Auston Trusty no longer on North Carolina roster

Philadelphia Union homegrown prospect Auston Trusty may not be going to college, after all.

The North Carolina commit who had been listed on the Tar Heels roster as an incoming freshman (assigned the No. 2 shirt) since it was updated earlier this summer is no longer on the roster on the team’s website.

Anyone who has tracked the Media native’s progress through the Philadelphia Union’s system will not be surprised by this news.

Trusty’s play on the back line for Bethlehem Steel FC as an amateur – he put in another outstanding shift on Sunday – and his recent performance for Brad Friedel’s U.S. U19 team at COTIF tournament in Spain had called into question whether he would report to Chapel Hill.

If this is in fact a sign that he’s putting college on hold, there are four possibilities:

Even without him in the lineup, North Carolina’s connection to the Union organization will still be strong this season with freshman midfielder Jack Skahan, who played with Trusty on the U16 team in 2014-15, and second-year players Sean Wilson and Will Campbell on Carlos Somoano’s squad, which came in No. 8 in the preseason coach’s poll.

Mechanicsburg native Colton Storm, a senior midfielder/defender who spent time in the Union youth system prior to the launch of the full-time academy and school, adds to the local flavor of the ACC power.

Other incoming freshman on the Tar Heels roster include Chicago Fire prospects Cam Lindley and Mauricio Pineda, FC Dallas prospect Giovanni Montesdeoca and Orlando City prospect Nathaniel Adamolekun.