Joshua Yaro

Joshua "Josh" Yaro is a Ghanaian association football centerback who currently plays for the Philadelphia Union of Major League Soccer. Originally from Kumasi, Ghana, Yaro was a member of the Right to Dream Academy. Through the academy, Yaro came to the United States of America to play high school soccer at Cate School in Carpinteria, California. He later attended Georgetown University and became one of the top college soccer players in the nation. He was drafted with the second overall pick in the 2016 MLS SuperDraft.
Early life
Joshua Yaro was born in Ghana and grew up in Kumasi. He joined the Right to Dream Academy during his youth career, because of his excellence as a soccer player. In 2010, Yaro came to the United States on a scholarship from the academy. He was placed by the academy at Cate School in Carpinteria, CA, and began his academic career in America as a sophomore in high school. He joined fellow Right to Dream athlete Emmanuel Boateng. Cate won the 2011 California Interscholastic Federation-Southern Section Division VII Championship and completed a perfect season in Yaro's first year with the team. Cate was featured in the Powerade Fab 50 rankings for the nation's top teams during the winter season of soccer. The team would go on to repeat with a second Championship in 2012 and entered the 2012 CIF Southern California Regional Soccer Championship playoff for Division III, but was eliminated in the Semifinals. The following year, despite the early departure of Boateng for the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos men's soccer team and Cate's promotion to CIF-SS Division VI, the team managed to reach the Semifinals of the playoffs. During the 2013 season, Yaro announced his intention to attend Georgetown University. In high school, along with soccer, Yaro was a standout athlete in Track and Field, competing in the 100 meter dash. the 200 meter dash, the Long Jump, and the Triple Jump. He was the CIF-SS division IV champion in the Triple Jump event and was also awarded the Santa Barbara Roundtable award for Ethics in Sports.
Career
College
At Georgetown, Joshua Yaro earned multiple national and regional awards. Among them, in 2014, he earned Big East Player of the Year, NSCAA First Team All-American, and NSCAA First Team Scholar All-American. Despite speculation for an early departure, Yaro returned to Georgetown for his junior season.
After completing his degree, Yaro signed a Generation Adidas contract, thereby forgoing his senior season and declaring eligible for the 2016 MLS SuperDraft.
Professional
Despite being widely considered the top overall prospect in the 2016 draft class, Joshua Yaro was selected second overall in the 2016 MLS SuperDraft by the Philadelphia Union. The Union had acquired the pick earlier the same day in a trade with the Colorado Rapids for allocation money and a player to be named later.
Yaro will begin his MLS career in 2016.
Honors
College
;Georgetown
*Big East All-Rookie team (1): 2013
*Big East All-Academic team (2): 2013, 2014
*Big East Player of the Year (1): 2014
*Big East Defensive Player of the Year (1): 2014
*NSCAA All-American (1): 2014
*MAC Herman Trophy Semifinalist (1): 2014

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