College players train with Minnesota United as a way to stay fit, be scouted

Just some quick practice updates for y'all this fine Wednesday (apologies for my shoddy iPhone photo).

Just midfielder Ibson and playmaker Darwin Quintero were missing from the session at the National Sports Center. Forward Abu Danladi has taken part the past two days, but coach Adrian Heath said Tuesday he's not 100 percent and ready to play. Right back Tyrone Mears has also been joining in since last week and was bumped up to questionable on the injury report with his calf/Achilles injury.

The three college kids training with United are Grant Stoneman, a center back from Loyola-Chicago, Johan DePicker, center back from Southern Illinois-Edwardsville, and John Hollinger, goalkeeper out of Palm Beach Atlantic and Canisius College.

Stoneman, 6-1, from Illinois, is coming off his redshirt junior year at Loyola-Chicago after spending his first two seasons at Wisconsin. He was a second-team All-American in 2016. He also made his all-conference team this past season when he played every minute.

DePicker, 6-4, 160 pounds from Belgium, is entering his senior year at Southern Illinois-Edwardsville. He played his first two collegiate years at Old Dominion. This most recent season, he played in all 18 games with 16 starts.

Hollinger, 6-feet, 175 pounds from Virginia, spent four years at Canisius before grad-transferring to Palm Beach Atlantic. He played only four career games at Canisius and two at his next school.

These guys just train with pro squads as a way to keep in shape throughout the summer, but it is also a chance for United to scout potential draft picks. That's how it was with Carter Manley, at least, who trained with the Loons for a few weeks last summer and is now on the roster.