Recruiting surprises late in the process are not uncommon in Kevin Kalish鈥檚 experience of collecting talent for the St. 不良研究所导航网址 University soccer team.
Thus, the announcement of an incoming class tends to happen on the brink of preseason practice. This year, Kalish and his staff added a player in the middle of June, about six weeks shy of training camp.
鈥淲e鈥檙e recruiting up to July 1 for the season,鈥 Kalish said. 鈥淭here鈥檚 so much fluidity now in roster construction. It ends up being a good lead-in to the season.鈥
SLU released its incoming class of freshmen and transfers last week, and it is ranked as the No. 2 class in the country by Top Drawer Soccer. It comes a year after the Billikens had the No. 1 class, according to TDS.
The Billikens did not reach the NCAA Tournament last season, and Kalish doesn鈥檛 believe they deserve a top 25 ranking to start 2024. But the expectations will certainly be increased when they open at home at 7 p.m. Aug. 23 against Indiana.
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鈥淚t鈥檚 on paper, but it鈥檚 an awesome ranking in the sense that a lot of talent is coming,鈥 he said. 鈥淚t doesn鈥檛 always mean results but it is exciting. 鈥 We didn鈥檛 end (2023) ranked so I wouldn鈥檛 envision it. We have to come together as a team. I think we have the right ingredients, but we have to go do it.鈥
SLU is 61-26-19 in six seasons under Kalish with a 31-7-8 mark in the Atlantic 10. The Billikens started slow last season and rebounded but came up a couple of spots short of an at-large NCAA berth.
The most intriguing additions are the numerous attacking players who will bolster a solid returning group and fill holes left by departures.
Forward Luis Lara transferred from Stetson, where he scored 10 goals and was first team in the Atlantic Sun. Forward Jackson Delkus (Chaminade) is the No. 1 recruit in his class, according to Prep Soccer. Nate Ward, the late addition, did not have big numbers but arrives after playing for Indiana.
That group doesn鈥檛 even include Marcos Moore, the 2022 youth player of the year who missed last season with a knee injury. Or Andrew Heckenlaible, who has experience with Minnesota United in MLS Next.
鈥淲e鈥檝e assembled a lot of very good attacking players that have the potential of doing great things,鈥 Kalish said.
SLU was 48th in the country in scoring last season with 1.71 goals per game. A few of the top producers exhausted eligibility and two transferred.
Kalish had a solid returning group around which to build with forwards Seth Anderson and Matthew Wrobel returning with midfielder Tanner Anderson. With so many potential scorers on hand, the problem becomes sorting them out before the season starts.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 the hard part 鈥 trying to kind of let the guys鈥 form dictate their playing time,鈥 Kalish said. 鈥淚 think we鈥檝e learned that with injuries you need a lot of depth. Some might pay minor roles this year but bigger roles in the future. Some are more experienced in college soccer and are set up to have a very good year.鈥
Kalish also added yet another transfer center back, adding to a long line of high-level players on the back line. The Billikens have had the last three defensive players of the year in the A-10 in Kipp Keller, Alberto Suarez and Diego Konincks 鈥 the last two having been one-year transfers.
This year they gain the services of Joey Maher, who transferred from Indiana after being named to the Big Ten first team in 2023. He鈥檒l team with Max Floriani, who Kalish said he expects to emerge as a top defender nationally.
The schedule was built to match the potential. It starts with Indiana and is packed with opponents that are likely to give the Billikens鈥 a competitive RPI, depending on their results. Eight opponents played in last year鈥檚 NCAA Tournament and 10 finished in the top 50 of the RPI.
鈥淲e have a scheduling strategy we鈥檝e adhered to the last three years,鈥 Kalish said. 鈥淲e have a model that works well for us to put us in position to get in the tournament if we stub our toe in the A-10. This one is extremely challenging.鈥