Around 2 years ago, me and my other lower league soccer enthusiast friend Steven were volunteering for local NPSL side Riverside Coras (now rebranded as Club Xolos USA) and had the idea of writing this list of pro players born/from the Inland Empire. Fast forward to now I decided to update the list because there is no justice claiming only 19 pro players came from the I.E. and yet as I’m typing this I’m sure someone will comment that I missed someone, which is not to discourage anyone as within time the list will only grow. The criteria for this list is not very formal and is subjective to opinion in some cases. In the effort of time I didn’t add players from the last article. The minimum requirement for the list goes as follows…
- Must have 1 appearance in a professional team as a starter or substitute.
- In the USA, a pro team plays in the following leagues: MLS, USL C (including second teams like LA Galaxy II), USL 1, NASL (original and modern), and NISA. For women it is the NWSL
- Made 1 appearance for their national team (If they didn’t play at a pro club)
Jalil Anibaba Fontana
Teams:
- Chicago Fire (MLS)
- Seattle Sounders (MLS)
- Sporting Kansas City (MLS)
- Houston Dynamo (MLS)
- New England Revolution (MLS)
- Nashville SC (USL C)
Aidan Apodaca Upland
Teams:
- Bethleham Steel (USL C)
- Reno 1868 (USL C)
*Kevin Ara Upland
Teams:
- DC United (MLS)
Brandon Beresford Loma Linda
Teams:
- Rochester Rhinos (USL C)
- Guyana National Team
Miles Byass Loma Linda
Teams:
- JIPPO (Finnish D2)
Caleb Calvert Wrightwood
Teams:
- Chivas USA (MLS)
- Colorado Rapids (MLS)
- Charlotte Independence (USL C)
- Saint Louis FC (USL C)
Aaron Cervantes Chino Hills
Teams:
- Orange County SC (USL C)
*Chuckwudi Chijindu Upland/Fontana
Teams:
- Chivas USA (MLS)
- Miami FC (USA D2)
- LA Blues (USA D2)
- Þór Akureyri (Iceland D2)
- Knattspyrnudeild Keflavík (Iceland D2)
*Joey DiGiamarino Corona
Teams:
- Colorado Rapids (MLS)
- Colorado Foxes (APSL)
- Metro Stars (MLS)
Makenzy Doniak Chino Hills
Teams:
- NC Courage (NWSL)
- Adelaide United (Australia D1)
- Utah Royals (NWSL)
*Cameron Dunn Alta Loma
Teams:
- California Victory (USL D1)
- Portland Timbers (MLS)
- LA Blues (USL Pro)
*Brian Dunseth Upland
Teams:
- New England Revolution (MLS)
- Miami Fusion (MLS)
- Columbus Crew (MLS)
- Dallas Burn (MLS)
- Bodens BK (Sweden Tier 4)
- Real Salt Lake (MLS)
Jamia Fields Alta Loma
Teams:
- Orlando Pride (NWSL)
- Arna-Bjørnar (Norway D1)
- Avaldsnes IL (Norway D1)
- Houston Dash (NWSL)
Marco Franco Chino Hills
Teams:
- Orange County Blues (USL Pro)
- Indy Eleven (NASL/USL C)
- Penn FC (USL C)
- Miami FC (NISA/USL C)
Eric Gonzalez Corona
Teams:
- Las Vegas Lights (USL C)
- Oakland Roots (NISA)
Iván Gutiérrez Riverside
Teams:
- C.D. Guadalajara Premier (Mexico D3)
- LA Galaxy II (USL C)
*Anthony Hamilton Redlands
Teams:
- Chivas USA (MLS)
- Rochester Rhinos (USL Pro)
- NSC Minnesota Stars (NASL)
Wade Hamilton Redlands/ Murrieta
Teams:
- Portland Timbers 2 (USL C)
- LA Galaxy 2 (USL C)
Harold Hanson Ontraio
Teams:
- Portland Timbers 2 (USL C)
- Portland Timbers (MLS)
Jorge Hernandez Riverside
Teams:
- LA Galaxy 2 (USL C)
