Where Did World Cup 2026 Athletes Attend College?
The FIFA World Cup 2026 is around the corner. The United States is co-hosting alongside Canada and Mexico and it’s sure to be the hottest event of the summer. If you’re a fan of college athletics, you may be wondering where the top stars went to school. Although most professional soccer players worldwide did not play college soccer, instead joining soccer academies as teenagers, several members of the US World Cup squad—and players from a couple other nations, including New Zealand, who is playing in its first World Cup—did attend college in the US. Check out the list below:
Player Country College
Max Arfsten United States Fairfield University
Sebastian Berhalter United States University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Mark McKenzie United States Wake Forest University
Tim Ream United States Saint Louis University
Miles Robinson United States Syracuse University
Cristian Roldan United States University of Washington
Matt Turner United States Fairfield University
Tajon Buchanan Canada Syracuse University
Dayne St. Clair Canada University of Maryland
Alistair Johnston Canada St. John’s University
Cyle Larin Canada University of Connecticut
Joel Waterman Canada Trinity Western University
Michael Boxall New Zealand University of California Santa Barbara
That’s a fair number of World Cup athletes who went to college, and a few schools like Fairfield and Syracuse that have produced multiple World Cup competitors! The 2022 US Men’s squad featured eight players who went to college, one more than this year. Matt Turner, Tim Ream, Cristian Roldan were all part of that squad. Many of these schools are at the top of their game, with University of Washington (2025), Syracuse (2022), Maryland (2018) all being crowned champions over the last decade while the University of Saint Louis has won eight championships since the NCAA Men’s Soccer Team was founded in 1959.
As you’re watching the matches this summer, look out for fans of Fairfield, Syracuse, UCSB, and more in the crowd!
Leave a Reply