March 13, 2009
DAVIS, Calif. - UC Davis men's soccer coach Dwayne Shaffer has announced the signing of Riley Newport to a National Letter of Intent during the winter signing period. Newport attends Handsworth Secondary School in North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and becomes the first international player to sign during the Shaffer era.
"Riley is a very good soccer player and has a good soccer mind," said Shaffer. "He comes from a great Canadian club with the Vancouver Whitecaps. He's physically and technically sound and I can see him stepping in and helping us anywhere in the midfield or as a second striker. It's great for our program that we were able to find an international player like Riley."
Newport has tallied double-digit goals and assists for Handsworth all four years and was named a first-team Provincial all-star three times. He is currently in the midst of his senior season and has 11 goals and 17 assists. As a junior Newport totaled a career-high 24 assists after putting up 19 and 18 during his sophomore and freshman campaigns. He also scored 15 goals as a freshman and junior while netting 10 as a sophomore. His efforts have led his school to three straight conference titles and a Provincial championship in 2007.
At the club level, Newport played with the Vancouver Whitecaps. He won a U-13 USL North America championship and was selected to the U-16 Canadian National team camp. His club involvement has also given him the opportunity to play in England, Holland and Mexico. He is also a member of the honor roll.
Newport also excels as a hockey player and scored 37 goals and added 71 assists to help lead his team to a Provincial and Western Canadian championship during his freshman season. In addition, Newport was a child actor and appeared in two movies along with numerous television commercials.
With the signing of Newport, UC Davis has now inked a total of nine potential student-athletes to NLIs. The list includes Newport, Jacob Barron, Sam Del Gobbo, Michael Garrick, Jameil Hall, Taylor Heer, Brady Jimison, Dan Reese and Pat Reese.
