EDINBURG, Texas (Monday, June 20, 2022) – Rio Grande Valley FC today announced the signing of forward Dylan Hernandez to its 2022 USL Championship roster as a USL Academy signing, pending league and federation approval. At just 15 years of age, Hernandez becomes the youngest player to sign a USL Academy contract with RGV FC.
As USL Academy signings, players are available for selection by the Toros in USL Championship play throughout the 2022 season while retaining their NCAA eligibility.
Hernandez is a shifty and potent forward who has developed within the RGV FC Academy ranks in the past two years dating back to March 2020. The academy competes in the USL Academy League and MLS Next, providing developmental and high-level competitive platforms for young talent in the Rio Grande Valley region. The Pharr, Texas native has previously been selected to the United States National Team Under-15 player pool, a major step toward representing the country in official FIFA tournaments in the coming years.
Following the club’s restructuring in 2021, when RGV FC became an independent club after affiliation with Major League Soccer’s Houston Dynamo FC, the Toros have shifted a focus to developing their academy system and providing true opportunity for local products to achieve their goals of moving into the professional ranks. The club’s focus on offering top young players the chance to move into the professional game mirrors that of numerous other clubs in the USL Championship, with Orange County SC and United States U-20 international Kobi Henry becoming the most recent young talent to be transferred to a top-flight European club in Ligue 1’s Stade de Reims last week.
With a reputation for developing young, talented players, Toros Sporting Director Wilmer Cabrera is aiming for players like Hernandez to find a new level of maturity on the training pitch and in the locker room with the veteran players who help mentor the young players as the Toros also aim to compete for silverware in the USL Championship.
“Dylan is one of the youngest and very talented players, with a great mentality, at this moment,” said Cabrera. “He is in a prime development stage, and we are excited about his decision to be with the team and continue his soccer career, which we hope will be long and successful.”
Dylan Hernandez (15) joins Jose Luna (16), Duilio Herrera (17), Alexis Gonzalez (17), and Gael Gonzalez (18) as the 2022 class of USL Academy signings. The lone player who has seen action so far, Herrera, has logged 226 minutes of action and has scored his first goal in the professional ranks in the USL Championship while competing as a USL Academy signing.
With Hernandez’s addition, RGV FC now has five USL Academy signings in its current 29-player squad, the most the club has had in a single season. All five have come through the RGV FC Academy and are local to the Rio Grande Valley.
RGV FC continues USL Championship play on Wednesday night on the road against New Mexico United at Isotopes Park, the action begins at 8:00pm CST.
Single game tickets are available at www.rgvfc.com or at the H-E-B Park box office.
TRANSACTION: Rio Grande Valley FC signs forward Dylan Hernandez.
PLAYER PROFILE
FULL NAME: Dylan Hernandez
DATE OF BIRTH: May 5, 2007
HEIGHT: 5’ 5”
WEIGHT: 135
BIRTHPLACE: Pharr, TX
HOMETOWN: Pharr, TX
PREVIOUS CLUB: RGV FC Academy (MLS Next)
FIFA NATIONALITY: USA
ABOUT RIO GRANDE VALLEY FC
The Rio Grande Valley FC Toros (RGV FC) enter their seventh season in the United Soccer League (USL) Championship in 2022. The club plays at H-E-B Park, a state-of-the-art soccer specific stadium that holds 9,700 people, the club trains in H-E-B Park’s world class training facility adjacent to the stadium. RGV FC is the only professional soccer team located within the Rio Grande Valley. For more information, please visit www.RGVFC.com.
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