2017 Boys Soccer Verbal Commitments

[Unregistered]

Can't argue the points, but there's another way you look at it. For lots of kids (more and more these days it seems), the "school fit" part doesn't work out- it's hard to know whether the kid really wants to be that far away from home, how they handle getting dumped by their high school girlfriend, how they handle living on their own for the first time, the fact that being an engineering major is a lot harder than they thought and really not what they want to do anymore, etc. So I tried to help my kid focus really hard on the "soccer fit" part- do you like the guys? do you like the coach (after really seeing him in action)? and most importantly, is it at the right level so you have a decent shot to get on the field sometime after freshman year? You can look at this list and question whether a good number of the kids (particularly the D1s) have over-shot their likely playing level- good for you if you want to challenge yourself and think you can rise to that next level, just so you go in with your eyes open and understand your position. Things can go wrong with a college fit for lots of reasons, but getting into the right soccer situation can sometimes provide the perfect guardrail to get and keep you on the right track so that the school part becomes the right fit (even if your girlfriend dumps you, your roommate smokes dope all day, etc.)

This approach makes a lot of sense. There are likely dozens of schools where the academic fit is great, but relatively few where the soccer fit is great for any given player.

[Unregistered]

With mine much of the final decision points were about soccer fit and then people. She had three schools that were fairly similar academicallym. You're going to be spending a lot of time around soccer. If you're not going to play much, don't like your coach or teammates...it can make a year feel far worse if you're also not enjoying school. On the flip side a supportive core group of teammates can help you get through tough times. She knew she made the right choice freshman year when another teammate suffered a family tragedy and the players and coach rallied around her.

[Unregistered]

With mine much of the final decision points were about soccer fit and then people. She had three schools that were fairly similar academicallym. You're going to be spending a lot of time around soccer. If you're not going to play much, don't like your coach or teammates...it can make a year feel far worse if you're also not enjoying school. On the flip side a supportive core group of teammates can help you get through tough times. She knew she made the right choice freshman year when another teammate suffered a family tragedy and the players and coach rallied around her.

There must be a lot of parents of girls on this site.

[Unregistered]

There must be a lot of parents of girls on this site.

I have a son in DA now and we're going through it all again, although admittedly it's different than with girls. And yeah, there's definitely a greater percentage of girls' parents on this site. It's pretty obvious in the threads.

- OP

[Unregistered]

Augie Martini (Arlington) - Lawrence Academy - Hobart
Quintin DiStefano (Wilmington) - Exeter - Babson

[Unregistered]

D1
Ignacio Roitman - FC Stars - Exeter - Boston U
Nathan Plano - Aztec - Reading HS - Brown
Felipe Cypriano - Bolts - Malden - Bryant
Anthony Barreira - FC Stars - Foxboro - Bryant
Sam Hatem - FC Stars - Worcester Academy - Columbia
Cole Venner - Black Rock - Berkshire - UConn
Austin Aviza - Revs - Syracuse - UConn - transfer
Matthew Ranieri - Revs - Nobles&Greenough - Dartmouth
Stephen O'Connell - Black Rock - Berkshire - Duke
Wilhelm Jacques - Bolts - Medford - Duke
Rory Conway - Bolts - Brookline - Harvard
Max Benford - Aztec - Ipswich - Holy Cross
Edi Mujan - Bolts - Revere - Holy Cross
Justin Rennicks - Revs - Hamilton/Wenham - Indiana
Asher Carlson - GPS - NMH - Lafayette
Trey Miller - Revs - Monson - Louisville
Mike Rita - Western United - Minnechaug - UMass
Eli Cronin - Seacoast - Masconomet - UMass
Davis Smith - Dallas Texans - Williston Northampton - UMass
Owen Miller - NEFC - Medford - UMass Lowell
Alex Shterenberg - Revs - Westwood - Michigan St
Nicholas Woodruff - Revs - Attleborough - Michigan St
Jonathan Wolf - NEFC - Worcester Academy - UNH
Adama Kaba - Hammer - St Sebastian - Northeastern
Noah Abrams - Manhattan - Berkshire - Northeastern
Daniel Munch - GPS - BB&N - Northeastern
Jack Roberts - GPS - Nobles&Greenough - Princeton
Ben Ludwick - FC Stars - Acton/Boxborough - PC
Simon Fisher - Bolts - Roxbury Latin - PC
Peter Zecca - GPS - Rivers - St Johns
Edward Walsh - Revs - Westwood - Xavier

