South Pointe student Isaiah Reid commits to play soccer at Clemson

Isaiah Reid’s college soccer days are still two years away but the Rock Hill native knows where he’ll be playing: Clemson.

Reid, a sophomore at South Pointe, announced his commitment to play for the Tigers on Twitter Monday morning. An unofficial visit to Clemson over the weekend helped Reid make his decision before his recruitment ever really got going.

“They have a lot of academic support for their athletes,” he said on Monday after school. “They get to live in great apartments, and going to the football game and all that stuff... just everything with Clemson, I just wanted to commit there.”

Reid attends South Pointe but plays soccer exclusively for Charlotte Soccer Academy’s under-16 team, coached by Steve Gummer.

Reid is a left-footed fullback and midfielder, a natural blessing for a soccer player (think left-handed pitcher in baseball). He began his career playing further up the field, and has kept that attacking inclination even after dropping into the back line. He scored 11 goals in 19 games for Charlotte Soccer Academy in last season’s U.S. Development Academy season, the highest level of youth soccer in the country.

He had a moment to savor in August while touring The Netherlands with a Generation adidas all-star team. Reid buried a free kick in 2-0 win over the world renowned Ajax youth academy team to cap off the trip.

“It was a very good experience,” he said. “They select the best players in the nation from adidas clubs. I got to train with different types of coaches from Ajax in The Netherlands, and we got to play some of the top-class clubs.”

Mike Noonan’s Tigers are perennial powers in the ACC, the best men’s soccer conference in the country. The Tigers are ranked No. 5 in the nation as of Oct. 3.

This story was originally published October 3, 2016 at 4:47 PM with the headline "South Pointe student Isaiah Reid commits to play soccer at Clemson."