Reshaun Walkes has taken the road less travelled, but in the end, it has led him to be selected by Toronto FC in the third round of the 2022 MLS Super Draft. A dream come true for a local kid.
Five years ago, the young attacker was highly recruited going into his senior year of high school, but somehow despite all the talent in the world, he didn't end playing south of the border.
That's about the time Sheridan College's Head Coach Andrew Seuradge gave him a call, and it wasn't long before he was suiting up in the Bruins double-blue kit and slicing apart OCAA defences. Seuradge (or "Sticks" as he's known to his players) has been active in the Western GTA for years and was familiar with Reshaun from Walkes' time at Erin Mills Soccer Club as a youth player.
In recent memory, he's seen LA Galaxy winger Raheem Edwards and Hamilton Forge attacker Mo Babouli play on the turf at the Trafalgar campus stadium before they too went on to play at TFC so he knows a thing or two about identifying local talent.
When Walkes joined Sheridan, his coach knew he had a special player on his hands, "His game IQ is really impressive," says Seuradge. "He's tricky, he finds open spaces, and his movement off the ball is incredible, he's the kind of guy that if a defender takes an eye off him for a split second, he's gone towards goal, and then he can make something from nothing."
Walkes played just one season with the Bruins before moving on to Lewis and Clarke College in Illinois, but he left quite an impact on his coach that year.
Looking back fondly, Sticks recalls, "We had a playoff game against Cambrian College, and I told him before the game that we want to hit them early, and he went out and scored in the first 40 seconds. Then he got another one a few minutes later, putting the game out of reach nice and early. That's how dangerous he is!"
That season, he managed to smash in 5 goals in 9 games, but an injury would cut his season short, and the Bruins were eliminated.
Then he was off.
First, he went to Lewis and Clark Junior College, where he scored 27 goals over two seasons, winning All-American honours along the way. After that, Walkes transferred to the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, where he played two seasons for the Vaqueros, scoring 14 goals and chipping in 7 assists over 25 games.
This past summer Reshaun found time to make his way to Des Moines, Iowa, playing in the USL Two, where he featured as a defender and a winger before he finally made his way to his natural position up front where he does his best work. His willingness to wait for his opening and then grasp an opportunity with both hands helped his squad win the league championship.
"He's got the right attitude," according to Seuradge, who believes Reshaun can impress if he's just given the chance.
Humble and hardworking. With an eye for goal and a willingness to work at his craft. Where many would have given up, he has persevered. That's the kind of player TFC drafted.