Wake Forest Announces 2015 Recruiting Class
Wake Forest head men's soccer coach Bobby Muuss announced the 2015 recruiting class, which includes three players with youth national team experience and three who have played for MLS academy teams.
Committing to Wake Forest were Jack Harrison, Carter Richardson, Brad Dunwell, Tater Rennhack, Sam Raben, Roman Martin and Harrison Gregory.
"I would like to thank Jay Vidovich, Ryan Martin and Dane Brenner for putting together another top-ten recruiting class to start my era at Wake Forest," said head coach Bobby Muuss. "It is a very talented, versatile and competitive group. They are very smart soccer players and all of them will just continue to develop. We expect a number of these guys not only to contribute right from the get-go but to push to start. With all but one starter returning from last year and this incoming group, the future is extremely bright."
The class includes four midfielders (Harrison, Dunwell, Martin and Gregory), one defender (Raben), one forward (Rennhack) and one goalkeeper (Richardson).
Wake Forest's 2015 recruiting class was ranked the ninth-best in the nation by Top Drawer Soccer. This marks the sixth straight year that Wake Forest has had a top-10 nationally ranked class including 2010 (No.3), 2011 (No. 8), 2012 (No. 1), 2013 (No. 9) and 2014 (No. 8).
The Demon Deacons open the spring season on March 21 against Radford at Spry Stadium at 6 p.m.
Jack Harrison - Midfielder - 5-9 - 155 - Bolton, England - Berkshire School
Background: Attended Berkshire School in Sheffield, Mass. ... Gatorade Massachusetts Soccer Player of the Year ... Two-time NSCAA All-American ... Won the USYSA Golden Ball in 2014 ... Ranked the ninth best player from the New York region ... From Bolton, England ... Champions of the NEPSAC Class A for three-straight seasons (2012, 2013 and 2014) ... Tallied 24 goals and 33 assists in three seasons at Berkshire ... Berkshire went 50-6-2 over those three years ... Named co-captain ... Son of Deborah Harrison.
Recruiting Coordinator Ryan Martin on Harrison:
"Jack is a special player and young man. He will have an immediate impact on the program. He is a tremendous competitor and has a great pedigree from both Berkshire under head coach Jon Moodey and Manchester United. He is very quick, has great feet and great vision to see the game. He can create for himself and teammates. With high school and club national championships he has won everything you can as a youth player and we look forward to having him here this fall."
Carter Richardson - Goalkeeper - 5-11 - 180 - Dublin, Ohio - Dublin Coffman HS
Background:
Attended Dublin Coffman High School ... Ranked the 30th best player in the country and the third-ranked goalkeeper ... Named one of the top players in the Great Lakes Region by TopDrawerSoccer ... Played on the United States U14, U15, U17 and U18 national teams ... Member of the U.S. U17 Residency Program ... Named a 2014 All-American ... Played for the Columbus Crew Academy ... Named to the U.S. U18 MNT roster in 2013 ... Son of Rich and Karen Richardson.
Martin on Richardson:
"Carter is one of the top leaders that the program has recruited. Carter has tremendous experience on the international level with the U17 U.S. Men's National Team. Carter is an explosive goalkeeper, who is capable of making the big save, has tremendous distribution potential with both feet and a personality inspires his teammates to succeed. He comes from a great program with Billy Thompson at the Columbus Crew Soccer Academy. Carter will be a big addition to our program from day one."
Brad Dunwell - Midfielder - 5-8 - 165 - Grand Rapids, Mich. - Forest Hills Northern HS
Background:
Attended Forest Hills Northern High School in Grand Rapids, Mich. ... Ranked the 37th best player in the senior class and rated the 10th best midfielder ... Earned All-Conference and All-District honors as a freshman ... Played in the Chicago Fire Academy ... Played in the 2011 and 2012 Development Academy Select Games ... Attended the 2013 National Combine in Portland, Ore. ... Played for the United States U-15 National Team in Croatia ... Born Dec. 31, 1996 in Grand Rapids, Mich. ... Parents are Jay and Amy Dunwell ... Has a brother Scott ... Cousin Kevin Vannatta plays basketball at UNC Asheville ... Brother Scott played soccer at Memphis.
