Guess who’s back? Andy Craven! Craven just re-signed on with the Sounders for a second year on the First Team. Craven came from the Sounders FC 2 team originally, so it is great to see him continue to advance in his career with another year on the First Team. In fact, he was the first player to join the First Team from the FC 2 company. Craven, a striker on the team, was overjoyed with the news, announcing on his Twitter page, “A big thank you to everyone! I'm so excited to be staying in Seattle and repping he 99 in rave green again #soundertillidie.” He also used a hashtag with the donut emoticon, which his fans should recognize and have a chuckle over.

In addition to Craven, the Sounders also signed a contract with goalkeeper Tyler Miller. This is Miller’s first MLS contract, following his career with SVN Zweibrücken of the German Fourth Division. Sounders FC Head Coach Sigi Schmid praised Miller to the press, saying, “Tyler has great potential as a goalkeeper and showed promise in the limited time we had to work with him last season.” He is referring to the Second Round selection for Seattle in the 2015 MLS SuperDraft, during which Miller was chosen by the Sounders for the FC 2 team. Miller was a coveted pick from Northwestern University, where he was the school’s leader in shut-outs and started every year while he was on the team.

Miller says that he is happy to have Stephen Frei advise him as he learns the ropes on the MLS team. He also says that it is his job to compete with the other goalies and keep each other on edge to advance their games—as well as to establish his own career in firm footing.

The press is saying that the Sounders are adding both “depth and youth” to the team, which is exactly what mangers were saying they wanted in the team with the sweeping changes being made during the waiver drafts. Lagerwey even said that both Craven and Miller suffered injuries during the previous season, but they still impressed him enough to call them to play for the 2016 year.

Fans are eagerly standing by to watch the team prep for the 2016 season, as preseason prep starts next month. Do you have any predictions, hopes for the team or guesses at who might stay and who might go as the season nears? Be sure to share in the comments below.

Photo courtesy of Wikipedia