Coach Jorden revamps UCLA men’s soccer with 11 fresh recruits

With the emergence of the coronavirus pandemic, sports fans have looked for answers as to what is next for collegiate athletics.

UCLA men’s soccer – which finished second-to-last in the Pac-12 in coach Ryan Jorden’s inaugural season in 2019 – has responded by bringing in a fresh 11.

One week ago, Jorden announced his 2020 recruiting class, comprised of three forwards, three midfielders, four defenders and one goalkeeper – enough depth to hypothetically field a full team with a 4-3-3 formation.

The second-year coach said the positionally-diverse recruiting class addressed some of the weaknesses of the 2019 team, which finished with a 2-6-2 conference record – UCLA’s worst in program history.

“As we looked at the team from last year, we knew that we needed to fill a lot of different holes,” Jorden said. “We recruited a playing 11, with balance from goalkeeper to defenders to midfielders to attacking players. Through that process, we’ve been able to add great quality to the group in a very balanced nature.”

The three forwards added to the squad – Kevin Diaz, Jose Contell-Lechon and Grayson Doody – will join the team after junior forward Milan Iloski signed a contract with Real Salt Lake of Major League Soccer in January 2020. Iloski’s 17 goals paced both his team and the conference, and the forward set a new school record for goals scored in a single game, finding the back of the net five times Oct. 6 against San Diego State.

In the midfield, UCLA added midfielders Tucker Lepley, Andrew Valverde and Connor Manning, with Manning hailing from England and being one of three recruits from European clubs.

Defenders Ahmed Longmire, Pablo Greenlee, Tommy Silva and Kasper Strom were added to the Bruins’ backline, which allowed the most goals of any team in the conference last season, giving up 2.11 per game and 38 total on the season.

Rounding out the class is goalkeeper Tyler Kirberg, a U.S. Youth Soccer National Champion who is set to join sophomore Justin Garces and redshirt sophomore Cameron Douglas between the sticks.

With the addition of a full team’s worth of new players, Jorden said that training can provide desired competition.

“You try to get a competitive roster, so that every day in training, the competitive level is equal or greater to what the team will experience on game day,” Jorden said.

With scheduling for next season still up in the air due to the coronavirus pandemic, Jorden said any delays could actually help settle new players and that he also hopes his two transfer recruits – Diaz from Cerritos College in Norwalk, California, and Longmire from Utah Valley University – will be able to make a more immediate impact on the field.

The Bruins missed the NCAA Tournament in 2019 after qualifying for seven of the last 10 seasons, and Jorden said the coaching staff was looking for recruits that can help the program meet their own expectations.

“We’re always looking for talented players, and certainly as we looked at our team, the objective was to find a talented group that should fall in line with what a UCLA soccer team should look like,” Jorden said. “We should have a team that has both the ability and quality to be competing for National Championships, and to compete at the highest level.”

Jorden also said that that while he was on the recruiting trail, he kept an eye out for players that not only exhibited technical skill, but a good attitude on the pitch with a team-first mentality.

“Along with having raw, innate ability, I don’t think (competing for a national championship) can be possible if you don’t have players with character and certainly personality,” Jorden said. “We’ve got a really fantastic group of guys, from a personal quality standpoint and personality standpoint.”