Yes, prospects turning pro too early happens in sports other than basketball and football. At Eastern, it’s about to hit home with men’s soccer.

Forward Jason Thompson elected to skip his senior season at Eastern and made himself eligible for the Major League Soccer Draft. Time will tell if Thompson made a mistake, but one thing is for sure – his decision could be questionable at best.

Thompson ended third on Eastern’s all-time list in goals and points with 40 and 96 respectively. So, it looked like nobody could argue with the decision. I’m assuming Thompson was told by his inner circle he would be a high pick.

The draft went as well as Thompson could have expected as the Garland, Texas native was drafted in the second round (16th overall) by the Dallas Burn. There’s only one problem with that.

Thompson signed a contract with Nike Project-40, one of 12 high school age and collegians to do so. Created in 1997, Project-40 is a joint venture between Major League Soccer and U.S. Soccer aimed at providing America’s top young soccer players with the opportunity to play and train daily in a professional environment.

Everybody including The Daily Eastern News wrote a heartwarming tale of the home state prospect getting drafted close to home after being the big fish in a small Charleston pond.

The problem – as the MLS season begins this month, Thompson is nowhere to be found on the Dallas Burn team. Oh, he’s technically on the roster, but he failed to make the trip to Chile for six preseason games. Correct me if I’m wrong, but preseason games are those contests where coaches see what the young talent can do. What does it tell you when Thompson has failed to play one second in the Burn’s eight preseason games this season.

Apparently, he will get to play in a league similar to NFL Europe where he will be playing against other players who are Project-40 players not on MLS teams but similar to his age. Similar to on-the-job training but not really.

Wait a minute, that’s exactly what Thompson would be doing in his senior year at Eastern.

Not only that but one has to question if Eastern’s star player is even in the picture for the future of the Dallas Burn franchise. If so, wouldn’t they want him to get experience on the professional level? Apparently not. In fact, if by chance Thompson does get the call from the big club, he’ll be picking splinters out of his butt.

Panther fans can also imagine another season of Thompson wearing a blue and white jersey. The team definitely could have used him because you don’t replace a Jason Thompson, you just find another forward.

This season, freshman Jimmy Klatter will have to deal with defenses surrounding him similar to Thompson’s first two seasons. A Thompson return could have meant another season of a 1-2 punch head coach Adam Howarth definitely needs.

Another playoff appearance was likely for the Panthers with Thompson, but without him, Eastern rides its hopes on many unproven commodities.

It’s amazing how I’m missing the most important aspect of the decision. Will Jason Thompson graduate from Eastern and get his degree? A scary question if he doesn’t become a integral part of the Burn’s future.

Good Luck Jason, but it would’ve have been nice to see you put up with Charleston for one more season before you went back home.