On Tuesday, Stanford men’s soccer junior forward Ousseni Bouda officially joined the professional ranks when he was selected by the San Jose Earthquakes as the eighth pick of the 2022 MLS SuperDraft.
Bouda departs Stanford after a decorated, albeit shortened, three-year career on the Farm. In his freshman season, the Burkina Faso native started every match and scored five goals along with five assists. His efforts earned him Pac-12 Freshman of the Year as well as spots on the Top Drawer Soccer Best XI Freshman First Team and All-Pac-12 First Team.
He then missed all of his sophomore season due to injury. This past fall, he returned to spearhead the Cardinal’s frontline, finishing the season with five goals and nine assists as Stanford uncharacteristically missed the postseason. He was again named to the All-Pac-12 First Team.
One of the most dangerous forwards in all college soccer, Bouda signed a Generation Adidas contract last week. This type of contract is given to promising underclassmen who decide to forego the remainder of their college career and join the MLS. Only eight players were selected for a Generation Adidas contract this year.
The Stanford program will also have another player staying in the Bay Area with Bouda, as senior midfielder Will Richmond signed a homegrown contract with the Earthquakes on Monday. Richmond grew up in the Earthquakes’ academy, thus making him eligible to sign a contract with them right after college instead of going through the draft process.
In his four years for the Cardinal, Richmond tallied 10 goals and 11 assists, helping Stanford win the Pac-12 twice. He co-led the team in assists his junior season and was named to the All-Pac-12 First Team in his final two years in Palo Alto.
Head coach Jeremy Gunn’s program continues to churn out talent, as this is the seventh straight MLS SuperDraft in which a Cardinal player was selected.