Heath's Keegan Hughes on joining the Columbus Crew: I am excited to come back home

COLUMBUS — Keegan Hughes signed with the Columbus Crew last week after finishing a decorated collegiate career for the Stanford men's soccer team. The Heath graduate has been signed to a homegrown contract through 2024 with team options the following two seasons.

Before joining the Crew, Keegan Hughes was a four-year starter as a defender for the Cardinal, and he was an integral part of their success. As a freshman, he competed for the starting job and once he got it he never let go, he started and played in every game for Stanford during his career.

“When I first stepped on campus, you could feel the energy,” Hughes said. “The competition there was so motivating. Everywhere you looked there was studs. It was very humbling.”

Although his next two seasons were delayed and shortened due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Keegan exceled through the adversity.

As a sophomore, he helped Stanford to a PAC-12 championship and was named to the PAC-12 second team. Again in his junior season he was a standout on the backline and was a PAC-12 honorable mention selection, but the team struggled, finishing with a record of 6-6-6.

In his senior season he took a leadership role and was named as a captain. He led the team to a 12-4-6 record, and the Cardinal made it to the third round of the NCAA tournament.

“I looked up to the previous captains, and that was just something I wanted to do,” Hughes said. “As I was coming up through Stanford I gained more and more of a leadership role each year, but being able to wear that leadership band was something very special.”

In 2022, Hughes had his best season on the field finishing with four goals and an assist and continuing his role as a defensive anchor, and his stellar play was recognized. He was named the PAC-12 Defensive Player of the Year, and an All-American, and he was a semi-finalists for the MAC Hermann trophy, the most prestigious individual award in collegiate soccer.

Hughes has not let this distract him though.

“There was a lot of outside recognition that came in this year, and I'm so grateful that all my hard work is recognized,” Hughes said. “It's important to not let that outside satisfaction make you happy though. Regardless of the awards, the most important thing is if I am proud of how I played.”

Hughes credits a lot of his personal success to the competition between his teammates in practice, and he attributes the team success to the camaraderie they have.

“It was an amazing group all four years. It was a different group all four years, but we were just so close and I think that's a testament to (coach Jeremy Gunn). He is always bringing in great guys who work hard and push each other on the field and are just cool human beings,” Hughes said. “There's some guys there who will be my best friends for the rest of my life."

While at Stanford, Hughes was able to balance his classwork and athletics, making the academic honor roll multiple times and earning Scholar Player of the Year. He even studies the game the same way he studies for his finals, something encouraged by Gunn.

“Coach Gunn used to always tell us there's a bunch of smart guys on our team, and our academics should translate onto the field. You got to study for a test the same way you study for team set pieces,” Hughes said. “Learning the game this way has definitely helped me grow as a player."

The feeling was mutual for Gunn. He noted the lasting impact Hughes left on those at Stanford through his leadership on and off the field.

“What an incredible honor and joy it was to coach Keegan," Gunn said. "Keegan is everything we hope for in a student-athlete. He is a tremendous young man with incredible values, and he is a special player who was ever present for us throughout his four years. We are really excited to watch Keegan continue to grow in his new environment and feel honored that we were part of his journey. We wish him all the best and thank him for everything he did for his teammates and program.”

Hughes now moves onto the next chapter in his life. He begins his career as a professional soccer player, something he has dreamed of being since he was 12 years old and first joined the Crew’s club teams.

“My family and I were just sitting on our hands waiting for the call, just hoping for the best, and when I finally found out, it was a dream come true,” Hughes said.

He signed a homegrown contract, which is only offered to players who spent time in the organization’s academy. Hughes spent six years playing for Columbus Crew teams.

“The academy helped me so much. It was a professional environment with some great teammates,” Hughes said.

This would be his pathway to the pros.

Growing up in Ohio as a fan of the Crew, Keegan Hughes looked up to players like Chad Marshall, a fellow Stanford graduate, Josh Williams and Jonathan Mensah.

“Training with the first team in high school and looking up to these guys so much, so many of them offered me advice when I was coming up with them, and now I get to share a locker room with them and compete everyday. It's surreal,” Hughes said.

For the time being, Hughes’s main goal is to “pick everyone’s brain and just be comfortable asking questions.”

For Hughes, playing for the Crew is about more than just soccer. While at Stanford he was across the country from his family and hometown community and now with the Crew he has the opportunity to play in front of them again.

“I am excited to come back home and be just 30 minutes away from my hometown and my family and friends, and a lot of them were already Crew fans but now I hope they have a reason to cheer a little louder,” he said.

He will be competing for a spot with fellow center backs Milos Degenek, Mensah and Williams for a place in the starting lineup.

“I’m just getting my feet wet in the pro environment,” Hughes said.

This article originally appeared on Newark Advocate: Crew next for Heath's Keegan Hughes after All-American run at Stanford