D2
Rafael Perez - ? - Tewksbury - AIC
Connor Hicks - Western United - Monson - AIC
Chris Kalil - Western United - Wilbraham&Monson - Assumption
Sebastan Jaramillo - Seacoast - Dracut - Assumption
Hayden Yakola - Liverpool - Nauset - Bentley
Kyle Archambault - Bolts - St Johns Shrewsbury - Bentley
Leon Silva - Blackrock - Berkshire- Lindenwood
Will Buraczynski - NEFC - Littleton - Merrimack
Drew Lovely - GPS - Weymouth - Merrimack
Neil Mahatme - Seacoast - St John's - Merrimack
Cameron Mullins - Bruno - King Philip - Merrimack
Mike Coffey - Aztec - Swampscott - St Anselm's
Matteo Bianchini - Aztec - Winchester - St Michael's

D3
Jack O'Brien - GPS - Milton Academy - Amherst
Dylan Steele - GPS - Brooks - Amherst
Sebastian Royo - GPS - Algonquin - Babson
Quintin DiStefano - ? - Exeter(Wilmington) - Babson*
Blaise Marceau - Bolts - Waban - Bates
Max McPherron - GPS - Nobles & Greenough - Bowdoin
Alex Chaban - Bolts - Brooks - Bowdoin
Andy Manos - GPS - NMH - Brandeis
Chris Russo - FC Stars - Westford - Brandeis
Evan Glass - Aztecs - Masconomet - Brandeis
Noah Gans - GPS - Newton South - Brandeis
Kevin Roberts - FC Stars - Medway - Bridgewater St
Sam Hatley - NEFC - ? - Clark
Alberto Butts-Lee - GPS - Worcester Academy - Colby
Walter Thilly - Seacoast - Winchester - Colby
Samson Heyer - FC Stars - Amherst HS - Colorado College
Justin Miranda - Aztec - Winchester - Connecticut College
Liam Donelan - FC Stars - Milton HS - Connecticut College
Alejandro Winsor - GPS - Wakefield - Curry
Grayson Presutti - GPS - Hingham - Denison
Daniel Milhollen - Bolts - Foxboro - Denson
Ian Logan - FC Stars - Westford Academy - Dickinson
Ryan Horan - GPS - Norwell - Franklin & Marshall
Hagop Kouchakdjian - GPS -Lexington - Hamilton
Jack Fell - GPS - Concord Carlisle - Hobart
Juan Pablo Widoycovich - Blackrock - Berkshire - Hobart
Augie Martini - ? - Lawrence Academy(Arlington) - Hobart*
Jack Herlihy - Aztec - Swampscott - Keene St
Liam Thor - Blackrock FC - Berkshire - Kenyon
Tyler Medierios- GPS - New Bedford Voke - UMass Boston
Mauricio Martinez - Aztecs - Revere - UMass Boston
Justin Burns - GPS - Walpole - Mass Maritime
Matthew Hyer - FC Stars - Groton Dunstable - Middlebury
Jacob LaBranche - Liverpool - Nauset - Middlebury
Marco Kaper - Aztec - Manchester-Essex - Middlebury
Cody Kennedy - ? - Millbury - New England Univ
Tommaso Valagussa - NE Rush - Arlington - RPI
Connor Edwards - GPS - NMH - Roger Williams
Josh Polakiewicz - Aztecs - Masconomet - Roger Williams
Shoyo Yanagihara - GPS - NMH - Skidmore
James Nicholas - FSA - NMH - St Lawrence
Spencer Nagi - NEFC - Westborough - St Josephs College
Colin Grant - FC Stars - Bromfield - St Joseph's(ME)
Brendan Coyle - Aztecs - Marblehead - Salve Regina
Marvyn Dorchin - Seacoast - Belmont - Springfield
Eli Yamuna - GPS - Dover Sherborn - SUNY Cortland
Patterson Malcolm - GPS - NMH - Swarthmore
Jason Meuth - Seacoast - Mansfield - Swarthmore
Jamie Marden - Aztec - Marblehead - Trinity College (CT)
Phineas Santello - Aztec - Arlington - Trinity College (CT)
David Luongo - Benfica - St John's Prep - Trinity College(CT)
Patrick "PK" Kennedy-GPS/Bolts - Thayer - Trinity College (CT)
Quentin van der Lee - Black Rock - Berkshire - Trinity(TX)
Travis van Brewer - Beachside - Minechaug - Tufts
Omar al-Homsi Hernandez - FC Blazers - Bromfield - Union
Poom Mera - GPS - Swansea - Union
Matthias Loft - GPS - Cohasset - Union
Jonah Miles - Oakwood - Drury HS - Vassar
Juan Cedeno - Blackrock - Berkshire - Wentworth
Mauricio Bailleres - GPS - NMH/Culver - Wesleyan
Jeremy Richard - Black Rock - Berkshire - Wheaton
Nicholas Ranieri - GPS - Nobles&Greenough - Williams
Jules Oberg - Black Rock - Berkshire - Williams

