By Canadian Press

Scottish midfielder Adam Wilson pinching himself at Toronto FC training camp

Jan 22, 2019 | 11:15 AM

Adam Wilson was playing Xbox in a Louisville hotel room during the MLS SuperDraft, waiting to move into his new apartment.

“I was a week into school. I had already come to terms with myself that I wasn’t getting drafted and I was going back to school,” said the Scottish midfielder, who has one semester left at the University of Louisville.

Then he looked at his phone and saw a text from former Louisville teammate Mohamed Thiaw.

“Congratulations on getting drafted,” it said.

Wilson looked up the draft and found he had been taken by Toronto FC in the second round (39th overall) at the Jan. 11 draft in Chicago.

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“A complete surprise,” said Wilson.

Not for Toronto, which had been impressed by the 21-year-old at a college combine it had hosted.

“He was the best player in the combine,” said Toronto coach Greg Vanney.

While Wilson played out wide in his final year with the Cardinals, Vanney sees him as holding midfielder.

“Very efficient with both feet, you don’t even know if he’s left-footed or right-footed so he receives the ball with either foot … Nice stable centre of gravity, solid defender, just a good soccer player.”

Centre midfield is also Wilson’s preferred position.

While the Scot is currently in camp with the full team in California, he is likely headed to Toronto FC 2 for seasoning.

He’s still pinching himself. While no stranger to training, doing it alongside Sebastian Giovinco adds to the overall experience.

“It’s fun, it’s nerve-wracking, it’s a whirlwind of emotions … It’s all new,” he said. “It’s just like when you start anything new, you feel different emotions.”

Wilson comes from a soccer family. Father Kenny was a fullback with Queen’s Park, St. Johnstone, Stirling Albion and Kilmarnock.

Adam and older brother Jordan both spent time in the Glasgow Rangers academy before opting to play college soccer in the U.S., with the latter leading the way at the University of Kentucky.

Their uncle, Tommy Wilson, won the Scottish Cup with St. Mirren before coaching the Scottish under-19 side and Rangers reserve team.

Adam’s father moved to the U.S. after his playing career and Adam lived in Austin, Texas, for 18 months as a young boy before returning to Scotland.

The family now calls St. Petersburg, Fla., home although father Kenny is currently working out of Singapore, with Jordan working for the same electronics company. 

Adam was a member of the Rangers academy from 10 to 17. While he enjoyed his time there, he ultimately decided to follow his brother’s footsteps and combine soccer and studies.

It wasn’t an easy decision, given his childhood dream to play pro soccer, he acknowledged.

“It’s tough to kind of not throw that away, but put it on hold,” he said. “The hardest part is you’ve kind of got to bet on yourself a little bit because you may have a professional opportunity there and you’re turning it down in the hopes for one in the future.

“But what I thought to myself was soccer is good and all, but it can turn so quickly. Whereas a degree is kind of more stable.”

Wilson spent two years at the University of Cincinnati before transferring to Louisville for his last two seasons. He had seven goals and 18 assists in 36 career matches with Cincinnati and five goals and nine assists in 36 matches with Louisville.

While he loved his time at Cincinnati — he met his girlfriend there — he said the soccer program ‘wasn’t quite where I wanted it to be.”

So he transferred to Louisville, where he pursued a degree in finance.

Follow @NeilMDavidson on Twitter

Neil Davidson, The Canadian Press