UAB Men's Soccer Recruiting Class Recognized By College Soccer News

Mike Getman

UAB's 2005 recruiting class for men's soccer has been named one of the top 12 impact classes in the nation by College Soccer News. Head Coach Mike Getman's recruits for the 2005 season appear on a list of 12 classes the magazine says will, "have the opportunity to make an immediate impact," on the upcoming soccer season.

"We've worked very hard in the off-season to both fill the voids left by the graduation of Rogerio Oliveira and Jarbas Carlos and address any weaknesses we may have had from last year," Getman explained. "So, it's very satisfying to be recognized as having done a good job in doing that. It's a compliment to the players that we have signed that a national publication would recognize them as being ready to make an impact on our program. Every coach thinks their signees are going to do that, but to have an outside source say so is impressive. We're honored College Soccer News noticed what we've been doing."

The publication, which is on the Internet at www.collegesoccernews.com, said of the UAB recruits, "Lack of depth hurt the Blazers at times last year. Head coach Mike Getman may have addressed that need with a very balanced and athletic seven member recruiting class."

"The rankings are impressive and they don't even include our last two signees," Getman said of goalkeeper Wes Johnson and defender Dean Sorrell, who were announced as signees earlier this week. "If you add those two to the mix, the class is even stronger."

The Blazers are listed fifth on the list of 12 teams, though the publication does not indicate the teams are listed in any particular order. New Conference USA men's soccer member Kentucky is also on the list, as were California, Georgetown, Loyola Marymount, Washington, San Diego State, UC Santa Barbara, Oregon State, Clemson, Michigan and Stanford, a team the Blazers will play on Sept. 23 in Palo Alto, Calif.





UAB's class includes four high school state champions and two members of the U-20 Canadian National Team. Sorrell and teammates Trey Gregory and Andrew Riley helped Oak Mountain to the Class 6A Alabama state title last week. The Eagles are also currently the No. 1 ranked prep team in America according to the National Soccer Coaches Association of America poll. Johnson notched his 13th shutout of the season in the Class 5A title game in Georgia on Monday night to lead Parkview to its sixth overall championship.

Carlo Schiavoni and Derek Rios are both experienced international players and members of the U-20 Canadian National Team. Jonah Stewart is a standout midfielder and forward for nearby Vestavia Hills High School while defender Alandus Brooks of Jackson, Miss., and forward Two-Boys Gumede of Louisville, Ky., round out the very talented list of new Blazers.

"We have the talent and the personnel to be a strong team," Getman said. "Certainly, we added depth by bringing in nine guys while only losing two seniors. However, replacing those two seniors, who were both four year starters, and integrating nine new players into our system doesn't happen overnight or with ease. We still have work to do. It is nice to know, however, that the ingredients are there."

The Blazers were 12-7 overall in 2004 and were runners-up in both the Conference USA regular season and tournament. All but three letterwinners return from that squad.