CCU

It's been an uphill battle for Sporting KC's Cyprian Hedrick

Men's soccer alum Cyprian Hedrick was the 30th overall pick in the 2012 MLS SuperDraft by Sporting Kansas City.

       

Hedrick was named the 2011 Big South Defensive Player of the Year.

Hedrick was named the 2011 Big South Defensive Player of the Year.

Feb. 12, 2012

Courtsey of Tod Palmer, The Kansas City Star

KANSAS CITY - Cyprian Hedrick will be the first to tell you he is blessed, but don't mistake that to mean that he has led a charmed life.

Hedrick, 22, a surprise pick at No. 30 overall in last month's Major League Soccer SuperDraft, is all smiles these days at Sporting Kansas City's training sessions. He laughs easily and often, seeming to understand how fortunate he is to be on the cusp of a professional soccer career.

Still, at nearly every step in his journey from Cameroon to the practice fields in Tucson, Ariz., where he is trying to earn a spot as a reserve centerback for Sporting KC, the reigning Eastern Conference regular-season champions, Hedrick has faced an uphill battle.

Of course, that is part of why Sporting KC coach Peter Vermes took a flyer on Hedrick, the Big South defensive player of the year from Coastal Carolina who wasn't invited to the league's pre-draft combine.

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