Íñigo Villaldea

From the Mareo academy to NCAA Division I, with three universities, a conference title, an NCAA tournament run and several academic honors. Íñigo Villaldea, a soccer player from Gijón, shows what a soccer scholarship in the United States can offer: competing at the highest college level, earning a degree and coming home to keep playing at the national level. Today he wears the shirt of Marino de Luanco, in Segunda Federación.

The start of the journey: Mareo. Íñigo grew up as a player in the Mareo Soccer School, the academy of Real Sporting de Gijón and one of the best known in Spain. In his last season there he scored 9 goals and added 3 assists in 16 starts, and his team finished league runner-up in each of his last two campaigns. With that résumé he could have followed the usual path of Spanish soccer. He chose another: studying and playing soccer in the United States.

San Diego State: an Asturian among the best of the Pac-12. In 2020 he signed with San Diego State University, in NCAA Division I and the Pac-12. His coach, Ryan Hopkins, presented him as a perfect fit for his style of play and highlighted his professional attitude day to day. He started from his first year: 8 matches, 2 goals, 2 assists and All-Pac-12 Honorable Mention.

In his second year he took the leap: 13 starts, the team's top assist provider, All-Pac-12 First Team and All-Region Second Team for the Far West, the first Aztec with that recognition since 2016. His coach then described him as “one of the best box-to-box midfielders on the West Coast.” In his third year he started all 11 matches, with 5 goals and 4 assists. In the classroom, at the same level: he studied Social Sciences, made the Pac-12 Honor Roll in 2021 and 2022 and the Academic All-District team in 2022.

Bryant University: America East champion and NCAA tournament. For his final undergraduate year he moved to the East Coast, to Bryant University (Rhode Island). It was his best season: 19 matches, all as a starter, 7 goals and 5 assists. Bryant finished 16-2-2 and won the America East title. Íñigo scored in the semifinal against Binghamton, played all 97 minutes of the final, won in the second overtime against New Hampshire (then ranked number 10 in the country), and all 90 minutes of the NCAA tournament first-round match against Yale. He made the all-tournament team and the All-Northeast Region Second Team.

University of San Diego: a master's degree and another title. He had one year of eligibility left and used it as a graduate transfer, studying for a master's while he kept competing. He returned to San Diego, this time to the University of San Diego, in the West Coast Conference. In his debut, against Santa Clara in October 2024, he scored the 1-0 with two seconds left before halftime, with the Toreros already among the top ten in the country. The team closed the season as WCC champions for the third year in a row.

Back home: Marino de Luanco. In the summer of 2025 he returned to Asturias and signed for Marino de Luanco, in Segunda Federación. In his first season he played 25 matches, 22 of them as a starter, and scored 2 goals. The club has also counted on him for the 2026-27 season.

Achievements and career

• ⚽ Trained at the Mareo Soccer School, the academy of Real Sporting de Gijón.
• ⭐ All-Pac-12 First Team and All-Region Second Team (Far West) with San Diego State, the first Aztec with that recognition since 2016.
• 🏆 America East champion with Bryant (16-2-2) and NCAA tournament participation.
• 🌟 America East all-tournament team and All-Northeast Region Second Team.
• 📚 Pac-12 Honor Roll (2021 and 2022), Academic All-District (2022) and a master's degree at the University of San Diego.
• 🏆 WCC champion with the San Diego Toreros.
• ⚽ Midfielder for Marino de Luanco (Segunda Federación): 25 matches in his first season.

Íñigo's story holds three lessons. The United States is not a pause in a sports career: he competed in Division I, won titles and came back to play at the national level. Changing universities is a tool, not a failure: each stage gave him something different, whether a leading role in the Pac-12, a title at Bryant or a master's degree in San Diego. Academic performance opens as many doors as goals do. His path resembles that of other legends of ours, such as Adrián Fernández, Pac-12 champion with Oregon State.