PORTLAND, Ore. – The Portland Pilots men's soccer team has signed John Atem Kato, adding him to an already stellar 2021 recruiting class, announced Portland head coach Nick Carlin-Voigt. The Kapenguria, Kenya native joins the team as a freshman with four years of eligibility.

"We are excited to announce the signing of John Kato, who joined our program during the past signing period," Carlin-Voigt said. "The very first time I saw Kato he was running behind the line and scoring goals.  Kato's best days are ahead of him as he transitions to the demands of the college game. Most importantly we are proud of his journey to the United States as he is a wonderful young man who is incredibly humble, determined and driven to unlock his full potential both on and off the field. I know our fans and campus community will enjoy getting to know Kato's journey to Portland and he will take advantage of the opportunity presented to him. Kato is very much a team first guy and will fit our culture here in the program."

Kato joins the Pilots after playing previously for Montverde Academy. This past season, Kato was named the Soccer Institute at Montverde Academy's 2020-21 Student Athlete of the Year and earned Top Drawer Soccer Winter All-America honors in 2020. He was also named to the North Florida All-Region in 2020.

The forward is also one of several players that has come to Portland from Montverde. Benji Michel, Esteban Calvo, Jabari Newton and Caua Soares also came through SIMA. Michel and Calvo are both playing professionally – Michel as a forward/midfielder for Orlando City SC in MLS and Calvo as a defender for the Richmond Kickers in USL League One – while Newton and Soares both played key roles with the Pilots during their time on The Bluff.

"John Atem Kato is simply one of a kind," SIMA director Mike Potempa said. "He is extremely humble young man who is an excellent student in the classroom and big talent on the field. We are extremely excited that Kato has this opportunity at Portland and we look forward to watching his progression."

Kato joins an already strong 2021 recruiting class. Top Drawer Soccer has Portland's incoming class as the No. 2 group in the nation, making it the fifth straight top 20 recruiting class for the Pilots and Carlin-Voigt. For the full list of signees, you can read here.