Nine Orlando City Academy players commit to NCAA Division I programs

ORLANDO, Fla. — With the 2022-23 school year coming to a close, nine prospects out of the Orlando City Academy have committed to play college soccer at Division 1 programs across the country.

Of those nine Class of 2023 graduates, five were members of the Orlando City U-17 side that won the 2021 MLS NEXT Cup Championship in Frisco, Texas.

Isaac Delgado – GK – Cornell University

Delgado has committed to Ivy League powerhouse Cornell University, a program coming off a season in which it went 14-4-1 and made a third-round appearance in the NCAA Division I Men’s Soccer Championship. The Big Red have recorded four-consecutive 10-win seasons, with Delgado set to join former Orlando City Academy midfielder Sahyd Nevado Masso in Ithaca, New York. Delgado was a member of the 2021 MLS NEXT Cup Champion U-17 side, making the save in the penalty-kick shootout against Players Development Academy to clinch the title for the Lions.

Pablo Ossabal – GK – University of Central Florida

Ossabal will stay close to home, set to join the University of Central Florida for the fall of 2023. The Lions’ netminder was another member of the U-17 side that won the inaugural MLS NEXT Cup Championship in Frisco. Ossabal will join the Knights in their first season in the Sun Belt Conference, making the shift from the American Athletic Conference as the rest of the athletic programs at UCF make the transition to the Big 12.

Nikolai Zapolskikh – D – Temple University

Zapolskikh is headed to Philadelphia to join the Temple University Owls of the American Athletic Conference. The Owls are coming off a season that saw them go 4-9-3, with the side losing 10 seniors from last year’s class. Joining the Owls this offseason was Head Coach Bryan Green, who spent the last four years as the Associate Head Coach at the University of Louisville.

Tyler Prebenda – D/M – University of Maryland

Prebenda is set to join the 17th-ranked program in the nation in the University of Maryland of the Big Ten Conference. The Terps are coming off a season that saw them play in their 22nd-consecutive NCAA Tournament, finishing the year with an 11-4-5 record and reaching as high as No. 6 in the NCAA rankings in 2023. Prebenda played every minute of Orlando City’s run to the U-17 MLS NEXT Cup Semifinals in 2022, making his professional debut later that year for Orlando City B of MLS NEXT Pro where he would appear five times and tally one assist.

Victor Saade – D/M – U.S. Naval Academy

Saade heads to Annapolis to join a Navy program that is coming off its fourth-consecutive winning season and its first NCAA Tournament berth in the last nine years. The Midshipmen ended the 2022 campaign in the First Round of the tournament, falling to Georgetown.

Diego Valles – M – Villanova University

Valles joins a class of seven new recruits to Villanova University, with the Wildcats coming off a campaign that saw them go 6-8-3 a year ago. Throughout his time in Orlando, Valles was a member of the 2021 MLS NEXT Cup Champion U-17 side and was available for selection for Orlando City B of MLS NEXT Pro eight times.

Ethan Subachan – F – University of Louisville

Subachan has committed to the University of Louisville, joining fellow Orlando City Academy products David Boccuzzo and Chase Vazquez, the former entering his sophomore year and the latter a member of the incoming 2023 class. Subachan has spent the last three years with Orlando City, helping the side to the 2021 U-17 MLS NEXT Cup Championship. In addition, Subachan was a member of the inaugural Orlando City B roster in MLS NEXT Pro, appearing six times and scoring one goal in the 2022 campaign.

Ian Silva – F – Gonzaga University

Silva is set to join Gonzaga University of the West Coast Conference for the fall 2023 season. Another member of the 2021 MLS NEXT Cup Champion U-17 side, Silva also appeared on the inaugural roster for Orlando City B of MLS NEXT Pro, logging five appearances with one start for the Lions in 2022.

Chase Vazquez – F – University of Louisville

Rounding out the Class of 2023 is Chase Vazquez, set to join Subachan in Louisville, Kentucky in the fall. Vazquez spent one year as a member of the Orlando City Academy, helping the side to a run to the 2022 MLS NEXT Cup Semifinals in Frisco. In his one outing with the First Team of Major League Soccer in a preseason scrimmage, Vazquez netted a hat trick off the bench against Stetson University. Vazquez is a current member of the Orlando City B roster, but has yet to make his MLS NEXT Pro debut.