Eastern men’s soccer standout Jason Thompson decided to forego his senior season and make himself eligible for the Major League Soccer Super Draft.

The junior forward signed his name to a contract with Nike-Project 40, a program set up to develop America’s top young players.

Thompson is one of 12 players to sign with this selective program that was created in 1997. The program gives players a chance to get a feel for the professional environment. Each player is guaranteed a roster spot with one of the 10 MLS teams along with a contract salary and educational funding.

Thompson said the opportunity to go pro was too good to pass up.

“I have always dreamed of playing pro soccer and the league came to me with this offer that I couldn’t turn down,” Thompson said. “Hopefully I can make a good impression on them.”

Thompson will not be around to hear his name called when the draft starts at 2:30 pm Friday in Kansas City. He left Saturday to join the Under-23 National team in Portugal and will not be back for a few weeks.

The two-time All-American is not concerned with what team he will be drafted to or in which round he is chosen.

“I’ll go with whoever drafts me no matter where it is,” Thompson said. “I would like to go where I can get some playing time though.”

Thompson’s past experience could be all he needs to get drafted in the early rounds. Over last summer he played for the PDL Boulder Rapids which is an affiliate of the Colorado Rapids of the MLS.

Playing there opened up the eyes of national coaches and he was invited to play with the United States U-23 team on their four game tour of England. He was second on the team with two goals and was also second in minutes played.

“Over the summer a lot of people started to notice (Thompson) especially because of his national experience,” Eastern head coach Adam Howarth said. “When this season finished he started to get a lot of calls. His stock is pretty high right now.”

Thompson finished his three years at Eastern with 40 career goals and 96 points with 14 of those goals coming last season. He exploded his freshman year as he led the nation in goals with 21.

He was named Second-Team for College Soccer Online and Freshman All-America for Soccer America. He was also picked to College Soccer News Honorable Mention All-America following his junior season.

Howarth is sad to see his star forward leave, but sees this as a great step for the program.

“It’s a loss for us, but it is fantastic for our program to get a player that is drafted into Major League Soccer,” Howarth said. “That’s a great step for us.”