Dreams do come true: Idaho native signs homegrown contract with the Portland Timbers
Blake Bodily gambled, leaving home at 16 years old to chase his professional soccer dreams.
And that gamble paid off as the Portland Timbers signed the Eagle native to a homegrown contract.
The Timbers announced the signing at a press conference Wednesday during the first week of training for the 2020 season. Portland Timbers General Manager Gavin Wilkinson said the midfielder would start with the club’s second-division team in the United Soccer League (USL) but could earn playing time with the MLS club.
“He’s a player that has had a tremendous career in college, and he is given the opportunity now to be with the organization,” Wilkinson said. “So we’re excited about him, and we’re excited about what he brings to the club.”
Only one Idaho native has previously played in an MLS game: Logan Emory, a 2006 Centennial High graduate. Emory played in 26 games with Toronto FC in 2012-13.
Bodily, 22, left Eagle High after his sophomore year, becoming one of the first two players from Idaho to enroll in the Portland Timbers Youth Academy.
The Boise Nationals alum attended an open tryout on a whim, impressing enough coaches to earn a call back and then a spot in the academy. It didn’t take him long to move up the system as he made his debut at 17 in 2015 with Timbers 2 (T2) in the USL, a team he will rejoin as a professional.
Bodily scored four goals in 35 games over three seasons with T2 before enrolling at the University of Washington. He earned first-team All-Pac-12 honors as a freshman and sophomore. But he broke out as a junior last fall, scoring 12 goals in 19 games to lead the Huskies to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament, win the Pac-12 Player of the Year award and earn first-team All-American honors. He’ll skip his senior season.
The Timbers maintained the rights to sign Bodily even after he left for Washington because he trained in their youth academy. By signing him to a homegrown contract, Portland protected him from entering the MLS draft.
U.S. national team mainstays Gyasi Zardes, DeAndre Yedlin and Jordan Morris started as homegrown players for their MLS clubs.
This story was originally published January 22, 2020 at 10:52 PM.
