualities will be an asset to me as a coach. His commitment is second to none and never complains wherever I ask him to play on the field and as a coach, he’s a player that makes my job a joy.”

University Achievements

Mann has chose wisely in St. Thomas as they have been named in the top tier of US News & World Report’s "America’s Best Colleges" list, offering master’s degrees in the Western United States for the past 17 years and currently sit 27th out of 572 universities in 2011 rankings.

UST’s low student to faculty ratio of 11:1 continues to further enhance the stock of the University.

On August 2nd 2010, The Princeton Review named UST as one of the best colleges and universities in the West with the education services company selecting the school as one of 120 institutions it recommends that students apply to.

The Cameron School of Business at UST has also joined an elite group of institutions that have achieved business accreditation from The Association of Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB international). Only 620 schools of business, 5 percent worldwide, have earned this distinguished hallmark of excellence with UST being the only private university in Houston to achieve this.

Soccer at UST In only it’s fourth season in competition, the 2010 UST Celts Mens Soccer Team qualified for its first NAIA National championships. Further firsts came with a ten game winning season, ending 10-6-2 going into the Nationals and it was also the first time the Celts made the finals of AII Conference Tournament and for the third year running, the same team earned the number two seeding in the NAIA Association of Independent Institutions tournament.

The Future

Bryan Mann has a bright future ahead of him, both academically and within soccer. If he keeps up the hard work and keeps his head in the books, we will no doubt hear big things about the 17 year old.

For now though, he can carry on with the enjoyment of starting at a new University, making new friends and playing his part on a new soccer team. We shall be watching his progress with anticipation.

Read more MLS news on BleacherReport.com

Source: Click Here