Julian Eyestone is headed across the pond. Friday morning, Brentford FC, an English Premier League Club, announced that the 18-year-old had signed with its B team. The Dallas native finally revealed his professional plans after announcing in an Instagram post Dec. 12 that he will forgo the remainder of his college eligibility to pursue a professional career.
The 6-foot-6 keeper kept his plans private until now due to the Premier League's rules on signing players under the age of 18. Eyestone came of age in April.
"It is not surprising Julian has caught the eye of talent scouts in Europe! He made a great impact on our program in a short period of time," wrote Duke head coach John Kerr in a statement to The Chronicle. "We're very proud and supportive of his move to Brentford in the English Premier — go Julian and go Duke!"
Before joining the Blue Devils, he played for the FC Dallas Academy, making his decision to go abroad instead of playing for his hometown team something of a surprise. He has trained with the Texas club since age 15. Before starting his collegiate career at Duke, the Lone Star product started eight games for North Texas SC, FC Dallas’ second team.
In his freshman season, Eyestone earned a spot on the ACC All-Freshman team as well as on the All-ACC Second Team. On Sept. 12, in the third week of the season, he was named ACC Defensive Player of the Week. His slew of accolades come on the heels of a season where he saved 69.4% of shots on goal, allowing a total of 22 goals from all opponents combined.
Eyestone leaves Duke in the wake of an 11-4-3 season that went as far as an ACC tournament quarterfinal game and a second-round exit in the NCAA tournament.
The only other Blue Devil goalie who saw minutes in the net this season was senior Jacob Hochstein, who will graduate in the spring. That leaves Duke goalkeeping up to junior Grant Farley, who has yet to clock minutes on the field, and freshman Nathan Gaviser, who similarly has yet to see action in the college scene.
“We are delighted that Julian is following his professional soccer dreams," head coach John Kerr told the Chronicle in an email in December. "He had a spectacular year here at Duke and we’re very supportive of his aspirations to move to the next level. He made a big impact in a short period of time with us, and we’re grateful for his contributions, both on and off the field! He’s a very exciting prospect and we hope to see him play in the World Cup for the USA in the coming years!”
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Sophie Levenson is a Trinity junior and a sports managing editor of The Chronicle's 120th volume.