Former Syracuse forward Alex Halis will play for Grand Canyon University in Phoenix, Arizona this upcoming season following his transfer from SU, GCU head coach Schellas Hyndman said in a phone call Tuesday afternoon.

Halis left Syracuse after starting 22 of 38 games in his first two years under head coach Ian McIntyre, scoring 10 goals and assisting on three. This past season, he started the Orange’s final four games of the season — two in the conference tournament and two in the NCAA tournament — and scored three goals combined in games against Duke, Louisville and Georgetown.

Earlier this year, Halis declined to go into detail for the reason behind his transfer. “Whatever happened, happened,” Halis said via Twitter direct message in February. “I’m obviously not happy I left Syracuse and I’m leaving it at that.”

Grand Canyon first became a Division I team in the 2013-14 school year, joining the Western Athletic Conference. In the men’s soccer team’s two years in D-I, it has compiled a 9-26-4 record. Hyndman is entering his first year as head coach, having already amassed the sixth-most wins in NCAA Division I men’s soccer history (466) and garnering a Major League Soccer Coach of the Year Honor in 2010 after guiding FC Dallas to the MLS Cup final.

Hyndman said he recently saw Halis playing in Halis’ home country of Canada and was impressed, but had a thought Halis would want to play professionally in Greece. Hyndman told Halis to be wary of the financial risks of the move due to the current state of the Greek economy, he said, and for multiple reasons eventually lured him to GCU, where both will be entering their inaugural season.

Hyndman added that Halis was intrigued he’d be tasked with building a successful team from the ground up and not one that was already a proven national powerhouse. The head coach also said his former resume definitely came in handy when attracting the former SU forward to play for him.

Grand Canyon is building a 2,800 seat stadium on campus that will be used for the 2015 season. And now, Halis goes from starting on a team in the Sweet 16 to the newest member of one still trying to build an identity in Division I.