Aug. 4, 2006
ORLANDO - The 2006 UCF men's soccer recruiting class was recently ranked 29th in the nation by College Soccer News, while Cam Jordan was named to the publication's 100 Freshmen to Watch list.
"To be an up-and-coming program and earn this type of recognition from a national publication says a lot about our program and where we are going," said UCF head coach Brent Erwin, who begins his second season at the helm. "We are ecstatic about the quality of student-athlete joining us this year, but as with all recruiting, we are being rated on our potential. It is our job to make certain that we develop these players in order to make them and our team successful."
The Golden Knights' roster for the upcoming season features 19 newcomers, 13 of which are freshmen. The other six are transfers and three of those players - junior forward James Georgeff, junior goalkeeper Brian Pope and sophomore goalkeeper Marcus Rein - trained with the team last year.
The publication ranked the top 40 classes in the nation. UCLA received the top honors followed by Indiana, North Carolina, Maryland and New Mexico. SMU was the highest ranked Conference USA team at seventh, while South Carolina was 19th.
College Soccer News also singled out Jordan as one of players it believes will make an impact on his team during his collegiate career. A two-time All-America selection, Jordan played midfield with the U.S. Under-17 team at the IMG Soccer Academy in Bradenton, Fla. for a year before returning to Canterbury High School for his final two seasons. He also competed for the Chicago Magic Soccer Club.
"I am happy for Cam that he earned individual recognition," said Erwin. "We realize, as Cam does, that he is one of many quality student-athletes entering our program. The expectations on Cam are high, but we know he has the talent to fulfill his potential and make significant contributions to our team."
The Golden Knights open the regular season on Aug. 25 at the Wake Forest Invitational.