SLCC Men’s Soccer Coach and USL League Two co-founder Mark Davis joins Brice to chat about Utah County’s new USL League Two franchise, the success of the undefeated, 3rd ranked Bruins, and how the USL League Two prepares players for professional soccer.
The USL announced that a new club based in Utah will begin play in USL League Two in 2024.
The club will be run by officials at Utah United Academy, and will announce the name and branding of League Two’s newest addition in the coming weeks.
“It is great if we have all of our young people playing the beautiful game but ultimately it doesn’t mean much if they don’t have places to play and to compete,” Travis Hill, co-founder and director of the Utah-based club, said. “If there is no way for them to move from youth soccer to pre-professional, college, or a professional team, then we have done a disservice to all those young players out there who want to play at a high level and want to compete. The USL ecosystem does this, and we’re proud to be a part of it.”
The club’s mission is to advance home-grown talent all the way from the U8 level to the senior USL League Two club, to give players the best shot possible at a professional future.
“Our mission is to compete at a high level and provide young players from the academy a vertical path to reach their dreams in the sport,” Mark Davis, club co-founder, said. “We plan to recruit from across the state of Utah and across the country to compete in USL League Two.”
The club will compete in the Mountain Division, in the Western Conference.
“I’m incredibly excited to see where this club goes in our league” Joel Nash, USL SVP of Youth and Pre-Professional Properties, said. “This is going to be a club run by an ambitious group of people that I know will do an incredible job for everyone that’s a part of their organization.”
“It fills me with pride to be taking this step forward with the club,” Vess Pearson, club co-owner, said. “Our players, staff, and ownership work so hard every day and are looking forward to the future with the USL.”
