Despite missing five games, Harry Cooksley led the Red Storm with 16 points (4 goals, 8 assists). (Photo courtesy of St. John’s SID)

QUEENS, N.Y. – St. John’s University midfielder Harry Cooksley has earned an invitation to next month’s MLS Player Combine at Orlando City Stadium.

The combine will take place from Jan. 11-17, ending just two days before the 2018 SuperDraft in Philadelphia Jan. 19.

A committee of MLS and Division I coaches selected 60 student-athletes that recently exhausted their collegiate eligibility to participate in the combine.

Six of the 60 participants in the combine just completed their careers at Big East schools, as Xavier University’s Cory Brown, Butler University’s Eric Dick, Georgetown University’s Chris Lema, Creighton University’s Lucas Stauffer and Providence College’s Mac Steeves also received invites.

The Big East midfielder of the year, Cooksley became the 13th St. John’s student-athlete all-time to earn an invitation to the combine and the first since Tim Parker was chosen in 2015. Parker, the only St. John’s player to be taken in the first round of the SuperDraft, was selected 13th overall that year by the Vancouver Whitecaps.

Cooksley, who was also named a first team All-Great Lakes Region selection by United Soccer Coaches, earned his invite after a brilliant senior season for the Red Storm. St. John’s registered its best campaign since 2013, going 9-7-3 with a 5-2-2 record in Big East play. The Red Storm’s league effort clinched the team’s best finish in the conference since 2009, as the Johnnies ended the regular season in third place behind Butler and Georgetown.

Despite missing five games with an injury in September, Cooksley still tied for the team lead in points with 16, tallying four goals and eight assists. His eight assists tied for the most by a St. John’s player since 2003, when Matt Groenwald dished out nine during a season that saw the Johnnies make their third appearance in the College Cup.

Cooksley recorded a goal and six assists in the team’s final five matches.

The London, England, native led the Big East in assists per game (0.57) and ranked third in the league with 3.36 shots per match. Nationally, Cooksley ranked 25th in assists.

Front Row Soccer editor Michael Lewis has covered 13 World Cups (eight men, five women), seven Olympics and 25 MLS Cups. He has written about New York City FC, New York Cosmos, the New York Red Bulls and both U.S. national teams for Newsday and has penned a soccer history column for the Guardian.com. Lewis, who has been honored by the Press Club of Long Island and National Soccer Coaches Association of America, is the former editor of BigAppleSoccer.com. He has written seven books about the beautiful game and has published ALIVE AND KICKING The incredible but true story of the Rochester Lancers. It is available at Amazon.com.