Portland junior forward Kelly Gray was one of five attacking midfielders to recently sign contracts with Project-40, the player development venture created by MLS and U.S. Soccer in 1997.
The quintet includes Craig Capano, 16, and Justin Mapp, 17, in addition to three former U.S. U-20 selections -- Virginia's Kyle Martino, Portland's Kelly Gray, and Brad Davis of St. Louis -- who are will be leaving college ball before using up their eligibility.
All five players will be eligible for selection in the 2002 MLS SuperDraft.
At 16 years, six months and two days, Capano becomes the second youngest player ever signed by MLS, just missing the mark set by D.C. United's Santino Quaranta (16 years, 4 months).
Mapp, who was born only four days after Quaranta, is the second youngest player currently under contract with MLS. Both Capano and Mapp are in the midst of their sophomore year in high school following their entry into the U.S. U-17 residency program in Bradenton, Fla. in December of 2000.
Martino, Davis and Gray each were named NSCAA College All-Americans in 2001. Martino and Gray exit the college ranks following their junior seasons; Davis recently completed his sophomore campaign. All three players were on the U.S. U-20 squad that competed in the 2001 FIFA World Youth Championship in last summer.
Players signed to Nike Project-40 contracts receive an educational stipend in addition to their salary but do not occupy an official spot on the roster of their MLS club.
Kelly Gray
Midfielder
Hometown: San Jose, Calif.
Ht: 6-2 Wt: 170
Born: April 7, 1981
College: University of Portland
Joined U.S. Under-23s for an eight-day training camp ... Since joining the U-20 player pool in 2000, he became one of the team's more versatile players, lining up at defense, midfield and forward ... Was second on the team in goals scored (12) during the last two years ... Started all three games for the U.S. at the FIFA World Youth Championships in June of 2001 ... Was University of Portland's second leading scorer with 25 points on nine goals and seven assists ... Helped the Pilots to a 13-6-1 record and a third-round appearance in the NCAA tournament ... Played club soccer for Los Gatos Metro, where he was coached by former MLS All-Star Paul Bravo.
2002 NIKE PROJECT-40 ROSTER (Jan. 10, 2002)
Shaker Asad (allocation/draft eligible)
Devin Barclay (allocation/draft eligible)
Isaias Bardales Jr (L.A. Galaxy)
Kyle Beckerman (allocation/draft eligible)
Edson Buddle (Columbus Crew)
Jose Burciaga Jr. (K.C. Wizards)
Craig Capano (SuperDraft eligible)
Chris Carrieri (Colorado Rapids)
Brad Davis (SuperDraft eligible)
Nick Downing (N.E. Revolution)
Kelly Gray (SuperDraft eligible)
Edward Johnson (Dallas Burn)
Martin Klinger (MetroStars)
Justin Mapp (SuperDraft eligible)
Kyle Martino (SuperDraft eligible)
Santino Quaranta (D.C. United)
Miguel Saavedra (Dallas Burn)
Sergio Salas (D.C. United)
Seth Trembly (Colorado Rapids)