[Unregistered]

D1
Ignacio Roitman - FC Stars - Exeter - Boston U
Nathan Plano - Aztec - Reading HS - Brown
Felipe Cypriano - Bolts - Malden - Bryant
Anthony Barreira - FC Stars - Foxboro - Bryant
Sam Hatem - FC Stars - Worcester Academy - Columbia
Cole Venner - Black Rock - Berkshire - UConn
Austin Aviza - Revs - Syracuse - UConn - transfer
Matthew Ranieri - Revs - Nobles&Greenough - Dartmouth
Stephen O'Connell - Black Rock - Berkshire - Duke
Wilhelm Jacques - Bolts - Medford - Duke
Rory Conway - Bolts - Brookline - Harvard
Max Benford - Aztec - Ipswich - Holy Cross
Edi Mujan - Bolts - Revere - Holy Cross
Justin Rennicks - Revs - Hamilton/Wenham - Indiana
Asher Carlson - GPS - NMH - Lafayette
Trey Miller - Revs - Monson - Louisville
Mike Rita - Western United - Minnechaug - UMass
Eli Cronin - Seacoast - Masconomet - UMass
Davis Smith - Dallas Texans - Williston Northampton - UMass
Owen Miller - NEFC - Medford - UMass Lowell
Alex Shterenberg - Revs - Westwood - Michigan St
Nicholas Woodruff - Revs - Attleborough - Michigan St
Jonathan Wolf - NEFC - Worcester Academy - UNH
Adama Kaba - Hammer - St Sebastian - Northeastern
Noah Abrams - Manhattan - Berkshire - Northeastern
Daniel Munch - GPS - BB&N - Northeastern
Jack Roberts - GPS - Nobles&Greenough - Princeton
Ben Ludwick - FC Stars - Acton/Boxborough - PC
Simon Fisher - Bolts - Roxbury Latin - PC
Peter Zecca - GPS - Rivers - St Johns
Edward Walsh - Revs - Westwood - Xavier

D2
Rafael Perez - ? - Tewksbury - AIC
Connor Hicks - Western United - Monson - AIC
Chris Kalil - Western United - Wilbraham&Monson - Assumption
Sebastan Jaramillo - Seacoast - Dracut - Assumption
Hayden Yakola - Liverpool - Nauset - Bentley
Kyle Archambault - Bolts - St Johns Shrewsbury - Bentley
Leon Silva - Blackrock - Berkshire- Lindenwood
Will Buraczynski - NEFC - Littleton - Merrimack
Drew Lovely - GPS - Weymouth - Merrimack
Neil Mahatme - Seacoast - St John's - Merrimack
Cameron Mullins - Bruno - King Philip - Merrimack
Mike Coffey - Aztec - Swampscott - St Anselm's
Matteo Bianchini - Aztec - Winchester - St Michael's

