Villanova announces four newcomers for fall

Villanova's 2016 recruiting class includes two players with experience playing for the Union Academy and another player with experience in the U.S. U15-U17 national team pool.

Four newcomers were announced in the class on Tuesday.

They include defender Nikkye DePoint from Rochester, defender/midfielder Frank Cotroneo from Grand Island, N.Y., and twin brothers Conor Bradley, a midfielder/forward and Shane Bradley, a defender/midfielder.

"We genuinely think this 2016 recruiting class is one of the deepest and best in the country," head coach Tom Carlin stated in an article on the team website. "(Assistant Coach) Mike Montross has done a fantastic job in assembling this class. Each player has a strong desire to be a true ambassador for this program on the field, in the classroom, and throughout our Villanova community. We cannot wait for them to arrive on campus."

TopDrawerSoccer.com has ranked Villanova’s recruiting class in the top 20, but this ranking includes four other players who verbally committed to the program but haven’t yet been announced. They include local midfielder David Bettenhausen, Chicago Fire Juniors Florida forward Jack Gilliam, Baltimore Celtic goalkeeper Carson Hunt and New York Red Bulls Academy forward Sean Teixeira.

The rest of the class is expected to be announced at a later date.

The Bradley twins will join former Union Academy midfielder Zach Zandi when they get to campus this fall. They played their first game back with the U18 team after winning an independent schools state championship with The Haverford School back in December.

DePoint participated in the 2014 Open Nordic Cup in Denmark with the U.S. U17 team and trained with 2015 USL champions Rochester Rhinos during the spring and summer of 2015.

Cotroneo was a part of the Empire Revolution Academy for three years and is ranked No. 105 in the 2016 class by TopDrawerSoccer.com.

Matthew Ralph

Matthew Ralph is the managing editor of Philadelphia Soccer Now. He's covered soccer at all levels for a decade in the Philadelphia region and has also written for TheCup.us, NPSL, PrepSoccer and other publications. He lives with his wife and two young children in Broomall, Pa., but grew up in South Jersey and is originally from Kansas.

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