Futagaki Dumps SMU for UCLA

Fountain Valley midfielder Ryan Futagaki, who earlier gave an oral commitment to Southern Methodist, said Sunday he will attend UCLA on a soccer scholarship. Futagaki, rated as one of the top 22 boys’ soccer recruits in the nation by USA Today, said he wanted to stay close to home.

“I did it mostly for my dad,” said Futagaki, a first team Times all-county selection last year. “He’s disabled and this way, he’d be able to see every single one of my games. My goal was to go to UCLA as a kid and now it’s come true. I’m really stoked.”

Futagaki, a member of the under-20 national team, said he initially committed to SMU because UCLA was not offering enough of a scholarship.

“The SMU coach took it fine,” he said. “He understood about being close to home and about the deal UCLA offered me.”