The University men’s soccer team has signed Ryan Barlow (Coppell, Texas), Frank Carsonie (Hilliard, Ohio), Tosh Samkange (Sammamish, Wash.), Ryan Schaefer (Burien, Wash.), Andre Shinyashiki (Sao Paulo, Brazil) and Shae Smalley (Columbus, Ohio) to National Letters of Intent, head coach Jamie Franks announced on Tuesday.

Of the six players joining the program in 2015, Barlow (75), Shinyashiki (79) and Samkange (110) were in the top 110 of the College Soccer News 2015 recruiting class. Four of the six incoming freshman played for MLS Academy teams in their youth careers.

"Our 2015 class is a special one that has taken us quite some time to assemble, and fills immediate needs for our team,” Franks said. “They all fit into our high tempo pressing system that is featured around our possession. We have watched these guys play for their respective club teams for the past year now and have enjoyed watching their development during that time. They are coming to the University of Denver to be a part of something bigger than themselves and to win championships.”

Coming fresh off a summer that saw his home country host the 2014 World Cup, Shinyashiki is a two-time Golden Boot winner in his time with both Pequeninos do Jockey (2013) and the Montverde Academy (2015). Shinyashiki has helped lead Montverde to a 117 match unbeaten streak, and national championships each of the last two years.

A FC Dallas Academy graduate, Barlow is coming off a 12-goal season with his MLS Academy side in 2014, and made appearances with the U-14 National Team in 2011. The Coppell High School product earned District VII Newcomer of the Year Honors in 2012.

The first of two sets of academy teammates, Samkange and Schaefer both played for the Seattle Sounders Academy in their youth careers, making the USSDA Playoffs in their time with the club. Schaefer scored 11 goals in all competitions with the side.

In addition to his time with the academy team, Samkange also made two appearances with the Seattle Sounders reserves in 2014, playing both centerback and right back.

A second pair of academy teammates, Carsonie and Smalley played together with the Columbus Crew’s Academy Team. Carsonie played four seasons with the side in his youth career.

Another four season Crew Academy player, Smalley served as the team captain for the club. Smalley was also a captain in his time with the Team Ohio FC Cosmos.

“These six understand and accept the challenge that their student-athlete experience is one that will feature high expectations both in the classroom and on the field,” Franks said. “I believe that we have been able to attract these top level recruits for the right reasons and look forward to helping them develop into young men in preparation for their life after college. I am confident that this class will achieve some special things here at DU."

Set for Franks’ first year as the head coach, and his fourth year with the program overall, the Pioneers return six players that started at least nine matches in 2014. In addition, Denver’s leading scorer Eric Kronenberg (Boulder, Colo.) played in all 20 matches, tallying 15 points on seven goals and one assist in just 818 minutes. 2015 senior Jordan Schweitzer (Everett, Wash.) and junior Sam Hamilton (Evergreen, Colo.) will serve as captains for next year’s squad.

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