New Canaan Soccer Standout Ferrandino Headed To UConn

New Canaan High School soccer star Jon-Luke Ferrandino will attend the University of Connecticut in the fall and become a part of one of the most storied Division I soccer programs in the country.

Ferrandino pointed to UConn's tradition -- three national championships and 18 Big East titles -- as one reason he chose the Huskies.

He also considered Fairfield, St. John's, Central Florida and Rutgers before narrowing his decision down to Fairfield and UConn.

"Head coach (Ray) Reid, associate head coach (Tim) O’Donohue and the entire UConn soccer team players made me feel like part of the team during my official visit there in January," he said. "I know it will be a challenge to earn a starting position but I’m willing to put in the time and effort to give myself a shot.”

One of NCHS’s all-time leading scorers with 40 goals and 29 assists in his three-year high school career, Ferrandino led the Rams to the Class L state championship in his junior year after the team finished as the runner-up in his sophomore year.

The left-footed, attacking center midfielder scored 18 goals with five assists in his senior year in garnering All-State honors. He is also a two-time All-FCIAC recipient.

Ferrandino has had a remarkable youth soccer career outside of New Canaan as well. For the past five years he has journeyed five times per week to train and play for one of the top youth soccer clubs in the nation, New Jersey Soccer Academy, under the tutelage of renowned US Soccer Hall of Famer and current U-20 national team coach, Tab Ramos.

During that time, Ferrandino has led his teams to the New Jersey state championship, two national 3v3 soccer championship finals, and the US Region I championship finals.

Prior to his time in New Jersey, Ferrandino played for the Stamford Hurricanes, leading his team to the Connecticut State Cup finals; the Somers (N.Y.) Lasers, winning the Eastern New York State Cup championship; and Eastern FC as a member of its US Club Soccer National Championship team.

Italy’s 1st Division (Serie A) powerhouse AC Roma observed his skills and invited Ferrandino to train on two occasions with its youth teams. He also was invited to play with one of Italy’s top youth academies, Empoli FC.

Other personal soccer accolades include being selected into Connecticut’s Olympic Development Program (ODP), where he scored a goal in Connecticut's win against Bermuda’s National Youth Soccer team in Bermuda. He was also selected into US Youth Soccer’s US Region I ODP Player Pool and earned national team honors with the USL’s Super-Y program.

Ferrandino plans to major in sports management at UConn and pursue his soccer coaching licensing.

“There are a lot of great choices in choosing a college," Ferrandino added. "I was fortunate to have several options but in the end, UConn stands out. Academically, it’s one of the top public universities in the country and it offers a major in sports management."

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