*David Johnson Riverside
Teams:
- Puerto Rico Islanders (NASL)
Malcolm Jones Chino Hills
Teams:
- LA Galaxy 2 (USL C)
*Cle Kooiman Ontraio
Teams:
- C.F. Cobras de Ciudad Juarez (Ascenso MX)
- Cruz Azul (Liga MX)
- Tampa Bay Mutiny (MLS)
- Miami Fusion (MLS)
- USA National Team
Lo’eau Labonta Rancho Cucamonga
Teams:
- Sky Blue FC (NWSL)
- FC Kansas City (NWSL)
- Western Sydney Wanderers FC (Australia D1)
- Utah Royals FC (NWSL)
Diego Lopez Chino
Teams:
- Atlanta United 2 (USL C)
- Orange County SC (USL C)
Stephanie Malherbe Temecula
Teams:
- Djurgårdens IF Fotboll (Sweden D1)
- South Africa National Team
Trey Mitchell Upland
Teams:
- Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC (USL C)
Lee Nishanian Rancho Cucamonga
Teams:
- LA Galaxy II (USL C)
- Harrisburg City Islanders (USL C)
Juan Pablo Ocegueda Riverside
Teams:
- Tigres UANL (Liga MX)
- Alebrijes de Oaxaca (Ascenso MX)
- Orange County SC (USL C)
- California United Strikers FC (NISA)
- U-18 to U-23 U.S. National Team
Ifeoma Onumonu Rancho Cucamonga
Teams:
- Boston Breakers (NWSL)
- Portland Thorns FC (NWSL)
- OL Reign (NWSL)
Calvonis Prentice Riverside
Teams:
- Saint Kitts and Nevis National Team
Ally Prisock Fontana
Teams:
- Houston Dash (NWSL)
Adrián Ruelas Fontana
Teams:
- Santos Laguna (Liga MX)
- Chiapas F.C. (Liga MX)
Leonardo Sepulveda Corona
Teams:
- LA Galaxy II (USL C)
- Salamanca CF UDS (Segunda Division B Spain)
Josué Soto Perris
Teams:
- Cimarrones de Sonora (Ascenso MX)
- Austin Bold FC (USL C)
*Darren Spicer Upland
Teams:
- Brinkumer SV (German 5th Tier)
- Minnesota Thunder (USL D1)
- Charleston Battery (USL C)
- Rochester Rhinos (USL C)
Nathan Verela Moreno Valley
Teams:
- LA Galaxy II (USL C)
Kwame Watson-Siriboe Chino Hills
Teams:
- Chicago Fire (MLS)
- Tampa Bay Rowdies (NASL)
- Real Salt Lake (MLS)
- Orange County Blues (USL Pro)
- New York City FC (MLS)
- Carolina RailHawks (NASL)
- Indy Eleven (NASL)
- Kotkan Työväen Palloilijat (Finnish D2)
Tyler Wilson Chino Hills
Teams:
- Puerto Rico Islanders (NASL)
- Puerto Rico National Team
*Beverly Yanez Moreno Valley
Teams:
- Washington Freedom (WPS)
- Western New York Flash (WPS)
- PK-35 Vantaa (Finnish D1)
- INAC Kobe Leonessa (Japan D1)
- OL Reign (France D1)
- Melbourne City FC (Australia D1)
*Veronica Zepeda Cashman Corona/ Jurupa Valley
Teams:
- United States National Team
- Mexican National Team
Jonathan Suarez Fontana
Teams:
- Querétaro F.C. (Liga MX)
- Cimarrones de Sonora (Ascenso MX)
- Pumas UNAM (Liga MX)
Conor Brandt Temecula
Teams:
- NYCFC (MLS)
Mike Randolph Chino Hills
Teams:
- Portland Timbers (USL D1)
- LA Galaxy (MLS)
- Cal Victory (USL D1)
- Miami FC (USL D1)
- LA Blues (USL Pro)
- Atlanta Silverbacks FC (NASL)
*Erasmo Solorzano Riverside
Teams:
- Chivas USA (MLS)
Julio Rabadan Corona/Riverside
Teams:
- Real Sports Clube (Brazil state league)
Ricky Ruiz Lake Elsinore
Teams:
- LA Force (NISA)
- Chattanooga Red Wolves SC (USL 1)
Joey Ciochetto Temecula
Teams:
- Guam National Team
Aydan Bowers Murrieta
Teams:
- FC Helsingør (Danish 1st Division)
- California United Strikers (NISA)
*Player retired or no longer playing at professional level.