Wisconsin Soccer Central

Tony Walls (Wauwatosa East) and JC Banks (Milwaukee Riverside) grew up just blocks away from one another. They starred together at UW-Green Bay. And over the winter, they joined the Milwaukee Wave of the Major Indoor Soccer League.

The longtime friends will continue to be teammates in the outdoor professional game, as Walls signed with the Rochester Rhinos of USL PRO on Tuesday. Banks is heading into his fourth season with the third-division club.

Walls, 24, didn't play professionally outdoors last year after being waived by Major League Soccer's Chicago Fire in February 2013.

The defender was picked by the Fire in the 2012 MLS Supplemental Draft and played in 10 of the team's 12 Reserve League matches that year, in addition to a U.S. Open Cup game and friendlies against England's Aston Villa and Mexico's Santos Laguna.

Walls was named to the MISL All-Rookie Team last month after playing in 21 of the team's 23 games, recording four goals and six assists.

Rochester opens its season on Saturday on the road against reigning league champion Orlando City, which will move to MLS in 2015. All USL PRO matches this season will be streamed live on YouTube and NSCAA.tv.

On Twitter: @TWalls20

• Banks, who had eight goals and two assists for the Wave, set up the lone goal in the Rhinos' 1-0 victory over Cornell on March 23 and scored in a 3-0 win over the Montreal Impact Reserves on Saturday in Rochester's preseason finale. On Twitter: @jcbanks11