Wisconsin Soccer Central

After spending the past four years with the Rochester Rhinos, J.C. Banks (Milwaukee Riverside/UW-Green Bay) will remain in the Midwest to continue the outdoor portion of his professional soccer career.

The 25-year-old forward signed with Minnesota United FC of the North American Soccer League, the club announced Thursday. The NASL is officially designated as the second division for the U.S. and Canada; Major League Soccer is the first division, while USL PRO – which includes the Rhinos – is the third division.

"J.C. is at a great age to join our roster and he is excited to continue to improve as a player," Minnesota United coach Manny Lagos (UW-Milwaukee) said in a news release. "He's excelled with his Rochester team and is a player who possesses strong technical ability, good speed and a good sense of the game. We see a lot of qualities that we like."

Banks, who is in his second season playing indoors for the Milwaukee Wave, was a second-team All-USL PRO selection this year after scoring nine goals (10th in the league) and adding three assists in 25 appearances. He was Rochester's Rookie of the Year in 2011, team MVP in both 2012 and '14, made the All-USL PRO first team in 2012 and finished his Rhinos career with 17 goals and 17 assists in league play.

Minnesota United had the best overall record in the NASL in 2014, going 16-4-7 – the league is split into spring and fall seasons – but were upset by the Fort Lauderdale Strikers in the championship semifinals. The Strikers scored in second half stoppage time to pull out a 1-1 draw, then advanced 5-4 on penalty kicks.

On Twitter: @jcbanks11

• Laurie Bell (UW-Milwaukee) was among the 55 NCAA Division I college seniors on the initial list of players invited to participate in the Major League Soccer Player Combine, which is Jan. 8 to 13 in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. The 22-year-old Bell had three goals and three assists in 18 games as a senior, and finished his college career with 26 goals and 15 assists in 70 appearances (69 starts) for the Panthers – he was a National Soccer Coaches Association of America first-team All-American as a junior in 2013. (View full initial list of invitees) On Twitter: @LBellBell
• The Wave made some roster moves this week, signing veteran goalkeeper Jeff Richey and rookie forward Connor Brehm (Racine St. Catherine's) and placing keeper Marcel Feenstra on season-ending injured reserve. Richey, 36, played for the Milwaukee Rampage and Milwaukee Wave United outdoors in the USL A-League and has spent time with the Wave, Chicago Storm, Rockford Rampage, Chicago Riot, Chicago Soul and St. Louis Ambush during his indoor career. A former member of the U.S. Futsal national team, Richey replaces Feenstra, who suffered a torn ACL and MCL in his knee during Milwaukee's 4-0 win over the Detroit Waza Flo on Nov. 22. Brehm, who closed out his college career at NCAA Division II Bellarmine (Ky.) in fall 2013, had a brief spell in Europe in the fall with Belfast club Police Service of Northern Ireland FC – known as PSNI – in the second-tier Northern Ireland Football League Championship 1. "Connor has been training with the Wave for the past few months and we like the progress we've seen," coach Giuliano Oliviero said in a news release. "He has an outstanding work ethic and will be a big part of the team." Milwaukee (4-2) plays at the Baltimore Blast (4-0) in Major Arena Soccer League action Friday and Saturday. Brehm on Twitter: @YouMeAndKG