San Jose Earthquakes sign MLS SuperDraft selection defender Kip Colvey

With the March 1 roster compliance deadline in the past, the San Jose Earthquakes have yet to officially announce any changes to their roster, most notably the three players that will carry Designated Player labels to start the 2016 regular season. All that is known is that head coach Dominic Kinnear claimed ahead of the deadline that "we're going to be fine."

The Earthquakes did make one move recently, waiving third-year midfielder JJ Koval, who Kinnear called a victim of "a numbers game." The cut allowed the team to open up one spot on its roster, and a report by The AfterShock podcast host Colin Etnire on Wednesday said that MLS SuperDraft third round selection Kip Colvey will fill it.

I can confirm that Kip Colvey is going to be on the @SJEarthquakes roster this year #Quakes74

— Colin Etnire (@ColinEtnire) March 2, 2016

On Friday morning, the Quakes confirmed the signing of the 21-year-old defender. Colvey joins Generation Adidas signing Andrew Tarbell as the only two rookie signings by San Jose ahead of the 2016 season. Tyler Thompson, a rookie hopeful out of Stanford and brother of current Earthquakes midfielder Tommy Thompson, did not make the team out of preseason,

Colvey, who is projected as a left and right back for the Earthquakes, played collegiately at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo and looked very sharp during preseason. He impressed coaches with his versatility on defense -- an attribute that portends opportunities to get minutes in his rookie season -- and provides cover for outside backs Shaun Francis and Marvel Wynne. In San Jose's penultimate preseason game, a 4-0 victory over SF City FC, Colvey played at fullback for the full 90 minutes.

"He had a very good preseason and played well against all different levels of competition we faced," said Earthquakes head coach Dominic Kinnear in a club statement. "He showed his versatility by playing on both sides of the field and deserves to be here."

The 21-year-old was a four-year starter at Cal Poly, and in 2011 featured for his native New Zealand in the FIFA U-17 World Cup. Colvey has joint U.S./New Zealand citizenship and will not count as an International Player on the Earthquakes roster.

"Kip is very versatile, capable of playing on the left or right side," said Earthquakes general manager John Doyle in a club statement. "He possesses good technical skill and we're looking forward to what he can do."

San Jose Earthquakes 2016 Roster

(Projected 28 of 28 spots filled)

Goalkeeper (3): David Bingham, Bryan Meredith, Andrew Tarbell (GA)
Defender (7): Victor Bernardez, Kip Colvey, Shaun Francis, Clarence Goodson, Andres Imperiale (INT'L), Matheus Silva (INT'L), Jordan Stewart, Marvell Wynne
Midfielder (9): Fatai Alashe, Cordell Cato, Simon Dawkins (DP, INT'L), Anibal Godoy (INT'L), Sanna Nyassi, Marc Pelosi, Matias Perez Garcia (DP, INT'L), Alberto Quintero (INT'L), Shea Salinas
Forward (8): Quincy Amarikwa, Chad Barrett, Innocent Emeghara (DP, INT'L), Adam Jahn, Steven Lenhart, Mark Sherrod, Tommy Thompson (HG), Chris Wondolowski (DP)