Photo by Omar Martinez/ISIphotos.com
The college soccer season is around the corner and the NSCAA has released its Hermann Trophy watch list to provide a guide of players to keep an eye on during the upcoming campaign.
The list managed to leave off Louisville striker Colin Rolfe — a Hermann Trophy finalist last season — and Notre Dame and United States Under-20 midfielder Dillon Powers — a consensus top prospect and Generation adidas candidate — while including current New York Red Bulls (and therefore no longer in college) defender Sacir Hot.
A couple of top candidates to win the Hermann Trophy who actually made the list include UCLA and U.S. U-20 midfielder Kelyn Rowe (pictured above) and Duke's versatile defender Andrew Wenger.
Considering the omission of Rolfe and Powers and inclusion of Hot, the official watch list should be taken with a grain of salt, but it's still a metric to use in order to identify some of the top collegiate players in the country.
Here is the NSCAA's 2011 Hermann Trophy watch list:
2011 HERMANN TROPHY WATCH LIST
R.J. Allen, D, Monmouth
Carlos Alvarez, M, Connecticut
Gideon Asante, M, Old Dominion
James Belshaw, GK, Duke
Austin Berry, D, Louisville
Thomas Brandt, D, Penn
Andrew Bulls, M, UMBC
Brendan Burgdorf, F, Bucknell
Michael Bustamante, M, Boston University
Cody Calafiore, M, Temple
Tony Cascio, F, Connecticut
Juan Castillo, F, SMU
Marcello Castro, D, Sacred Heart
Justin Chavez, D, Tulsa
Warren Creavalle, M, Central Florida
Roger Downes, D, Loyola Marymount
Ethan Finlay, F, Creighton
Shaun Foster, D, Hofstra
Raymon Gaddis, D, West Virginia
Sam Garza, F, UCSB
Bryan Gaul, F, Bradley
Max Hamilton, M, Monmouth
Antoine Hoppenot, F, Princeton
Sacir Hot, D, Boston College (signed by New York Red Bulls on January 31; ineligible)
Arthur Ivo, M, SMU
Matt Lampson, GK, Ohio State
Enzo Martinez, M, North Carolina
Ryan Meara, GK, Fordham
Karo Okiomah, F, High Point
Tyler Polak, D, Creighton
Josey Portillo, M, Florida Gulf Coast
Tim Richardson, M, Fordham
Charles Rodriguez, D, Charlotte
Kelyn Rowe, M, UCLA
Kevin Strunk, D, Lehigh
Chris Thomas, F, Elon
Casey Townsend, F, Maryland
Anthony Vasquez, D, Monmouth
Patrick Wallen, F, San Diego
Andrew Wenger, D, Duke
Chris Wheeler, F, Mount St. Mary's
Gyasi Zardes, F, Cal St. Bakersfield
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Which players are you expecting to stand out this season? Who do you see winning the Hermann Trophy? Anybody else not on the list that you think will turn some heads this season?
Share your thoughts below.