UVA Soccer: Prosper Figbe headed to MLS Combine

UVA men’s soccer senior Prosper Figbe (Illorin, Nigeria) is one of 60 players on the initial 2019 Major League Soccer Combine invite list. The annual event is scheduled for Jan. 3-9 in Orlando, Fla.

Prospective selections in the 2019 MLS SuperDraft will have an opportunity to play scrimmages for scouts of all MLS teams, as well as go through various tests and speak to interested teams ahead of the SuperDraft, which will be on Jan. 11 at McCormick Place convention center in Chicago. 2019 Expansion team FC Cincinnati will have the top pick in the SuperDraft.

After transferring to Virginia from USF ahead of his junior year, Figbe has been a staple in the Cavalier back line for the past two seasons. He started every game but one during the 2017 and 2018 seasons including all 17 this past fall. He has helped Virginia to a combined 16 shutouts in 38 games. The Virginia defense finished the 2018 season tied for the second lowest goals against average in the ACC and the 12th lowest in the nation.

During his sophomore season at USF in 2016, he was the first in underclassman in league history to win the American Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Year Award. He went on to earn Second Team All-South Region honors and was an AAC First Team All-Conference selection.

Last January, three Cavaliers participated in the MLS Combine, Pablo Aguilar, Jeff Caldwell and Edward Opoku. The trio were among the four Cavaliers drafted in the 2018 MLS SuperDraft, tied for the most selections of any program in the country.