STANFORD, Calif. – Jordan Morris has made his decision. The 2015 MAC Hermann Trophy winner signed with the Seattle Sounders as a Homegrown Player on Thursday morning, becoming the fourth member of Stanford’s 2015 NCAA championship side to make the jump to America’s top domestic league.

“It's been my hometown club for a while,” Morris said in a press conference announcing his signing. “I've lived in Seattle for my whole life. I've followed this club in their USL days and in their MLS days as well. It's just a huge honor to be back here. I'm excited to be home and to get going.”

In a little over a month, Morris has won a NCAA title, announced his decision to turn pro, claimed the MAC Hermann Trophy, been called into camp with the USMNT and trained with German Bundesliga club Werder Bremen in Turkey.

Morris joins his hometown club following attempts from Bremen to entice the forward to begin his professional career abroad. On Jan. 5, the Stanford junior announced his intention to forgo his senior season on The Farm.

“It was a great experience, but I always knew I wanted to come home,” Morris said of his stint with Bremen. “My time over there was a good experience and a cool one, but it reaffirmed my belief that I wanted to play in my hometown, play in front of the 45,000 fans at CenturyLink and be around my family and be in my hometown.”

He is expected to join Seattle’s preseason after the conclusion of the USMNT camp in February. Waiting for him in Carson, Calif. is former Cardinal teammate and captain Brandon Vincent, who was one of four of head coach Jurgen Klinsmann’s additions to the roster on Jan. 8.

Morris and Vincent, who was taken with the fourth overall pick in the MLS SuperDraft by the Chicago Fire, are two of four Cardinal from the school’s NCAA title-winning team to link up with MLS clubs in the past week. Last Thursday, Eric Verso was selected by the Montreal Impact with the 34th overall selection and on Tuesday, Ty Thompson was tabbed to begin his professional career with San Jose when the Earthquakes grabbed the midfielder with the 69th overall pick.  

“At times, I'll say it was -- maybe frustrating is the wrong word -- but we certainly wanted to sign Jordan before today,” Seattle owner Adrian Hanauer said. “But Jordan made a commitment to Stanford University, his teammates and his coaches. Every six months, we tried to test that commitment and character, but he was steadfast in what he had committed to.”

Morris was named the Most Outstanding Player at the College Cup after leading the Cardinal to the program’s first NCAA title with a two-goal performance in the championship in December. Stanford routed Clemson, 4-0, extending the school’s streak of at least one NCAA team championship to 40 year (an ongoing record) while earning its 108th NCAA team title and 129th overall. Morris’ two goals were the first multi-goal effort for a player in a title game since 1997.

“I obviously appreciate that [Seattle] was interested in me after my freshman and sophomore years,” Morris added. “After my sophomore year I was considering [signing], but I had some unfinished business I wanted to accomplish. I feel I had a commitment to my teammates at Stanford to come back and try and help them win a national championship.”

The Pac-12 Player of the Year, Morris had a career-high 13 goals in 18 appearances for Stanford in 2015. In his final 14 games with the Cardinal, the junior had 12 goals, three assists and 27 points. He finished fifth in the country in game-winning goals (6), fifth in goals per game (0.72), seventh in total goals (13) and 12th in points per game (1.61).

Morris missed five collegiate matches this past season due to responsibilities with U.S. Soccer. He split time between the senior team, making six appearances with the MNT in 2015, while also earning 11 caps with the U-23s, scoring six goals and tallying four assists. With the USMNT, Morris scored against Mexico on April 15 and assisted on the game-winning goal against the Netherlands on June 5. His first senior cap came on Nov. 18, 2014 against Ireland in Dublin.

A Type 1 diabetic, Morris also lent his support to Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation’s (JDRF) “T1D Looks Like Me Campaign” for National Diabetes Awareness Month (NDAM) in November.