Martin on Dunwell:
"I really like Brad. He has already enrolled this spring and in three weeks we have seen that he has a good feel for the game. He keeps getting better all the time. He's just a soccer player - he knows how to play, he knows where to be, he knows how to get the ball and who needs the ball. Brad comes to Wake Forest after training with Vardar SC and Mike Lupenec. He's improving his defensive ability, and I think he is a player with tremendous upside and will continue to get better as he goes through the program."
Tater Rennhack - Forward - 5-11 - 155 - Westlake, Texas - Westlake Academy
Background:
Ranked the 76th best player in the senior class and is the 26th ranked forward ... Member of the U.S. Soccer Academy from 2011-15 ... Team captain from 2013-15 ... Runner-up in the U.S. Soccer Development Academy U16 National Championship game ... Led the team in goals and assists in 2013-14 ... Lead the team in assists in 2014-15 and finished second on the team in goals ... Full name is Nathanael Rennhack ... Son of Rick and Leah Rennhack.
Martin on Rennhack:
"Tater is an explosive fearless attacker who will find himself on the top of Walt's Wall quite a bit in his time at Wake Forest. He has an incredible work rate and will only continue to get better and better. Tater is a true two way player and will be able to start our press from his first day on the field. Nathanael trained with Kevin Smith and Solar SC who also coached Hayden Partain and Corben Bone. He'll need to adapt to the speed of the game, the speed of thought in particular, but he is a good competitor and will adjust quickly."
Sam Raben - Defender - 6-0 - 160 - Greenwood Village, Colo. - Cherry Creek HS
Background:
Attended Cherry Creek High School in Greenwood Village, Colo. ... Played in the Colorado Rapids Academy ... State Cup Champion (2011-12) ... Region IV Semi-Finalist in 2012 ... U.S. Soccer National Cup Champion in 2010 ... Named second team All-State and All-Conference in 2012 ... Starting varsity centerback in 2012 and named captain in 2013 ... Sister Lizzy Raben plays soccer at Duke ... Son of David and Carrie Raben.
Martin on Raben:
"Sam is a player I see with a bright future. He continues to get better and better and I only see that continuing here at Wake Forest. He is also a very versatile player who can play anywhere in the midfield or back lines. He is athletic and reads the game well and trained with the Colorado Rapids and coach Mitch Murray. We see him as a natural center back as he transitions to the college level."
Roman Martin - Midfielder - 6-1 - 160 - La Jolla, Calif. - La Jolla Country Day School
Background:
Played for three seasons for La Jolla Country Day School ... Member of the U.S. Development Academy from 2012-15 ... Member of the Nomads Soccer Club ... Also played with Clube Esportivo Ordin in Brazil in 2012, Clube Pequeninos do Jockey in 2013 and GNK Dinamo Zagreb in Croatia in 2014 ... All-Conference Selection in the CIF-San Diego Section in 2013 ... Two-Time San Diego Union-Tribune All-Academic Team member ... Athlete of the Week from the San Diego Union-Tribune in 2014 ... National Player of the Week by Top Drawer Soccer ... Parents are Jeff and Lisa Martin.
Martin on Roman:
"Roman is a versatile midfielder who gained valuable collegiate experience in his international experiences He trained with Nomads and coach Branko Matich. He is extremely technical and fits in tune with what we're looking for which are defenders who can help build the attack."
Harrison Gregory - Midfielder - 5-10 - 155 - Laguna Beach, Calif. - Laguna Beach HS
Background:
Id2 USA National Team Inclusion (Casa Grande, AZ) ... Played for the Nomads USSDA Academy ... Earned First Team All-Orange Coast Honors ... Son of Scot and Lynn Gregory.
Martin on Gregory:
"Harrison is a two way midfielder who is very technically clean. He reads the game very well and has a great range of passing. He comes from a great program at Nomads and should make the transition to our style of play very easy. Harrison has a bright future in the black and gold."
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