HIGH POINT, N.C. — High Point University men's soccer has earned its sixth nationally-ranked recruiting class by TopDrawerSoccer.com, which was released on Wednesday. Under HPU Head Coach Zach Haines, HPU has received a ranked class six of seven seasons as the Panthers' staff has recruited a highly-touted 2026 No. 12 class. 
 
"Josh Gillon, Mason Marcey, and Toney Anderson worked extremely hard to bring in quality people and talented players in this class," Haines said. "Some joined in January and some have joined us in August. They all wanted HPU, and they are hungry to take advantage of this opportunity. A special thanks to Dan Hauser, April Wines, Ana Holt, Kim Grissett, Drew Sanchez, Ellie Cook, Liz Lefever, Lauren Moore, Leah Bwolf, Sandra Norris, Kerr Ramsey, Chelsea Shaughnessy, Dana Bragg, Doug Hall and many others who made it possible to bring in such a high-level group of student-athletes to High Point University and the Men's Soccer program. We are grateful for the support, and to work alongside fantastic people that are committed to driving further success at HPU."
 
The Panthers welcome six transfers and five freshmen to join 16 returners from HPU's first NCAA Division I Sweet Sixteen squad. The 11-man recruiting class is ranked No. 12 overall with three ranked freshmen (Nick Sarantakos, No. 80; Kieran Smith, No. 143; Jackson Stephens, No. 158). The 12th-ranked class matches the highest recruiting class since 2020 when that class was ranked No. 12.

Top 20 Division I Team Recruiting Rankings: 1. Notre Dame, 2. Stanford, 3. Oregon State, 4. Michigan, 5. Clemson, 6. Virginia, 7. Duke, 8. Wake Forest, 9. Penn, 10, Washington, 11. Denver, 12. High Point, 13. North Carolina, 14. Portland, 15. Cornell, 16. Seattle, 17. UCLA, 18. Georgia Southern, 19. Georgetown, 20. Indiana. 

Meet the No. 12 ranked HPU men's soccer recruiting class:
 
#2 Kieran Smith, 6-foot Freshman Defender
Hometown: Manhattan, N.Y.
Club: NYCFC II MLS Next Pro
Accolades: Ranked No. 143 by TDS. 10 starts for MLS Next Pro New York FC II in 2026. Member of NYCFC U18 Team for two seasons. Participated in 2026 MLS First Team NYCFC Preseason Camp. U17 Jamaican National Team Member.
 
#5 Ashton Miles, 6-foot-4  Sophomore Defender
Hometown:  Fullerton, Calif.
Club: Orange County SC
Accolades: Played for Orange County SC four seasons from 2022-2025. Recorded over 3,000 minutes in 66 appearances in the USL Championship. Scored two goals and had two assists. Former OCSC Academy Captain.
 
#7  Nick Sarantakos, 6-foot Freshman Forward
Hometown: Williamsburg, Va.
Club: Richmond United ECNL / Richmond Kickers USL 1
Accolades: Ranked No. 80 by TDS. Played seven seasons with Richmond United and has USL-1 experience with Richmond Kickers. Leading goal scorer in all of ECNL in his final season.
 
#8 Bernardo Raposo, 6-foot-1 Sophomore Midfielder
Hometown: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Club: Se Palmeiras
Previous School: Butler
2025 Season: Started and played in all 17 matches as a freshman at Butler. Logged 1,454 minutes and scored a goal.
 
#11 Enzo Rekka, 6-foot-1 Sophomore Forward
Hometown: Tuzla, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Club: FK Tuzla City
Previous School: Gannon University
2025 Season: 22 points in 22 games appearances with 1,299 minutes. Scored 10 goals and registered 12 assists. Had career-high seven points against California (PA) 
Accolades: NCAA DII All-American. PSAC Freshman of the Year. PSAC All-Conference First Team. All-Atlantic Region First Team. USC All-Atlantic Region First Team. PSAC Regular Season Champion. PSAC Tournament Champion. NCAA DIl Elite 8 Appearance.
 
#12 Lucas Kelly, 6-foot Graduate Defender
Hometown: Wake Forest, N.C.
Club: Charlotte FC
Previous School: Liberty University
2025 Season: 16 games played, four goals, one assist
Accolades: OVC Offensive Player of the Week
 
#19 Noah Joseph, 6-foot Graduate Midfielder/Forward
Hometown: Lake Oswego, Ore.
Club: Portland Timbers (MLS)
Previous School: Indiana
Accolades: 2022 National Champion Runner-Up. Three-time Big Ten Champion at Indiana.
 
#22 Jackson Stephens, 6-foot-1 Freshman Midfielder
 Hometown: Boise, Idaho
Club: Austin FC (MLS) and AC Boise USL-1
Accolades: Ranked No. 143 by TDS. MLS Next Pro experience with Austin FC II in 2025, and 3 appearances with AC Boise USL-1 in 2026 season.
 
#24 Aidan Morrison, 6-foot-1 Senior Midfielder
Hometown: Denver, N.C.
Club: Charlotte Independence
Previous School: William & Mary
Stats at W&M: Appeared in 34 games with 33 starts in three seasons. Scored six goals and registered five assists in 2,808 minutes.
Accolades: Signed USL Academy contract with Charlotte Independence. ECNL First Team All-Conference and North Carolina All-State. CAA All-Rookie Team in 2023 and CAA Preseason Honorable Mention in 2024. 2023 TopDrawerSoccer Preseason Freshman All-American and TopDrawerSoccer Midseason Top-100 Freshman.
 
#25 Kingston Genot, 5-foot-10 Freshman Forward
Hometown: Lakewood Ranch, Fla.
Club: Tampa Bay United (MLS NEXT)
Accolades: USL Championship Training experience with Tampa Boy Rowdies
 
#37 Connor Kirkpatrick, 5-foot-10 Freshman Goalkeeper
Hometown: Ashburn, Va.
Club: Barca Academy AZ (MLS)
Accolades: MLS Next u19 Finalist in 2026. Three National Championship Appearances.