Welcome Jabari Newton!

Saw the Villa Drum Squad guys post about this a while ago, finally remembered to post it: https://twitter.com/AlmightyBari/status/809944787482710017

Jabari Newton, who just completed his sophomore year at Memphis, is transferring to Portland. He is a defender, and went to the powerhouse Montverde Academy in Florida with current Pilot Benji Michel.

Stats for defenders are a bit limited, but it looks like Newton was a regular starter for Memphis both years. Here's a short article about him when he signed for Memphis: http://mvasports.com/2015/06/03/senior-commitments-jabari-newton-memphis/

"His good technical ability together with his speed will put him in a position to make an immediate impact in college soccer."

Emphasis mine... if he's fast, he'll fit right in with all the new Pilots - that is clearly a team-wide priority for the coaches.

Welcome Jabari!

Stonehouse wrote:Welcome Jabari!

....a member of the Memphis 3.0 club:

In addition to Jabari Newton from Memphis, the Pilots have signed UCLA transfer Jason Romero.  Romero played two years of JC ball and one year at UCLA, so will have only one year of eligibility at UP....but he has a "reputation for putting the ball in the back of the net."

This year's Top-20 recruiting class also includes four high school players and three international players (Congo, Netherlands, and Portugal).

http://portlandpilots.com/news/2017/2/6/msoc-welcomes-nationally-ranked-recruiting-class-to-the-bluff.aspx

Wow!

College Soccer News is calling the Pilots a top 5 recruiting class behind only 1. Stanford 2. North Carolina 3. Wake Forest 4. Indiana.  And second on the West Coast behind 1. Stanford, but ahead of 14. UCLA and 15. UCSB.

That's pretty cool, IMO.  
http://collegesoccernews.com/index.php/recuiting/2017-team-recruiting-classes

DoubleDipper wrote:College Soccer News is calling the Pilots a top 5 recruiting class behind only 1. Stanford 2. North Carolina 3. Wake Forest 4. Indiana.

Pretty incredible. I would love nothing more than for UP to assert its rightful position as the perennial favorite to win the WCC and make some noise in the tournament.