Isa Cruz

Just six hours after walking across the stage to receive his diploma, Tyler Huck ’26 ran onto the field at Fitzpatrick Stadium to start in a professional soccer game. In his first season playing for the Portland Hearts of Pine, Huck has made a name for himself and was quickly dubbed “the Bowdoin kid” around the club.

Bowdoin men’s soccer Head Coach Scott Wiercinski knew from day one that Huck was uber talented, paired with his determination to get better on and off the field.

“Sometimes guys with talent can rest and sort of rely on that talent, but he was a guy that always was asking what he could do better,” Wiercinski said. “Through the course of his career, there’s definitely been a lot of guys that have looked up to the way he operates, not just the way he plays.”

Huck’s accolades speak for themselves: 2022 NESCAC Rookie of the Year, 2025 NESCAC Player of the Year, three-time First Team All-NESCAC and a Division III All-American. Huck started in 71 games for the Polar Bears, scoring 34 goals and totaling 19 assists, both second in program history.

Wiercinski recalled discussing Huck’s soccer future with him as he entered his senior season at Bowdoin.

“I told him, ‘If you want to be a pro, you just need to focus on getting better.’ I think his day-to-day habits were just focused on improving, and that really gave him the launchpad to be ready to impress,” Wiercinski said. “I think it’s a real tribute to him that we didn’t talk about it often. It was just getting better, and it certainly has paid off for him.”

After his Polar Bear career ended last November with a 1–2 loss to Tufts University, Huck began more seriously exploring how to pursue his dreams of playing professionally. Through his Maine connections, he got in touch with the Hearts’ head coach and went from there.

“The Hearts, being so close, was the most enticing option,” Huck said. “I was on a one-week trial with everyone else already on the team. I was just there to play for a week, and then it turned into another week. Then I went on a trip with the team, and then a month later, I was on the team for good.”

Throughout last spring, Huck balanced a daily schedule of Hearts training in the morning and Bowdoin classes in the afternoon. Once the Hearts’ regular season started in March, Huck traveled to several away games, including one memorable match in May.

After attending his final Bowdoin class on a Wednesday night, Huck flew to Omaha, Neb., the next morning, accepting his Outstanding Male Athlete Award at the Polar Awards Ceremony via a prerecorded video.

Huck found out he was in the starting lineup the day of the game, and took full advantage of the opportunity. Just a few minutes into the match, he dribbled around a defender before striking the ball to the upper third of the goal, above the goalie’s outstretched glove.

“I think that was a big weight off my shoulders to get the first goal,” Huck said. “It made it [feel] like the sacrifice and the things I was missing were worth it, and a good reminder of why I was doing it.”

He’s not the first graduate of the men’s soccer team to go on to play professionally—Michael Webber ’23 went on to play a season in the Major League Soccer NEXT Pro league. Nevertheless, it’s not every day that an athlete from a small liberal arts college turns pro.

“It is fun talking with recruits who are interested in Bowdoin, that we can point to [Huck’s] story of a guy that did well here and has a future as a soccer player,” Wiercinski said. “I think most high schoolers would love their five-year plan to play pro, so it’s been nice to give them real actionable evidence to say it’s possible.”

All contracts in the USL League One are for one season, so Huck is riding out the rest of the season not knowing if he will be back in Portland next year. With just eight games remaining in the season, Huck hopes to continue making the most of every moment on the field.

“I want to take advantage of this opportunity and prove to the coaches that I can have a positive impact, not only for the end of this year, but for the future as well,” he said. “Because at the end of the day, we’re all playing for next year too.”