The Transfer Portal Has Added A Different Dimension To THe Recruiting Process As A Means For Teams To Address Voids With Experienced Players.
Diego Konincks – Senior – Defender – Saint Louis – Konincks transfers to Saint Louis from Campbell where he was a three-time All-Big South First team selection at center back and team captain. He will join a Saint Louis team that has a void to fill at center back due to the departure of Alberto Suarez, the 2022 Atlantic 10 Conference Defensive Player of the Year, who led the Billikens in minutes played last year.
Saint Louis is coming off a rebuilding season of sorts during which they struggled in the early going but rebounded under head coach Kevin Kalish to win the A-10 regular season and tournament titles for the second year in a row and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
Aboubacar Camara – Senior – Forward – Kentucky – Camara comes to the Wildcats from in-state rival Louisville where he was Cardinals top goal scorer the past three seasons. Camara was an All-ACC Freshman selection in 2020 with six goals and one assist, an All-ACC First Team selection in 2021 with 13 goals and 2 assists and an All-ACC Second Team selection in 2022 with six goals and one assist. The addition of Camara is a big plus for a Kentucky attack that has to address a significant void on the offensive side of the ball due to the departure of All-American forward Eythor Bjorgolfsson who contributed a total of 24 goals including 10 game-winners during his four-year tenure in Lexington.
The Wildcats will seek to build on a highly successful 2022 season during which they were 15-1-5, won the Sun Belt Conference regular season and tournament titles, were awarded a number one seed in the NCAA Tournament and advanced to the Sweet Sixteen.
Asparuh Slavov – Sophomore – Forward – George Mason – Slavov transfers to George Mason from the University of Virginia where he was an All-ACC Freshman Team selection in 2021 with seventeen starts. Last year he appeared in sixteen contests at Virginia. Slavov is one of several transfers who have the potential to add more punch to the Patriots offense in 2023.
Rich Costanzo enters his second season as the George Mason head coach in 2023 facing the challenge of putting in place a foundation that will result in a winning culture and upward movement in the A-10 Conference hierarchy. Rebuilding doesn’t usually occur overnight but chances are pretty good that George Mason will take a step in the right direction in 2023.
Gage Guerra – Junior – Forward – Louisville – Guerra comes to Louisville from Army where he helped the Black Knights secure the Patriot League Regular Season title in 2022 for the first time since 1996. Guerra was named the 2022 Patriot League Offensive Player of the Year after a banner ten goal and three assist season. He was also a United Soccer Coaches All-Atlantic Region First Team selection. Guerra played in 18 contests his freshman season scoring five goals and adding an assist.
Guerra has the potential to add value to a Louisville attack that will be without the services of forward Aboubacar Camara who was the Cardinals top goal scorer for the past three seasons. Louisville was 9-6-3 last year with a 4-3-1 mark in Atlantic Coast Conference play. The Cardinals earned a berth in the NCAA Tournament for the 14th time in program history in 2022.
Owen Travis – Senior – Defender – FIU – Travis is one of three experienced defenders FIU head coach Kyle Russell has added in order to help address the very real gap that the Panthers have on the defensive side of the ball due to the departure of backs Carlos Scheckermann and David Garcia. Travis is an athletic and experienced ball winner who makes the transition from UAB in Birmingham to FIU in Miami. Travis was a three-year starter and stalwart on the defensive side of the ball for UAB whose experience should enable him to compete for a staring job at FIU.
Graduate Student center back Kasper Skraep who transfers in from Oregon State and junior left back Adrian Barosen who is a transfer from Missouri State are also solid additions to a Panther squad that was 14-5-1 overall in 2022, won both the American Athletic Conference regular season and tournament titles and advanced to the Sweet Sixteen in the NCAA Tournament.
Curt Calov – Junior – Midfielder – Rutgers – Calov who is from Morristown, New Jersey out of Delbarton High School transfers to Rutgers from from 2022 National Champion Syracuse where he appeared in 18 games in 2021 with seven starts and 23 games in 2022 with four starts. He scored five goals and added an assist in 2021 and had three goals and seven helpers in 2022. Calov should help fill the gap on the offensive side of the ball that exists at Rutgers due to the departure of forward MD Myers (13g, 7a), among others, who was named the 2022 Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year after transferring in from High Point University prior to the start of the 2022 season.
Cavlov joins a Rutgers squad under head coach Jim McElderry that will seek to build on a very successful 2022 season during which the Scarlet Knights won the Big Ten Championship for the first time in program history and returned to the NCAA Tournament field for the first time since 2015.
Andre Cutler-DeJesus – Junior – Defender – Syracuse – Cutler-DeJesus joins defending national champion Syracuse in 2023 after two productive seasons at Marist where he appeared in 33 games making 30 starts as a center back. He is a solid addition to a Syracuse team that had a very solid 0.72 goals-against-average last year but will require some reloading on the defensive side of the ball in 2023 due to the departure of the likes of talented defenders Christian Curti and Adbi Salim in 2023.
Last year the seamless merger of several transfers with a talented group of returning players resulted in a history making national championship campaign. Orange head coach Ian McIntyre has added five transfers in 2023 including Cutler-DeJesus who he no doubt hopes will contribute to another banner season at Syracuse.
Mateo Leveque – Junior – Midfielder – Syracuse – Leveque transfers in from Connecticut where he played in 31 games with 27 starts in 2021 and 2022. He was the 2021 Big East Freshman of the Year in 2021 and an All-Big East First Team selection in 2022. Leveque is an experienced playmaker who had five goals and 11 assists during two seasons at UConn.
Look for Leveque along with transfers Stephen Hasse from Niagara University, Michael Suski from Boston College and Nate Edwards from Purdue Fort Wayne to be in the mix on the offensive side of the ball for Syracuse in 2023.
