Hugo Gutierrez, Midfielder, LA Galaxy
IMG Academy 150: #123
Class: 2014
Commitment: Cal Poly

It’s been an exciting offseason for Hugo Gutierrez. He made his college commitment last week to Cal Poly. And his club is in the middle of a reshuffle.

With the addition of former Chivas USA Academy coach Mike Munoz to the coaching staff, the Galaxy stable of players has been greatly increased especially the U18 team, which increased its roster with a majority of the Chivas USA U16 team coming over to the cross-town rival.

“I’m ready for the competition,” Gutierrez said with a hint of confidence.

The center midfielder with a cunning ability on the ball caught the eye of college coaches as he starred with the LA Galaxy U16 squad last season and was recently recognized as the Time Warner Cable Galaxy Academy Player of the Week.

He figures to play a similar role at the collegiate level, as Gutierrez said the Cal Poly coaches have already told him he will contend for the #10 role with the Mustangs.

“I’ve known coach Paul [Holocher] for quite some time,” Gutierrez said about his commitment. “There is a great coaching staff up there, and they play an attractive style. It’s beautiful.”

Gutierrez said Wake Forest also called him, but he said that was “too far.”

The 16-year-old is heading to a program that has shown a renewed focus on building the athletics program, as renovations have given Cal Poly some of the best facilities to go along with one of the best stadiums and fan bases in the country.

He is the fourth verbal commitment of the 2014 class for Cal Poly. The De Anza Force trio of Ramiro Molina, David Levitsky, and Nick Carroll previously gave their word to the Mustangs.

 

Colin Dibb, Forward, SC Waukesha
Class: 2014
Commitment: Wisconsin-Milwaukee

A quick and skillful player, Colin Dibb didn’t have to look that far for his future college home. 

There was plenty that drew him to make his commitment to Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

“The reason I decided to commit at Wisconsin-Milwaukee is that I really liked the way they were building up their program, and really respected their past accomplishments,” Dibb told TopDrawerSoccer.com. “I think the coaching staff really has a lot of personal experience and a great sense for the game, which will in turn only benefit my play style and help me to become a better soccer player.”

To go with his appreciation of on field accomplishment, both in the past and in the future, Dibb liked the opportunities provided in the classroom.

“The school itself from what I saw and researched, has everything that I am looking for in terms of my education,” he said. “The school has an excellent program running for my major, which would be engineering. I really like that the school is located near the city and it's still close enough to home that I can call and ask for help with things I need.”

 

Tristan Thompson, Midfielder, Pateadores
Class: 2014
Commitment: San Diego State

While there was a long list of amenities that San Diegio State(m) had to offer, playing with his older brother Aaron was one that pushed the program over the top in the eyes of Tristan Thompson.

“It has always been a dream of ours to play together at the collegiate level,” he said. “We got a chance to play together at our high school and it was an experience I wouldn't trade anything else for it.  Hopefully someday we'll play together as professionals too.”

Thompson liked the environment the school provided, not to mention the opportunity to compete in a difficult conference like the Pac-12.

 

Other commitments:

Midfielder Peyton Ericson (Georgia United) committed to South Carolina for the class of 2015.

Defender Nicholas Ulowetz (NW Nationals) committed to Gonzaga for the class of 2013.

Forward Anthony R Smith (Chicago Fire) committed to Butler for the class of 2013.

Defender Zachary Perez (Match Fit Academy) committed to Rutgers for the class of 2015.