Rodriguez was drafted by the San Jose Earthquakes in the first round of the 2005 Major League Soccer Supplemental Draft and the defender from Saratoga has won a spot on the 28-man roster that will open the season at Spartan Stadium on April 2 against the New England Revolution.

"I am so proud of Brett," said Creighton head soccer coach Bob Warming in a press release from the university. "He had a great career at Creighton and a wonderful senior year. His talent, determination to get better at parts of his game, and his amazing athletic ability will serve him well at the next level."

Rodriguez, a 21-year-old Saratoga native, was a starting defender in each of his four seasons at Creighton University in Nebraska. Starting all 20 games as a senior, he helped the Bluejays to their 14-4-2 season and was named to the National Soccer Coaches Association of America first-team all-Midwest Region, first-team all-Missouri Valley Conference, first-team CoSIDA Academic All-District VII and honorable mention academic all-MVC.

His strong defensive play in his junior year helped Creighton to a 19th place rank in the NCAA. He also helped the team to the NCAA College Cup in the 2002 season.

"Brett is a tremendous person and I will miss having him on the team and on the road with us," said Warming. "His rise from our first recruited walk-on upon my return to Creighton (in 2001), to a scholarship player, to an indispensable player on our defense was wonderful to witness and a credit to his persistence, character and intelligence. San Jose got a good one."

Rodriguez will be joining Julian Nash, also from Creighton, in the MLS this season. This marks the first time since 2000 that CU has sent more than one player to the MLS draft. And they are the only team in the NCAA to have at least one player drafted in every year of MLS existence.

Both Rodriguez and Nash are completing their course work toward graduation over the Internet this semester.

This year, the MLS decided to incorporate more players onto each team's roster, expanding the number to 28.

The San Jose Earthquakes added four players to their roster this year during the Supplemental Draft. Each of the four players have ties to the Bay Area like Rodriguez, who played soccer at Bellarmine. The Quakes also picked up Robby Fulton, the goalkeeper from Stanford University, along with Berkeley defender Noah Merl and Chico State midfielder Chris Wondolowski. Both Wondolowski and Merl attended De La Salle High School in Concord.

"These are four players we have had our eyes on who are either from the Bay Area or play locally," said Earthquake's head coach Dominic Kinnear in a press release. "Three of them were at our local combine and impressed the coaching staff, while Noah Merl has impressed us throughout his four years at Cal."

Currently the Quakes are in Charleston, S.C., participating in the Carolina Challenge Cup. The tournament will continue through March 26.

Earthquakes rally

Fans of the San Jose Earthquakes will have the opportunity to meet and greet the players and coaches of the 2005 team at a Meet The Quakes Rally on March 31, 5 p.m., in the Plaza de Cesar Chavez in San Jose. Quakes play-by-play announcer John Shrader will emcee the event that is jointly sponsored by the Earthquakes, Soccer Silicon Valley and the San Jose Sports Authority.