Kevin Alston shouldn’t feel pressure, but he does.

As a member of the 2009 class of Generation adidas players, Alston knows he has a guaranteed roster spot on a Major League Soccer club this season - the equivalent of the Golden ticket heading into the MLS SuperDraft on Jan. 15.

But Alston, a star left back who shined three seasons for the Indiana Hoosiers before turning professional, isn’t accepting any free passes. He arrived at the MLS Player Combine held Jan. 9-13 in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, with all the hunger of a player who had to sneak into the proceedings.

“I know that I may not have as much to worry about as some of the players here, but I still need to prove myself,” Alston said. “I came here focused and I’m taking this seriously. It’s just the way I am naturally as a competitor. I’m going to play the same way regardless of the situation.”

It’s the aforementioned attitude that fuels Alston’s success, and helps him to stand out while rubbing shoulders with other studs at the combine, including MAC Hermann Trophy winner Marcus Tracy, of Wake Forest, Sam Cronin (Wake Forest), Steve Zakuani (Akron), Jeremy Hall and Graham Zusi of Maryland and North Carolina’s Chris Salvaggione.

Following the combine, Alston will board a plane to St. Louis, the site of the draft, where he’ll learn where he’ll be spending his near future.

It’s the most important week of Alston’s soccer life and all he can think about is making an impact with his future MLS team.

“It’s exciting times - a big week. But for me the biggest week will be when the preseason starts,” Alston said. “I need to get off to a good start to show what I have. The start of camp is when you need to be at your best to prove yourself. I’ll be happy with any team, just to make it.”

Alston more than proved his worth during his junior season for the Hoosiers.

After a strenuous summer of workouts, he entered this past college season with the intent of asserting himself more offensively and leading his team to new heights.

He wasted little time, scoring the first goal of the year for Indiana – one of his three during the season – on his way to guiding a backline that recorded 10 shutouts for the year.

Indiana advanced to the NCAA quarterfinals where it suffered a tough luck defeat to St. John 3-2 in overtime.

Now the Hoosiers must cope with another impactful loss.

“I have mixed feelings about him moving on,” said Indiana coach Mike Freitag. “Selfishly I would love to have him back, but I’m also very happy for him. He has so much God given talent with his speed and quickness, but the main thing is he’s a tough kid. He’s a tenacious defender – I would hate to play against him because he’s on you for 90 minutes. You think you’re by him and you’re not. He was an outstanding addition to our program.”

The decision to forgo his final year at Indiana was a difficult one for Alston as well.

“It was a good opportunity that was hard for me to pass up. If you get the interest you can be drafted early but you can also still work to complete school as part of the Generation adidas program,” Alston said. “I had a good three years at Indiana and I felt like I was ready. When it comes to my professional career I think this was the best decision.”