Oakland Roots announced they signed University of Virginia fullback Jesus De Vicente on Thursday.
Head coach Ryan Martin labeled De Vicente as a left back, which fills a primary position of need for Roots after using several different players at the position last year, including Panos Armenakas, Jurgen Damm, Julian Bravo, Baboucarr Njie, and Justin Rasmussen.
“We’ve had our eye on Jesús for some time,” Martin said. “I’ve admired him throughout his tremendous career at UVA, and when he trained with Oakland last summer, he really impressed our staff and players. He’s a left back who, in my opinion, is one of the best in the NCAA. His composure on the ball and the quality of his final action are elite. We’re excited to welcome him into the group.”
A native of Valencia, De Vicente’s journey to the USL Championship is a moment of triumph and perseverance for the Spaniard, who turns 25 on December 23.
He was a member of Torrent CF’s U19 squad in 2018 before making his way to the United States during the pandemic in August 2020 to attend West Virginia. He appeared in 10 games for the Mountaineers and recorded five assists during that time, but wound up leaving the Mountain State for Iowa Western Community College in Council Bluffs.
“He really just needed a reset,” Iowa Western coach Mike Brown said, via CavalierDaily.com. “I was happy to extend that lifeline.”
De Vicente helped lead the Reivers to the NJCAA Division I national title in 2021.
“One of the best decisions I’ve made in college soccer,” De Vicente said of attending Western Iowa. “I’ll be grateful for the rest of my life to Mike Brown.”
After two years at Western Iowa, he transferred back to the D1 ranks with the University of Illinois Chicago. At UIC in 2023, De Vicente was second in the nation with 11 assists. He used his success as a platform in the transfer portal, signing on with the University of Virginia in January 2025.
De Vicente and the Cavaliers finished their season 12-5-2 and reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament with the No. 4 seed. He started all 19 games and was second on the team in minutes with 1,646. He logged one goal and seven assists, 32 shots, and nine of them on target.
So what are Roots getting in De Vicente?
Evident by his college stats, De Vicente brings a clear presence as a passer. In this clip of Virginia playing North Carolina in the quarterfinals of the ACC tournament, De Vicente picks up his dribble around the midfield mark before making an inch-perfect crossfield pass to a Cavaliers’ forward for the goal.
He was a big part of the Cavaliers’ high-scoring 6-3 win over No. 1 ranked Wake Forest on September 25, logging two assists, and two shots on target out of four attempts. One of his most impressive plays from that game was on an assist for Virginia’s second goal. In the clip below, De Vicente takes a slick touch by a defender along the sideline, and cuts back in front of another defender before toeing a pass through to Virginia’s striker. It’s the type of play that certainly transaltes to the physical nature of the USL Championship.
He was also a corner specialist for Virginia, assisting their fourth goal on a well-place in-swinging corner. Roots tried several different people in the corner, including Armenakas, so perhaps he can make an impact there as well.
One more impressive pass that showed off his quick wit was against Clemson. In the reel below, De Vicente is played a pass out wide and instinctively plays a pass in behind on his first touch. It’s the type of intuitive pass that could take advantage of Peter Wilson speeding past the back line.
We’ll see how the depth chart shakes out come March, but given he’s among the only fullbacks on the roster alongside Keegan Tingey and Ilya Alekseev, it certainly looks like we can pencil in De Vicente as a starter.
Now with his first professional opportunity, perhaps Roots and Martin have identified a diamond in the rough.