On Feb. 4, the Saint Louis University men’s soccer team announced the recruiting class for next year’s team. Head coach Mike McGinty revealed the four players who signed their National Letters of Intent and will begin their eligibility for SLU in the fall 2011 campaign.
McGinty ís second recruiting class as head coach at SLU is headlined by three incoming freshman and a junior transfer.
Last year, 10 newcomers were added to the roster; six of these recruits contributed regular playing time.McGinty believes that a strength of this year’s recruiting class is the adaptability of the players, all of whom can contribute at multiple positions.
“The theme of our recruiting plan for this year was to identify players with all-around soccer ability in addition to strong character, and we were successful in this first wave of recruits,” McGinty said.
“Within this class, we have definitely added size and athleticism. Each player we are bringing in will contribute in a different way, but they all have the underlying theme of being great soccer players and great people.”
Two of the incoming freshmen hail from Texas, and two are from the St. Louis area. Kingsley Bryce, midfielder and younger brother of former SLU forward Charles Bryce, played for Dallas Jesuit High School, where last year his team went 25-0 and won the Texas high school state championship. Defender Anthony Manning from Mesquite, Texas, will also come to SLU in the fall. Manning garnered district MVP honors his senior season, tallying six goals and playing stellar defense throughout the year.
St. Louis native Robbie Kristo, a forward from Parkway North High School, posted remarkable offensive numbers his senior season, finishing with 27 goals and eight assists. He was named first-team All-State and first-team All-Metro.
Cal McKee, a midfielder from Santa Clara University, will also compete for playing time next year.
McKee will have two years of eligibility at SLU.
McKee’s Santa Clara team won the West Coast Conference, earning a berth to the NCAA tournament. McKee played soccer at local high school with current Billikens Mike Roach and Michael Robson.
“I can already tell that coach expects a lot out of us, but he knows what it takes to be great. It’s obvious, he has won a championship. Every single guy on the team respects him and realizes if they work hard and do what coach says, we will be successful,” McKee said.
Manning mentioned that the goal of a national championship that McGinty expressed to him was part of the reason he decided to come to SLU.
With a great recruiting class to compliment an already strong SLU squad combined with the top-notch coaching provided by McGinty and his staff, that goal may not be too far off into the future.
