In 2015, the Portland Timbers felt they needed to perform a hard reboot on their Academy. In an interview with Jamie Goldberg of The Oregonian, Timbers General Manager Gavin Wilkinson said he charged the academy staff with a goal that at the time seemed well out-of-reach: By 2020, the Academy was to develop at least one player per year capable of playing for the first team.
It may be ahead of schedule.
On Friday morning the Timbers announced they have signed Stanford striker Foster Langsdorf to a first-team contract. Langsdorf is the second Academy product in as many years to be signed to the first team.