Thursday was a historic day for the UCF men’s soccer program as senior midfielders Kevan George and Warren Creavalle were both selected in the second round of the MLS SuperDraft. George was tabbed by the Columbus Crew with the 29th overall pick and Creavalle was taken by the Houston Dynamo with the 37th selection.
“We are so happy for both Kevan and Warren,” UCF head coach Bryan Cunningham said. “This is a great achievement for both of them and also a great accomplishment for our program.”
UCF was one of just 10 schools nationally to have more than one player selected Thursday.
Creavalle and George were both selected to the All-Conference USA First Team this past season when they helped the Knights advance to the second round of the NCAA Championship for the second-consecutive year. UCF was ranked in the top-25 nationally for nearly the entire campaign, and moved to as high as No. 6.
George had a pair of goals and seven assists this past year, when he started all 21 contests for the Knights. During his four-year career, he started all 73 matches and recorded six goals and 16 assists, which ranks 10th in program history. A native of Trinidad, George was a three-time All-C-USA First Team selection.
“Kevan is a great kid. He has done so much for the program. He came to UCF as one of the top recruits in the country when I took over as the head coach. He played in three Conference USA Championship semifinals, two NCAA Tournaments and made it to the second round two-straight years. Every year as a player and a person, he improved,” Cunningham said.
“It was an unreal feeling to see my name on the screen,” George said of his selection. “I’ve had so many ups and downs in my life, but I stuck to my goal to play professionally. It is a rewarding feeling to get drafted by such a wonderful organization like the Columbus Crew.”
In 2011, Creavalle appeared in 17 contests, making 16 starts. He recorded one goal and three assists during the year. Prior to the campaign, the Georgia native was named to the MAC Hermann Trophy Watch List. After his junior season, when he tallied four goals and 12 assists, Creavalle garnered NSCAA All-America Third Team honors. He spent two years at UCF after transferring from Furman.
“We were very blessed to have Warren join us two years ago,” Cunningham said. “He was still very raw, but he bought into our system of what we do here. He worked extremely hard on his game. He is a very coachable young man. Warren is the consummate team player.”
“This is what I have been working toward for the majority of my life,” Creavalle said. “I am real excited to get to this point and I am really excited to keep working harder.”
George and Creavalle became the second and third players in program history to be selected in the MLS SuperDraft. In 2010, goalkeeper Sean Johnson was tabbed with the 51st overall pick by the Chicago Fire.