Players to watch: NCAA Men’s Division I Tournament

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NCAA released the 48-team field for the DI men’s soccer championship on Monday morning, setting up an exciting end to a college soccer season full of captivating storylines. Vermont is unbeaten since October 2024, Princeton is full of local talent and is entering the tournament red hot, and Lafayette qualify for the first time since 2012 as the lone Pennsylvanian school in the tournament.

Despite the absence of the Philly Soccer Six, the players bring plenty of local representation in this edition of the NCAA tournament. To keep up with the local players, Philadelphia Soccer Now has compiled a list of all the players with known connections participating in the national tournament alongside their scheduled first round matches, starting with the first round on Thursday. All 16 seeded teams will receive a first-round bye and play their first match on Sunday.

Fairleigh Dickinson University vs. Duke: Thursday, 1 p.m.
FDU: Nk Tima – Middletown, DE (La Salle; Appoquinimink HS; Delaware FC U-17; Penn Fusion)

Cornell vs. Lafayette: Thursday, 5 p.m.
Cornell: Nate Hovan – Lititz, PA (Warwick HS; PA Classics), Liam May – Philadelphia, PA (St. Joe’s Prep; FC Delco), Andrew Johnson – Philadelphia, PA (Drafted by Charlotte FC; FC Delco; The Haverford School; Philadelphia Union Academy), Bennett Wehibe – Lancaster, PA (PA Classics; Lampeter HS), Caden Bredeman – Lancaster, PA (Conestoga Valley HS)
Lafayette: Francisco Benbow – West Chester, PA (Penn Fusion; Westtown), Eric Axtman – Harrisburg, PA (Central Dauphin HS), Gabe Faust – Cherry Hill, NJ (Real Futbol Academy, NJ; Cherry Hill West HS), Noah Amankulor – Philadelphia, PA (FC Delco; William Penn Charter), Tommy Clark – Dunmore, PA (Dunmore HS) Jackson Vajda – Bethlehem, PA (HEX FC; Northampton HS), Cameron Bohn – Easton, PA (Lehigh Valley United; Notre Dame HS), Riley Martin – Oreland, PA (HEX FC; Springfield HS), James Melnick – Conshohocken, PA (HEX FC; William Penn Charter), Head Coach Dennis Bohn – Delran, NJ (Roman Catholic HS)

Denver vs. UC Irvine: Thursday, 5 p.m.
Denver: Head Coach Jamie Franks – Medford, NJ (Ocean City Barons; Shawnee High School)
Associate Head Coach Brad Franks – Medford, NJ (Elon University; Shawnee High School)

Seton Hall vs. Siena: Thursday, 5 p.m.
Seton Hall: Nico Rubio – Egg Harbor Township, NJ (Egg Harbor Township HS, YSC Academy), Aidan Tisony – Ocean Township, NJ (Dutchmen FC, Ocean Township HS)

UNC Greensboro vs. Elon: Thursday, 5 p.m.
Elon: Colin Veltri – Mays Landing, NJ (St. John’s University; Real JFC; Oakcrest High School), Charlie Kitch – Medford, NJ (Real Jersey FC; Shawnee High School)

Clemson vs. Western Michigan: Thursday, 6 p.m.
Clemson: Justin Ross – West Chester, PA (Philadelphia Union Academy; Cedar Stars Academy; Bayard Rustin HS)

West Virginia vs. St. John’s (NY): Thursday, 7 p.m.
West Virginia: Steel Bayer – Mechanicsburg, PA (HEX FC; East Pennsboro HS), Dante Huckaby – Morgantown, WV (University of Louisville; Philadelphia Union II; YSC Academy), Chase Collins – Harrisburg, PA (PA Classics; Central Dauphin HS)

Marshall vs. Cleveland State: Thursday, 7:15 p.m.
Marshall: Eddie DeMarco – Monroe, NJ (University of Delaware; PDA; Monroe Township HS)

UCLA vs. Grand Canyon University: Thursday, 10 p.m.
UCLA: Zach Mastrodimos – Hoboken, NJ (Philadelphia Union Academy)
Grand Canyon: Gavin Atkinson – Philadelphia, PA (Philadelphia Union Academy), Junior Diouf – Thies, Senegal (St. Benedict’s Prep School; Phelps School)

#6 Indiana vs. TBA: Sunday, 12 p.m.
Indiana: Ben Do – Seaside, CA (University of Pennsylvania; San Jose Earthquakes Academy; Bellarmine
College Prep; Santa Cruz Breakers), Collins Oduro – Bibiani, Ghana (The Phelps School; Right to Dream Academy)

#1 Vermont vs. TBA: Sunday, 1 p.m.
Vermont: Brady Costin – Wayne, PA (University of Delaware; FC Delco; Conestoga HS), Ryan Zellefrow – Berwyn, PA (Conestoga HS; Philadelphia Union Academy)

#4 Maryland vs. TBA: Sunday, 1 p.m.
Maryland: Mack DeVries – Mechanicsburg, PA (PA Classics; Cumberland Valley HS), Colin Griffith – Stroudsburg, PA (PDA; Stroudsburg HS), Henry Bernstein – Gladwyne, PA (Philadelphia Union Academy)

#14 Akron vs. TBA: Sunday, 1 p.m.
Akron: Mitch Budler – Lincoln, NE (Philadelphia Union II; YSC Academy; Shattuck St. Mary’s
Academy), Logan LaMaina – Sellersville, PA (Pennridge HS; Sporting Athletic)

#13 UConn vs. TBA: Sunday, 2 p.m.
UConn: Balthazar Saunders – Brooklyn, NY (Villanova University; New York Red Bulls Academy; NYCFC Academy)

#3 Princeton vs. TBA: Sunday, 4 p.m.
Princeton: Jack Jasinski – Charlotte, NC (Philadelphia Union II; YSC Academy; TOVO Academy, Barcelona), Liam Beckwith – San Diego, CA (West Chester United; Albion SC; Nomads SC; La Jolla HS), Giuliano Fravolini Whitchurch – San Diego, CA (West Chester United; Capelli Sport; Albion SC; Point Loma HS)

#7 Georgetown vs. TBA: Sunday, 5 p.m.
Georgetown: Jack Brown – Lititz, PA (Philadelphia Union Academy; PA Classics; Manheim Township HS)

#10 High Point vs. TBA: Sunday, 7:30 p.m.
High Point: Desmond Mensah – Accra, Ghana (Montverde Academy; Electric City Shock), Anthony Ramirez – Thomasville, NC (Philadelphia Union II; Philadelphia Union Academy)

#12 Stanford vs. TBA: Sunday, 8 p.m.
Stanford: Zach Bohane – Monte Sereno, CA (Philadelphia Union draft pick; De Anza Force)