SOCCER: Sounders FC signs Beamer grad Sean Okoli

The hometown Seattle Sounders FC have added another Federal Way school district graduate to its roster. The Sounders announced Wednesday that they have inked Todd Beamer High School grad Sean Okoli to a Homegrown Player contract.

By Casey Olson • January 9, 2014 1:34 pm
The Seattle Sounders FC announced Wednesday that they have inked Todd Beamer High School grad Sean Okoli to a Homegrown Player contract.
The Seattle Sounders FC announced Wednesday that they have inked Todd Beamer High School grad Sean Okoli to a Homegrown Player contract.

The hometown Seattle Sounders FC have added another Federal Way school district graduate to its roster. The Sounders announced Wednesday that they have inked Todd Beamer High School grad Sean Okoli to a Homegrown Player contract.

Per Major League Soccer and club policy, terms were not disclosed. Seattle has now signed three Homegrown Players in the past two seasons. The Sounders also signed Aaron Kovar Wednesday. Kovar played at Seattle’s Garfield High School and Stanford University and was a teammate of Okoli’s on Sounders FC Academy teams throughout the years.

“It’s exciting to have two more Academy kids join our team,” said Sounders FC Head Coach Sigi Schmid. “Being able to add two young and talented players is a good thing. It’s also very important that Academy kids can see a pathway onto the first team.”

After graduating from Beamer in 2011, Okoli spent three seasons playing at Wake Forest University in North Carolina. During his career with the Demon Deacons, Okoli scored 24 goals and had nine assists in 61 appearances. He earned First Team All-Atlantic Coast Conference honors in 2013, registering a team-high nine goals with three assists.

In 2012, Okoli led the team with a career high 11 goals, and was named Second Team All-ACC and earned NSCAA Player of the Week honors in October. In his first collegiate season, he finished third on the team with 11 points (four goals and three assists) and was named to the All-ACC Freshman Team in 2011.

“I’ve been waiting for this moment for a long time,” said Okoli. “I can’t wait to play at CenturyLink in front of all of the fans. I am excited to help the team win games, score goals and really get my career started.”

During his senior season at Beamer, Okoli, 20, scored 19 goals and dished out 14 assists. After playing for the Sounders FC Academy, he joined the Sounders U-23 team in 2012, where he played for two seasons. Okoli has also played for the United States at the youth levels.

Kovar and Okoli were the first Sounders FC Academy players to appear in a MLS Reserve League game for Sounders FC. Kovar played the final nine minutes and Okoli played the final 12 minutes in a 2-1 win over the Portland Timbers on May 30, 2011.

“It is a proud moment when players that have significant history in the Sounders programming sign with the first team,” said Darren Sawatsky, a Jefferson grad and the Sounders U-23 Head Coach and Sounders FC Director of Youth Development. “After watching them both play last summer with the Sounders U23’s and then this fall in college, it is exciting to see them take the next step.”