cover photo belongs to Al Sermeno, KLC fotos
Seniors
1. Drake Callender (California)
2. Paul-Andre Guerin (CSUF, France)
3. Anthony Mwembia (Bowling Green, France)
4. Albert Escuin (California Baptist, Spain)
5. Jimmy Slayton (Hartford)
6. Parker Siegfried (Ohio State)
7. Tim Trilk (Western Illinois)
8. Jacob Harris (Colgate)
9. Wallis Lapsley (UC Davis)
10. Carlos Caro (Howard)
11. Remi Prieur (St. Mary's)
12. Nathan Wisbey (Bradley)
13. Elliot Panicco (Charlotte)
14. Keegan Meyer (High Point)
15. Vincent Durand (NC State)
Most improved: Drake Callender. No, it’s not because Callender already has his professional track sorted out before he’s finished his college career, although that doesn’t hurt his case. The Golden Bear goalkeeper has the ability to cover every corner of the goal, as well as the 18 yard box, through his Stretch Armstrong-inspired frame and 0-60 acceleration. However, for all the goals he’s prevented, Callender’s thorn in his side revolves around him overusing his athleticism. Whether it’s taking one too many steps when facing a breakaway or not utilizing a quick shuffle before a dive, Callender would benefit from adding more nuances to his footwork and relying less on his athleticism to solve every problem. If he can make the adjustments, he’ll make a potent challenge for all the offensive firepower in MLS. If he can’t, don’t expect him to gain many minutes outside of USL.
Juniors
1. Paul Tyson (Georgia State, England)
2. Yannik Oettl (UCF, