The Recruiting trail heats up

Based on early indications Duke, Indiana, North Carolina, Maryland, UCLA, St. John's, Wake Forest, SMU and Notre Dame are among the schools that are landing bumper recruiting classes in 2005.

Keep in mind that in many cases schools have not yet formally announced their recruits so efforts to list all the recruits by school or to rank the classes at this point in time are a bit premature. Given all of that the following is just a little preview from a cross section of schools.

New Mexico -

You have to like the impact that Jeremy Fishbein has made in just three years as the Lobo head coach. With a 17-1-2 overall record in 2004 including a 9-0-0 mark at home the Lobos gained a lot of RESPECT on the national scene.

Fishbein's 2005 recruiting class will include a solid core of players with a ton of very competitive club experience. Defender Jason Aul out of Plano West High School and the Dallas Texans club team, forward Jack Smithson out of Hinsdale Central and the Chicago Magic FC, and midfielders Brandon Barklage out of Christian Brothers High School and Scott Gallagher Soccer Club, Mike Giffin out of Burling Central and the Chicago Sockers club team, and Chris Wright from Sacramento, California out of Jesuit High School are headed to Albuquerque.

Clemson -

Tiger head coach Trevor Adair is a competitor and a motivator. During the ten years that Adair has been at Clemson the Tigers have earned seven NCAA Tournament berths. With a 8-9-1 overall mark that included a 2-5-0 record in ACC play the 2004 season was one of the few years that the Tigers did not go dancing.

The 2005 recruiting class may offer help. Forward Dane Richards who was a Junior College All-American and the NSCAA Division I Junior College Player of the year has the potential to make an immediate impact as does NSCAA High School All-American midfielder David Newton out of Wando High School in Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina. Forward Bryson Moore out of Madison Central High School and the Jackson Futbol Club and defender Parker Rogers from the Aiken Fire Soccer Club are among other recruits who will seek to put a little more octane in the Tiger attack in 2005.

South Florida -

George Kiefer came to South Florida in 2002 with a reputation for having a keen eye for top talent and the ability to recruit. Kiefer lived up to expectations in 2004 when he attracted to Tampa one of the top recruiting classes in the nation. Kiefer appears set to land a very good class again in 2005.

U.S. U-17 National team midfielder/defender Blake Wagner from Tampa, NSCAA High School All-American, forward Jordan Seabrook out of North Central High School in Indianapolis Indiana, defender Bobby Durham from Florida out of the Weston Soccer Club and striker Alex Muniz out of Bloomingdale High School and the Brandon Flames Soccer Club are among those who have indicated that they will play for Kiefer in 2005.

Boston University -

The Terriers won the America East title in 2004 and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament to finish the year with a 10-8-3 overall record. Head coach Neil Roberts and Associate head coach Andy Fleming annually do a good job on the recruiting trail despite some pretty heavy competition.

Zach Bauer from St. Charles, Missouri out of Christian Brothers College High School is a prime timer who is among those headed to B.U. in 2005. Bauer was named the Defensive Player of the Year in Missouri and played club soccer for the very competitive Scott Gallagher Soccer Club. Others who appear destined to be future Terriers include goalkeeper Joe Cullaro out of the FC Westchester Soccer Club, midfielder Neil Hlavaty from Lombard, Illinois out of the Sockers F.C. and forward Dan Schultz from Cncinnati, Ohio out of Seven Hills High School and the Javanon Soccer Club.

St. Louis -

The jury is still out so to speak on how Dan Donigan's 2005 recruiting class will compare with the talented classes the Billikens have attracted in the past. It will be a good class but just how good is still open for debate. The Billikens did not receive an NCAA Tourney berth in 2004 which is something that has not happened very often in the storied history of the program.

The 2005 recruiting class will include midfielder Chad Hagerty from St. Xavier High School in Louisville, Kentucky, forward Denaldin "Dado" Hamzagic out of Mehlville High School and the Busch Soccer Club, midfielder Eric Sweetin out of Rockhurst High School and the KC Alliance, and midfielder/defender Larry Geraghty from Newark, New Jersey. Hamzagic and Sweetin were the Co-Offensive Players of the Year in the State of Missouri. The new recruiting class will join a St. Louis squad that will move from Conference USA to the Atlantic 10 Conference in 2005.

Virginia -

The Cavaliers always attract a talented recruiting class. Expectations are always high in Charlottesville and George Gelnovatch annually faces the challenge of merging a ton of individual talent into a team. Not a bad problem to have. The Cavaliers do have some gaps to fill going into 2005 due to graduation and the decision of back Hunter Freeman to depart early to enter the professional ranks.

Virginia's 2005 recruiting class includes goalkeeper Michael Giallombardo who has U.S. U-17 National Team and a ton of competitive ODP experience. Giallombardo who is from Manalapan, New Jersey played high school soccer at Christian Brother Academy and club soccer for the PDA Conquistadors. Defenders Bobby Rogers out of the Reston FC and Bakary Soumare out of La Salle Academy in New York are both talented backs and both will have the opportunity to make an immediate impact at Virginia. Before it is all said and done the Cavaliers will have a very balanced class.

Stanford -

What comes up most go down. In the case of Stanford the question is just how long will it be before they rebound. After advancing to the College Cup in 2001 and 2002 the Cardinal failed to earn NCAA Tourney berths in the 2003 and 2004 seasons. Stanford was 3-15-2 overall in 2003 and 7-6-5 overall in 2004. Whether or not the 2005 recruiting class will be able to give the Cardinal the extra spark that they need to get back into the Pac 10 race and the NCAA Tourney remains to be seen.

What is clear though is that Stanford mentor Bret Simon has a winning track record and knows what it takes to play at the highest level so it is highly likely that he will attract the talent needed for the Cardinal to get back into the national hunt. Stanford's 2005 recruiting class includes a group of players with very competitive club experience. Midfielder T.J. Novak out of Rockwood Summit High School in Missouri was a 2004 NSCAA High School All-American and the Class 3 Player of the Year in Missouri.

Novak played club soccer for the highly competitive Scott Gallagher Soccer Club. Defenders Michael Alexander out of the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida and Tim Jones who played club soccer with the highly successful AFC Lightning and goalkeeper Brent Stewart out of the Dallas Texans Soccer Club are among the new recruits in Simon's 2005 recruiting class.

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