Men's Soccer: Lobo recruit will test professional waters, losing college eligibility

New Mexico recruit Ethan Zubak has opted to forgo his college eligibility in order to pursue a professional career with the L.A. Galaxy.

Zubak, a Los Angeles, California native, committed verbally to UNM as a junior in high school and signed his letter of intent in February of 2016. He will forgo his college eligibility to join the MLS.

“I have very mixed emotions,” head coach Jeremy Fishbein said in a release. “I’m extremely happy for Ethan that his boyhood dreams has come to fruition… sooner than expected from our end. He was able to negotiate a tremendous contract which ensured both his college education and professional playing aspirations.”

While the head coach admitted to his varied feelings while losing a top recruit, he said in a statement that the plan for the fall has not been altered.

“I never count on a first-year player to make a major impact, so our outlook for the season remains unchanged,” Fishbein said in the release. “We have an outstanding returning group and expectations are very high. It would have been wonderful to work with Ethan, but we will now follow his success as a professional.”

Fishbein did say that Zubak would have seen playing time in his first year, and could have made a contribution to the Lobo attack.

Zubak chose to venture outside of California, turning down local interest from UCLA and UC-Santa Barbara, had he pursued higher education.

The forward from the L.A. Galaxy academy has player for the U-19 National Team. In high school, Zubak was named valedictorian and made his first professional appearance at the age of 17. He has totaled eight games as a member of the Galaxy II of the USL.

"Our goal is to develop well-rounded men who will impact their communities, have fulfilling careers and who will be tremendous fathers and husbands" said Fishbein.

Fishbein said Zubak’s decision was not a brash one, having already turned down the Galaxy once.

With or without the top recruit, UNM (8-6-4, 2-4-2 C-USA) will look to build on its disappointing 6th place finish.

Liam Cary-Eaves is the sports editor for the Daily Lobo. He primarily covers volleyball, women’s basketball and baseball. He can be reached at sports@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @Liam_CE.