Timbers U-23s Notebook: Players help lead colleges to NCAA tournament, garner all-conference honors

PORTLAND, Ore. - Several members of the 2013 Timbers U-23s squad will be leading their respective college teams into the 2013 NCAA tournament. In total, six different colleges – Akron, Creighton, Louisville, Loyola Marymount (Calif.), North Carolina and UC Santa Barbara – with Timbers U-23s players on their roster are in the tournament, which opens play Thursday, Nov. 21.

Additionally, two Timbers U-23s-led college teams won their respective conference championships over the weekend: Akron (Saad Abdul-Salaam, Reinaldo Brenes, Bryan Gallego, Victor Souto) won the Mid-American Conference, while Loyola Marymount (Paul Blanchette, Jack McCracken, John McFarlin, Craig Nitti) won the West Coast Conference for the first time.

A number of 2013 Timbers U-23s players received all-conference honors for their respective NCAA campaigns. Brenes, Gallego, Souto, Zach Barnes (Creighton) and Mark Sherrod (Memphis) all earned all-conference, first-team honors. Abdul-Salaam, Jose Ribas (Creighton) and Travis Brent (Marshall) were also named to all-conference teams. Meanwhile, forward Clark Phillips (Gonzaga) was named to the West Coast Conference All-Academic Team.