PODCAST 🎧: Catching up with RSL rookie Ilijah Paul, the non-Homegrown homegrown
PODCAST 🎧: Catching up with RSL rookie Ilijah Paul, the non-Homegrown homegrown
Paul was drafted No. 7 overall by Real Salt Lake after a couple years with San Francisco and Washington — after leaving the RSL Academy. So why was he a SuperDraft pick and not Homegrown signing?
Ilijah Paul isn’t your typical homegrown. Technically, he’s not a Homegrown at all.
Sure, the Real Salt Lake rookie left his home to play for the RSL Academy at age 16. But Paul, who also played for Valparaiso United, Barca Academy and Phoenix Academy in Arizona, never spent 12 consecutive months with the academy now based in Herriman before his 18th birthday.
So the 6-foot, 185-pound center forward from Gilbert, Arizona opted for college soccer, first at San Francisco and then at Washington. He also became the youngest-ever player to sign with Phoenix Rising FC in the USL Championship in 2019.
But a year after scoring 11 goals with four assists in 19 games, including 15 starts for the 15-2-3 Huskies, the sophomore entered his name in the 2023 MLS SuperDraft and signed a Generation adidas contract.
That contract took him right back to where it all began when the 2022 Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Year was selected by RSL with the No. 7 overall pick after a draft-day trade with Atlanta United that included $175,000 in 2023 General Allocation Money (GAM).
And just like that, Paul was playing for Real Salt Lake — again.
“I left too early for the homegrown rights, went all over, and then went to college and now I’m really excited to be back,” Paul said. “I know the whole area, and some of the players on the team.
“I was really excited when they called my name.”
Paul reported to RSL preseason training and has already earned respect and praise from the Salt Lake coaching staff, to say nothing of veteran players like Justin Meram and Damir Kreilach.
The rookie knows he faces an uphill battle for minutes. But with the club looking for a center forward following the return of Sergio Cordova to Augsburg, there’s also an opportunity to be had.
Paul joins a striker consortium led by Rubio Rubin and Anderson Julio, recovering former LAFC striker Danny Musovski, and 15-year-old academy product Axel Kei, in addition to fellow newcomers Bertin Jacquesson and Emeka Eneli.
“My goal is obviously to get on the field, and then do well. But that’s not entirely up to me,” Paul said. “I just put my best foot forward, work every day, and try to learn from the guys who have been going at it for 10-plus years. We have really good examples in Justin Meram, Damir Kreilach and others; they’ve all really helped me, and I’m only a week in.
“Hopefully I can keep learning, and be able to play some time in the future — if not now.”
Listen to the full conversation on the Salt City FC podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or anywhere else you download podcasts.
News & Notes:
The contract extensions keep rolling in for RSL in the preseason, today announcing a formal extension for winger Maikel Chang. The 31-year-old native of Havana, Cuba signed an extension with the club that will keep him in Salt Lake City through at least the 2023 season, marking his fourth with Real Salt Lake.
“I’m very happy to continue with this Club, I think we have formed a great family,” said Chang, who has called Utah home since 2018. “I expect that we improve this year on previous performances, in no small part to our amazing fans who have taken our stadium atmosphere to a whole new level.”
The club also announced a multi-year contract extension through at least the 2024 season for “Ironman” goalkeeper Zac MacMath, who played every minute last year between the pipes. We’ll have more on that extension, and MacMath’s reaction to it, in a forthcoming newsletter. Subscribe now to have it sent directly to your email inbox, or read it on the Substack app.