As a teenager, Yi was a member of Under-17 national team, and as such was part of the inaugural class of the USSF's Bradenton Academy, along with other players such as Landon Donovan, DaMarcus Beasley, and Oguchi Onyewu.

[1] Upon graduating, he matriculated to UCLA, where he played college soccer in 2000 and 2001, where he started in 41 games and was named a third team All-American as a sophomore.

Following his sophomore year Yi left UCLA to pursue a professional career in Europe; he signed with Royal Antwerp of the Belgian First Division, a feeder club of Manchester United, before the start of the 2002–03 season.

His father, Kyom Yi, played for the South Korean national team at the youth level.

He struggled with injury and decided to head back to school, applying to UCLA.