D3
Jack O'Brien - GPS - Milton Academy - Amherst
Dylan Steele - GPS - Brooks - Amherst
Sebastian Royo - GPS - Algonquin - Babson
Quintin DiStefano - ? - Exeter(Wilmington) - Babson*
Blaise Marceau - Bolts - Waban - Bates
Max McPherron - GPS - Nobles & Greenough - Bowdoin
Alex Chaban - Bolts - Brooks - Bowdoin
Andy Manos - GPS - NMH - Brandeis
Chris Russo - FC Stars - Westford - Brandeis
Evan Glass - Aztecs - Masconomet - Brandeis
Noah Gans - GPS - Newton South - Brandeis
Kevin Roberts - FC Stars - Medway - Bridgewater St
Sam Hatley - NEFC - ? - Clark
Alberto Butts-Lee - GPS - Worcester Academy - Colby
Walter Thilly - Seacoast - Winchester - Colby
Samson Heyer - FC Stars - Amherst HS - Colorado College
Justin Miranda - Aztec - Winchester - Connecticut College
Liam Donelan - FC Stars - Milton HS - Connecticut College
Alejandro Winsor - GPS - Wakefield - Curry
Grayson Presutti - GPS - Hingham - Denison
Daniel Milhollen - Bolts - Foxboro - Denson
Ian Logan - FC Stars - Westford Academy - Dickinson
Ryan Horan - GPS - Norwell - Franklin & Marshall
Hagop Kouchakdjian - GPS -Lexington - Hamilton
Jack Fell - GPS - Concord Carlisle - Hobart
Juan Pablo Widoycovich - Blackrock - Berkshire - Hobart
Augie Martini - ? - Lawrence Academy(Arlington) - Hobart*
Jack Herlihy - Aztec - Swampscott - Keene St
Liam Thor - Blackrock FC - Berkshire - Kenyon
Tyler Medierios- GPS - New Bedford Voke - UMass Boston
Mauricio Martinez - Aztecs - Revere - UMass Boston
Justin Burns - GPS - Walpole - Mass Maritime
Matthew Hyer - FC Stars - Groton Dunstable - Middlebury
Jacob LaBranche - Liverpool - Nauset - Middlebury
Marco Kaper - Aztec - Manchester-Essex - Middlebury
Cody Kennedy - ? - Millbury - New England Univ
Tommaso Valagussa - NE Rush - Arlington - RPI
Connor Edwards - GPS - NMH - Roger Williams
Josh Polakiewicz - Aztecs - Masconomet - Roger Williams
Shoyo Yanagihara - GPS - NMH - Skidmore
James Nicholas - FSA - NMH - St Lawrence
Spencer Nagi - NEFC - Westborough - St Josephs College
Colin Grant - FC Stars - Bromfield - St Joseph's(ME)
Brendan Coyle - Aztecs - Marblehead - Salve Regina
Marvyn Dorchin - Seacoast - Belmont - Springfield
Eli Yamuna - GPS - Dover Sherborn - SUNY Cortland
Patterson Malcolm - GPS - NMH - Swarthmore
Jason Meuth - Seacoast - Mansfield - Swarthmore
Jamie Marden - Aztec - Marblehead - Trinity College (CT)
Phineas Santello - Aztec - Arlington - Trinity College (CT)
David Luongo - Benfica - St John's Prep - Trinity College(CT)
Patrick "PK" Kennedy-GPS/Bolts - Thayer - Trinity College (CT)
Quentin van der Lee - Black Rock - Berkshire - Trinity(TX)
Travis van Brewer - Beachside - Minechaug - Tufts
Omar al-Homsi Hernandez - FC Blazers - Bromfield - Union
Poom Mera - GPS - Swansea - Union
Matthias Loft - GPS - Cohasset - Union
Jonah Miles - Oakwood - Drury HS - Vassar
Juan Cedeno - Blackrock - Berkshire - Wentworth
Mauricio Bailleres - GPS - NMH/Culver - Wesleyan
Jeremy Richard - Black Rock - Berkshire - Wheaton
Nicholas Ranieri - GPS - Nobles&Greenough - Williams
Jules Oberg - Black Rock - Berkshire - Williams

Lets assume that the reporting is incomplete on the same level for all the clubs. It is fair to say that if you want to use soccer to assist in getting into a school (D1,2,3) that you might be better off on one of the top two GPS teams than for any other club? GPS has 29 listed here. The next most club is Aztec followed by Revs, Bolts, Stars.....or is this list so incomplete that it isn't even worth listing anymore?

