ROHNERT PARK, Calif-  Sonoma State's Ross Middlemiss will continue his playing career this summer with TSG Thannhausen, a club in the German province of Bayern, about 40 miles west of Munich.  Middlemiss led the CCAA in scoring this year with 18 goals and 45 points on his way to First Team All-American honors.  He was also a First Team Academic All-American.

Said Middlemiss, "I'm enormously excited to have this opportunity.  I'm hoping to make an impact over my year-long contract and hopefully catch the interest of a higher professional team.  Either way it will be a great experience, one that will hopefully continue my individual development as a player."

His head coach, Marcus Ziemer, commented, "Ross is a great story.  He worked extremely hard to become the player that is now.  He didn't play much his first two years, but he kept a positive attitude and kept asking what he needed to do to improve."

Middlemiss' hard work paid off in 2009 when he busted out for 18 goals, the third-highest total in school history.  He led the Seawolves to a CCAA Championship and was named the conference's Most Valuable Offensive Player.

TSG Thannhausen currently plays in the Bayernliga, a fifth division club in the German soccer system.  This would be similar to a baseball player playing in Single-A.  If he plays well, he would have the opportunity to move up to a higher league.  The top German league is the Bundesliga, which consists of top clubs such as Bayern Munich, a Champions League quarter-finalist in 2009.