January 5, 2024 – Major League Soccer (MLS) – Real Salt Lake News Release
HERRIMAN, Utah – Real Salt Lake have signed DF Derrick “Tommy” Silva to a Homegrown contract through the 2027 season. The soon-to-be 22-year-old Tucson native (who prefers to go by Tommy) has been a highly-decorated collegiate player at UCLA and will look to compete for his spot along Pablo Mastroeni’s backline.
Silva is a Major League Soccer-high 37th Homegrown signing for Real Salt Lake, dating back to Donnie Toia’s 2011 commitment.
“I am so excited to join Real Salt Lake,” said Silva, who turns 22 on Feb. 21 of this year, when RSL opens at Inter Miami FC in the 2024 MLS Season Kickoff against Lionel Messi & Co.. “I moved to Utah to join the Academy when I was 15 years old and my dream since then has been to play with the first team. I truly am a fan of this Club and its values of hard work, unity, and belief. Every player has a different path and mine took me to UCLA, where I grew and developed so so much, and now I get to rejoin RSL with a new depth and breadth of knowledge and experiences. I’m grateful for everything RSL has already given me and I’m going to give my very best for this club.”
As a member of the Bruins, Silva featured in every match that UCLA played during the last four years, recording 23 assists through 69 appearances. The most recent 2023 season marked a banner year for the 21-year-old left back, as he not only led his side to the elite program’s first Pac-12 Championship since 2014, he was also selected to the United Soccer Coaches All-Far West Region Second Team and was named the 2023 Pac-12 Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
“I’ve had a chance to train under Pablo the past few summers,” continued Silva, en route to the MLS Rookie Symposium this weekend. “I have been very impressed with his leadership and character, and it’s clear that the toughness and determination from his playing days have been transmitted onto the field through the way his teams play. I’m excited for the chance to learn from him and the whole staff, and I expect to improve as a player because I share the passion that he has for soccer. I think RSL has a lot of success coming in 2024. The consistency of the team over the past few years is a tribute to the experience and talent that the club has as a whole right now, and I think the trajectory of the team is only going up.”
Prior to embarking on his college career, Silva was a featured part of the RSL Academy setup in both the Casa Grande,…
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