The start of Los Angeles Football Club’s offseason has a decidedly San Diego feel.
To 16-year-old Jude Terry, that’s business as usual.
But maybe not much longer.
Commuting almost daily from Chula Vista to the LAFC performance center with his mom behind the wheel, the talented American midfielder is considering keeping an apartment in L.A. after recently signing an MLS homegrown contract with the Black & Gold.
“From San Diego to L.A. is a long drive and it takes a toll on your body over time,” Terry said Tuesday. “So I think this offseason looking for a place to stay, to hopefully move into before preseason next year, would be something that we’re looking at right now.”
Regarded as one of the top-recruited soccer prospects in the U.S., Terry’s deal through 2027, with club options for ‘28 and ‘29, comes four years after he was approached about trying out for the LAFC academy. On the last day of preseason, the academy staff told him nothing is guaranteed, including playing time, but there was an offer on the table to sign with the club.
“I took that chance and it worked out well,” said Terry, who credited the staff and coaches with delivering the sort of transparency and directness he needed to get better.
“I’ve grown a lot,” he said. “Obviously from where I started to where I am now is a big jump, a big step. So I think I’ve grown in ability, confidence, tactical awareness. I think I’ve grown in all-around every area.”
Chosen as captain of U.S. youth national teams, including the one that defeated Mexico in the 2023 CONCACAF boys’ U-15 championship final, Terry is expected to participate in the FIFA U-17 World Cup qualifiers in February. He joins U.S. men’s youth national team midfielders Cavan Sullivan (Philadelphia Union) and Maximo Carrizo (New York City FC) as well as forwards Chance Cowell (San Jose Earthquakes) and Julian Hall (New York Red Bulls) as current U-17s with MLS homegrown contracts.
Terry, a Nike athlete, is the eighth homegrown signing for LAFC and the fourth as young as 16.
“They’ve seen that I have the potential to do something with the first team,” Terry said, “so just having that trust and having that relationship with LAFC, whether it’s academy or second team or first team, it’s always just been the first option. Being able to sign with this club means a lot.”
14 available in MLS expansion draft
With the 2024 MLS expansion draft looming Wednesday, LAFC also unveiled 14 players who can be chosen by the league’s 30th franchise, San Diego FC: Eduard Atuesta, Lewis O’Brien, Carlos Vela, Kei Kamara, Ilie Sánchez, Maxime Chanot, Lorenzo Dellavalle, Eddie Segura, Thomas Hasal, David Ochoa, Marlon Santos, Luis Mueller, Tommy Musto and Diego Rosales round out the list.
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LAFC, which can lose just one unprotected player, protected a dozen players from San Diego, including center back Aaron Long, who is expected to re-sign on a three-year deal when free agency opens Thursday.
Should San Diego nab the rights to an LAFC player with one of its five selections from a pool of 354 athletes across the league’s 29 teams, that would constitute the clubs’ second transaction this week. On Monday, during a half-day MLS trade window, LAFC received $200,000 in general allocation money from their new neighbors to the south in exchange for forward Tomás Ángel and a second-round pick in the 2025 MLS SuperDraft.