HIGH POINT, N.C. – Coming off a historic 2022 season, the High Point University men's soccer team announces seven new additions to the squad. The 2023 class features five incoming freshman and two graduate transfers, and is currently ranked #16 in the TopDrawerSoccer national recruiting rankings. This will be the Panthers' fourth straight Top-25 nationally ranked recruiting class.
Head Coach Zach Haines on Recruiting Class: "My staff has worked tirelessly to bring student-athletes into our program that will have a great impact on and off the field. This takes a huge effort to build an honest and supportive relationship, evaluate talent and potential, as well as vet character and their intangibles. We feel confident that we have succeeded in this with all seven of these guys. They will add depth, competition and quality to our team. We are aiming to build on last year's program milestones, and this class will certainly help us move things forward. A huge thank you to Josh, Mason, and Coupar for their commitment to our program's mission, and the work they put in to keep the future as bright as possible."
Transfers
Ben Wiemann – Lake Erie College – Freiburg, Germany
2022 United Soccer Coaches Scholar All-American.
2022 United Soccer Coaches All-Region Team.
2022 G-MAC 1
st Team All-Conference and All-Ohio Team.
2022 USL 2 All-Conference with NC Fusion.
2022 Finalist for USL 2 Player of the Year and Defender of the Year with NC Fusion.
Haines on Wiemann- "Ben has a unique story coming from Freiburg to the States for his college career. He has worked extremely hard to develop, and in turn has taken advantage of every opportunity he has earned. He established himself as one of the best players in Division II, then in USL 2, all while excelling academically at the Scholar All-American level. This speaks to his character and mentality. We believe he will make a huge impact on our program."
Seth Antwi – University of Dayton – Kuntanase, Ashanti Region
Played in 55 games and started 47 for Dayton in four seasons.
All-Ohio honors on the field.
A-10 Commissioner's Honor roll of the field.
Haines on Antwi- "Seth has proven to be a top midfielder in the A10 conference, and a top midfielder in USL 2 – playing for some of the most competitive setups at Des Moines Menace, One Knox, and Fort Wayne SC. Our staff looks forward to a huge impact from Seth, as he brings a high-level skillset with and without the ball."
Freshmen
Darian Castillo – Luis, Arizona – Barca Academy (MLS NEXT)
#125 in the TopDrawerSoccer Top 150 players in the 2023 recruiting class. Team's leading scorer, and one of the top goal scorers in the country with 16 goals in 20 games in the 2022-23 season with Barca Academy to lead them to MLS Next Playoffs round of 16.
Haines on Castillo- "Darian worked tirelessly to establish himself at one of the top youth clubs in the country the past few years. He had two would-be signed pros in front of him as a sophomore and junior. His approach was right, and he took advantage of his opportunity in his senior year, becoming one of the most exciting and productive attacking players in MLS NEXT. We are confident he will continue this trajectory and be a big player for us at HPU."
Anthony Ramirez – Thomasville, N.C. – Philadelphia Union II (MLS NEXT PRO)
#105 in the TopDrawerSoccer Top 150 players in the 2023 recruiting class. players Made 23 appearances for Philadelphia Union II in MLS NEXT PRO in the last two seasons.
Haines on Ramirez- "We are thrilled to have Anthony join us. He is from High Point, and has spent the last few years with Philadelphia Union, where he has experienced virtually the highest-level environment you can in our country soccer wise before coming to college as a true Freshman. He will bring a lot of quality and experience to our team straightaway as he has been training and playing games against professional players day in and day out since he was 15."
Justin Stewart – Little Elm, Texas – North Texas SC (MLS NEXT PRO)
#95 in the TopDrawerSoccer Top 150 players in the 2023 recruiting class. Started two games and made the 18 in MLS NEXT PRO in 15 games for North Texas SC and Houston Dynamo 2 in 2022 and 2023 seasons.
Haines on Stewart- "Justin is one of the best goalkeepers in the country for the 2023 class, that chose the college route over a professional contract. We believe he has the potential to be a big-time goalkeeper. He is a high-level competitor and brings a relentless work rate to training and his overall development."
James VandeHei – Alexandria. V.A. – Alexandria SA (MLS NEXT)
Started every game for Alexandria SA in 2022-23 season, while serving as team captain.
Haines on VandeHei- "James is a leader, and a warrior in the back line. He is a committed player that will do whatever it takes to help his teammates, and his team to be successful. He also has the ability to bring the ball out of the back and play line breaking passes from the center back position. We are excited to support James with this next step in his development and are confident he will take advantage of the opportunity."
John Killgore – Hobe Sound, F.L. – Tampa Bay United (MLS NEXT)
Played in all but two of Tampa Bay United's games in the 2022-23 season on their way to qualifying for the U19 playoffs. In his junior year, John captained his IMG MLS NEXT team.
Haines on Killgore- "John is a versatile player that excelled for IMG as their captain in a midfield role, and then transitioned into a fullback role at Tampa Bay United in his most recent season. He is very comfortable on the ball and a committed defender. His leadership qualities are very high level for a student-athlete his age, so we are excited to see him continue with this impact on our team at HPU."
High Point Soccer welcomes home seven new Panthers into the locker room for the 2023 season. Keep an eye out to see these new Panthers in action starting August 12
th when they go up against Wofford College at 5:00pm in Spartanburg, SC in a preseason exhibition game, and see them at home at Vert Stadium for the first time for the HPU "Move-in-game' on August 19
th at 7pm versus Southern Wesleyan in the final preseason exhibition game.
#GoHPU
