RENE WHITE – Hawthorne Christian Academy class of ‘16 was drafted by Real Salt Lake in the Major League Soccer Super Draft.
HERIMMAN, UTAH (Thursday, January 21, 2021) – Real Salt Lake selected forward Rene White from the New Jersey Institute of Technology in the compensatory round of the 2021 MLS SuperDraft presented by adidas with the 84th overall pick.
Rene White was 1st Team All Division, 1st Team All County and 1st Team All State as a Sophomore, Junior and Senior while at Hawthorne Christian Academy. He was named the 2015 North Jersey Player of the Year. White shattered the team scoring record and led the Defenders to their first county title in any sport.
As a senior, he produced 31 goals and 14 assists, enough to earn him a third consecutive All-North Jersey selection. He finished his soccer career at HCA with 127 goals and 48 assists.
Rene was a student at HCA from 6th grade through 12th grade. He was also a youth coach at HCAs Defender Soccer Camp in the summers.
White went on to New Jersey Institute of Technology, where he was 4 year starter. He was named player of the year his senior year for ASUN conference and conference tournament. He helped the Highlanders earn their first ever berth in the NCAA men’s soccer tournament. He finished his career at NJIT as the leading scorer in school history and earned All American honors.
2016: One of three Highlanders to appear in all 18 matches, with 13 starts. … ranked second in the team in points (14) and goals (6). … two of his six goals were game-winners. … first collegiate goal was the game-winner in NJIT’s 1-0 victory over Manhattan on 8/31). … tallied first and second collegiate assists in the Highlanders 4-0 win over Rutgers on 10/18, added a goal and became 12th NJIT DI player to post 4 points in a game. … NJIT Male Athlete of the Week (9/6). … named to ASUN Conference all-freshman team. An injury cut short his 2017 season.
2018: ASUN Conference second team and ASUN All-Academic team. … White, who missed the 2017 season due to injury, bounced back in 2018, netting 11 goals which ranks third in the ASUN and tied for 23rd in the nation. His 24 points ranks fourth in the league. He scored the programs first hat trick in the Division I era, in a come-from-behind victory over Saint Francis U and scored at least one goal in nine of NJIT’s 17 matches. In two seasons at NJIT, White has recorded 16 goals, four assists and 36 points.
2019: United Soccer Coaches Scholar All-America Second-Team, United Soccer Coaches Scholar All-East Region. ... First-team All-Atlantic Region, ASUN Player of the Year, ASUN first-team, ASUN All-Tournament team, ASUN All-Academic team and selected to the All-ECAC team. … tops the records books as the NJIT Division I career goals (34) and points leader (74), NJIT D1 single season leader in goals (17) and ranks tied for fourth in the nation in goals. …White netted 17 goals in 19 NJIT matches this season, netting his second career hat trick in the Highlanders 5-0 shutout victory over Jacksonville to clinch to ASUN Conference regular season title – the first-ever ASUN title for an NJIT team at the Division I level. …The 6-foot striker scored a pair of goals in four matches, including a game-winner in overtime in NJIT’s 1-0 victory at VCU, for the programs first all-time win over the Rams. …He was selected ASUN Conference Player of the Week four times and College Soccer News National Team of the Week once.