[Unregistered]

Lets assume that the reporting is incomplete on the same level for all the clubs. It is fair to say that if you want to use soccer to assist in getting into a school (D1,2,3) that you might be better off on one of the top two GPS teams than for any other club? GPS has 29 listed here. The next most club is Aztec followed by Revs, Bolts, Stars.....or is this list so incomplete that it isn't even worth listing anymore?

Because DA is a combined two year team only about half a team will be graduating in any given year, bringing a DA team''s numbers down. Flip side is GPS is gigantic so more commitments. Especially with D3 admissions academics are more important than athletics.

No list will ever be perfect and I'm sure some are still missing, but it's pretty inclusive. The op encourages additions and corrections. I applaud his efforts as this is probably the most useful thread (s) on TS.

[Unregistered]

Because DA is a combined two year team only about half a team will be graduating in any given year, bringing a DA team''s numbers down. Flip side is GPS is gigantic so more commitments. Especially with D3 admissions academics are more important than athletics.

No list will ever be perfect and I'm sure some are still missing, but it's pretty inclusive. The op encourages additions and corrections. I applaud his efforts as this is probably the most useful thread (s) on TS.

So...at a minimum, you are better off, with regard to combining soccer and college (D1,2,3), being on one of the top two GPS teams (I am assuming that all the listed GPS are Mass teams), then being on the Bolts or Revs? I am not dismissing the fact that GPS has about 10 teams per age group, but I am assuming that few from the bottom 8 are playing soccer in college and since there are 29 listed, isn't it safe to say that most of the top players from GPS are included? If so, then if you kid is good enough to be on one of these two teams then they are as, or more, likely to play soccer in college. How many of the Bolts second team players are listed? If none, then for the Bolts, it is either DAP or nothing!!!

[Unregistered]

So...at a minimum, you are better off, with regard to combining soccer and college (D1,2,3), being on one of the top two GPS teams (I am assuming that all the listed GPS are Mass teams), then being on the Bolts or Revs? I am not dismissing the fact that GPS has about 10 teams per age group, but I am assuming that few from the bottom 8 are playing soccer in college and since there are 29 listed, isn't it safe to say that most of the top players from GPS are included? If so, then if you kid is good enough to be on one of these two teams then they are as, or more, likely to play soccer in college. How many of the Bolts second team players are listed? If none, then for the Bolts, it is either DAP or nothing!!!

Not the poster - Depends on what you want. If you want top D1 DA is almost always the way to go. If you want lower D1 or D2 or D3 then yes high level club play can get you there, it just may take more work to achieve. Good grades matter too. Top D3 schools require good grades first, then soccer second. I don't know enough about GPS (other than they are huge, driving their numbers) but maybe their players tend to skew more prep or private schools, or top performing school districts?

The other fascinating thing the poster of these threads does is track playing time for players once in college. I find that the best part of all of his work. It is eye opening to see how many kids don't play at all and are out sometimes as early as year one. If you haven't read the threads about prior graduates dig them up. They are titled similarly to this one just with a different year in the title. Go to the last pages where he has updated PT and how many are on or off rosters. It's important that players are realistic about the likelihood of playing in college. If playing matter to you then make sure you're not over-shooting. Both academic and soccer fit is critical to succeed in both.

[Unregistered]

Not the poster - Depends on what you want. If you want top D1 DA is almost always the way to go. If you want lower D1 or D2 or D3 then yes high level club play can get you there, it just may take more work to achieve. Good grades matter too. Top D3 schools require good grades first, then soccer second. I don't know enough about GPS (other than they are huge, driving their numbers) but maybe their players tend to skew more prep or private schools, or top performing school districts?

