CARSON — After spending four seasons at UCLA, Tucker Lepley didn’t have to travel far for his first MLS preseason.
Lepley was selected in the third round by the Galaxy in the January MLS Draft. He has yet to sign an MLS contract, but with the work he’s putting in, it might not be long before that happens.
With the Galaxy down numbers in the midfield, without Gaston Brugman, Riqui Puig and Daniel Aguirre, Lepley stepped out onto the field Saturday at Dignity Health Sports Park in the starting lineup for the preseason game against St. Louis City SC.
“I’m taking it day-by-day, game-by game,” Lepley said following the 2-1 loss. “Today when I stepped out in the stadium, it was like the little kid inside of me just getting to realize part of his dream.
“Playing in the stadium was a really cool experience for me.”
Lepley made his preseason debut in last week’s closed-door scrimmage against San Jose.
“He has some game experience, some life experiences,” Galaxy coach Greg Vanney said of Lepley. “You see that maturity inside of the way he plays.”
Lepley took a redshirt his first year at UCLA and played three. He had one year remaining, but decided to make the jump.
“I was really close to getting my degree, but I felt like for me, I was ready to take a next step in my career and step into a different environment,” he said. “I felt like at the end of the day, there’s no better time for me to try and make this step. As much as I love UCLA, I love the school to death, I feel like they’ve given me every opportunity to be successful and I carry them with me every day.”
Lepley had to wait until the third round to hear his name called, but he’s not going to let that define his experience.
“I think draft day for everybody is a special day,” he said. “I don’t really think it matters when you get picked, just to see your name, that’s just made me so happy. Obviously as rounds go by, you’re curious as to where you think…
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