Freshman Alex Martinez of the High Point University men's soccer team was named one of College Soccer News' 100 Freshmen to Watch for the 2010 season on Friday.

Martinez comes to HPU after a distinguished prep career at Northwestern High school where he won three consecutive state championships. In his senior season, Martinez had 81 points on 31 goals and 18 assists and was named Region Player of the year. In 2009, Martinez was named a second team All-American by Parade after helping Northwestern to an undefeated record and a No. 1 national ranking by both ESPN Rise and the NSCAA.

HPU begins its regular season on Wednesday, Sept. 1, when the team hosts Elon at Vert Track and Soccer Stadium at 7 p.m. The Panthers are the preseason favorite in the Big South after returning 10 starters and five of the top six scorers from a team which set new Division I bests with a 9-7-2 overall record and a 5-1-2 conference record in 2009. High Point's second-place finish in the Big South was the team's best finish in 11 years in the conference.