The other fascinating thing the poster of these threads does is track playing time for players once in college. I find that the best part of all of his work. It is eye opening to see how many kids don't play at all and are out sometimes as early as year one. If you haven't read the threads about prior graduates dig them up. They are titled similarly to this one just with a different year in the title. Go to the last pages where he has updated PT and how many are on or off rosters. It's important that players are realistic about the likelihood of playing in college. If playing matter to you then make sure you're not over-shooting. Both academic and soccer fit is critical to succeed in both.

if I might add to the second paragraph, when my child was looking at colleges we made it clear that he should pick a school that he would go to whether he was playing a sport or not, and then listed reasons why he might not be playing that sport after his freshman year.
injury, got cut, school grades slipping, no enjoyment, hated the coach.....
Another issue in college that was not an issue a couple of decades ago is that there are no JV teams anymore. Soccer rosters run 20-30 and each year 10 never see the field. There are not scheduled games for the lower half of the roster and you can count on the coach recruiting to find more to replace your child.

[Unregistered]

if I might add to the second paragraph, when my child was looking at colleges we made it clear that he should pick a school that he would go to whether he was playing a sport or not, and then listed reasons why he might not be playing that sport after his freshman year.
injury, got cut, school grades slipping, no enjoyment, hated the coach.....
Another issue in college that was not an issue a couple of decades ago is that there are no JV teams anymore. Soccer rosters run 20-30 and each year 10 never see the field. There are not scheduled games for the lower half of the roster and you can count on the coach recruiting to find more to replace your child.

Absolutely! Always pick the school first because anything can happen with the athletic piece - including the coach leaving which happens often enough as well. You may love the coach who recruited you but the new guy is a jerk who wants to clean house - then what? None of it matters if you can't survive academically so you have to keep up your studies. Plenty of kids also find they're just burned out, or they find so many new things to explore academically or socially once in college. It isn't that they stopped loving the game but as they mature find it is less important than figuring out what is next in their lives. Face it, none of our kids are going pro lol

[Unregistered]

Not the poster - Depends on what you want. If you want top D1 DA is almost always the way to go. If you want lower D1 or D2 or D3 then yes high level club play can get you there, it just may take more work to achieve. Good grades matter too. Top D3 schools require good grades first, then soccer second. I don't know enough about GPS (other than they are huge, driving their numbers) but maybe their players tend to skew more prep or private schools, or top performing school districts?

The other fascinating thing the poster of these threads does is track playing time for players once in college. I find that the best part of all of his work. It is eye opening to see how many kids don't play at all and are out sometimes as early as year one. If you haven't read the threads about prior graduates dig them up. They are titled similarly to this one just with a different year in the title. Go to the last pages where he has updated PT and how many are on or off rosters. It's important that players are realistic about the likelihood of playing in college. If playing matter to you then make sure you're not over-shooting. Both academic and soccer fit is critical to succeed in both.

The OP tracks playing time for D1 players only. Tracking D2 and D3 would be near impossible. My son graduated in 2016. On his D3 team there were three MA Freshman - all NPL players not a single one of them was listed in the TS 2016 thread. The rate of attrition is really a surprise, even amongst players that are starters or players that get ample playing time. Players quit and they quit not matter what year they are in. Playing four years in college regardless of the division is the exception not the norm.

[Unregistered]

The OP tracks playing time for D1 players only. Tracking D2 and D3 would be near impossible. My son graduated in 2016. On his D3 team there were three MA Freshman - all NPL players not a single one of them was listed in the TS 2016 thread. The rate of attrition is really a surprise, even amongst players that are starters or players that get ample playing time. Players quit and they quit not matter what year they are in. Playing four years in college regardless of the division is the exception not the norm.

I believe he does D3 as well, not sure about D2 as not as many go that route. Anyway, you're right that the likelihood of playing all four years is pretty low for many reasons. Love that school - that's what counts

[Unregistered]

Because DA is a combined two year team only about half a team will be graduating in any given year, bringing a DA team''s numbers down. Flip side is GPS is gigantic so more commitments. Especially with D3 admissions academics are more important than athletics.

No list will ever be perfect and I'm sure some are still missing, but it's pretty inclusive. The op encourages additions and corrections. I applaud his efforts as this is probably the most useful thread (s) on TS.

Less than 1/2 of the Bolts DAP were 2017 graduates.
http://bolt.ussoccerda.com/sam/teams...p?team=1655401
Of these 10 graduates 7 are listed. Of the other 3....perhaps the parents prefer privacy....