March 3, 2005
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -
Headlined by national high school player of the year and Cary native Stephen Bickford, eight prep standouts and one transfer have signed on to join the University of North Carolina men's soccer program, Tar Heel head coach Elmar Bolowich announced Thursday. Bickford, along with Plantation, Fla., native Scott Campbell and NAIA All-America transfer Ben Hunter have already enrolled in classes and are training with the Tar Heels this spring. The remaining six signees will join the team in the fall.
"We are looking at a very good class for 2005," said Bolowich, who is the program's all-time winningest coach with a 198-112-20 career record. "Three student-athletes already joined the squad in January in Stephen Bickford, Scott Campbell and transfer student Ben Hunter. The freshmen will provide depth to our squad, but I am also hoping that a few will be able to challenge for a starting position right away."
With Bickford and Campbell in the fold, the Tar Heels landed two of the nation's top 14 recruits according to StudentSportSoccer.com. Bickford is rated the No. 3 overall recruit and No. 3 forward, while Campbell is rated 14th overall and No. 6 among midfielders. Bickford brings impressive scoring credentials to Chapel Hill, having netted 124 goals in three years at Green Hope High School, including 48 in 24 games as a senior. He was named the 2004 NSCAA Boys High School National Player of the Year and was a two-time NSCAA All-America, as well as the Gatorade State Player of the Year as a junior and the North Carolina State Player of the Year as a senior. He attended the 2004 adidas Elite Soccer Program and took home MVP honors at the event.
Campbell led his high school team to the 2004 Florida state title is a member of the Weston Fury club team, which is ranked No. 1 in the nation by GotSoccer.com. He led the team to a 37-5-2 record in the 2003-04 season and tallied 34 goals and 41 assists. The team was a finalist at the Disney Showcase in December 2004.
Hunter comes to Chapel Hill from Ohio's University of Rio Grande, where he won an NAIA national title as a freshman and earned All-America honors as a sophomore. He totalled 43 goals and 17 assists over two seasons. Hunter earned both all-conference and all-region honors in 2003 and `04. He played prep soccer at Queen Elizabeth's High School in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, England.
The Tar Heels also added United States Under-17 National Team product and Washington, D.C., native Jordan Graye. He earned NSCAA/adidas all-region honors in 2004, NSCAA/adidas Youth All-America honors honors in 2003 and participated in the adidas Elite Soccer Program camp in the summer of 2004. Graye played his high school soccer at DeMatha Catholic and earned all-met honors from the Washington Post as a senior.
In addition to Bickford, Bolowich also signed three more players from CASL Elite, midfielder Mike Callahan, who also teamed with Bickford at Green Hope, defender Tim Evans, who attended Raleigh's Broughton High School, and Garner High School goalkeeper Jacob Wescoe. Callahan was invited to the adidas ESP camp was a member of the Region III Olympic Development Program (ODP) team and was named MVP his of high school team. Evans was a four-time all-conference selection and captured all-state honors as a senior. He was a five-year team captain with CASL and a three-year high school team captain. Wescoe was a four-time all-conference selection at Garner and played with the North Carolina ODP team from 1999-2003. He was also named to the North Carolina East-West All-Star Game.
The Tar Heels' other in-state addition is Ryan Johnson from Charlotte Country Day School. Johnson was a three-time NCISAA all-state selection and played with the North Carolina ODP team from 1998-2003.
Campbell was one of two Floridians inked by Bolowich, as Clearwater's Brian Shriver will also join the Tar Heel program in 2005. Shriver was an adidas ESP participant and was named to the 2004 NSCAA Youth All-America team. He picked up all-state honors in prep soccer as a junior.
2005 NORTH CAROLINA MEN'S SOCCER SIGNEES
Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Hometown (High School/Club Team)
Stephen Bickford F 5-11 140 Cary, N.C. (Green Hope/CASL Elite)
Mike Callahan M 5-8 140 Cary, N.C. (Green Hope/CASL Elite)
Scott Campbell M 5-10 156 Plantation, Fla. (South Plantation/Weston Fury)
Tim Evans D 5-10 145 Raleigh, N.C. (Broughton/CASL Elite)
Jordan Graye M/F 6-2 170 Washington, D.C. (DeMatha Catholic/Reston FC)
Ben Hunter F 6-0 170 Doncaster, England (Queen Elizabeth's/University of Rio Grande)
Ryan Johnson F/M 5-4 140 Charlotte, N.C. (Charlotte Country Day/Charlotte Soccer Club)
Brian Shriver M/F 5-11 145 Clearwater, Fla. (Clearwater/Renegades)
Jacob Wescoe GK 6-1 165 Willow Spring, N.C. (Garner/CASL Elite)
