PORTLAND, Ore. – Once again, TopDrawerSoccer has Portland Pilots Men's Soccer with one of the best recruiting classes in the nation, ranking them third in the June rankings. This is the eighth time the Pilots have put together a Top 20 recruiting class since head coach Nick Carlin-Voigt took over in 2016.
The class features two Top 40 Freshmen, as well two others ranked in the Top 200. Defenders Christian Diaz (No. 26) and Riley Dalgado (No. 38) highlight the two Top-40 recruits while midfielders Parker Jackson (No. 117) and Jared Salazar (No. 165) also rankly highly. Midfielder Yazly Nazarov will also join the Pilots this fall.
Included among the talented group of freshmen is also three stellar transfers. Forwards Alex Waggoner of Michigan and Ken Bellini of Utah Valley both join Portland along with defender Ethan Zamora from San Diego State.
The Pilots are coming off a historic year that saw them rank as high as third in the nation as they went 12-5 overall to qualify for the NCAA Tournament for the third season in a row and the fifth time in seven fall seasons. They earned a first-round bye for the first time since 1988 after earning the 11-seed in the tournament and have made it to the second round each of the last three years, being one of just 11 teams in the nation to do so.
Portland has been one of the most exciting programs in the country, leading the nation in combined goals per game over the last two years (2.52). They set a program record with a home unbeaten streak that extended to 28 games (26-0-2) dating back to the 2021 season. The Pilots had three players taken in the 2024 MLS SuperDraft, the most in program history, with Kevin Bonilla, Jacob Babalai and Buba Fofanah all being selected. Portland is 10th in the country in NCAA Director Cup points from NCAA Participation the last three years.
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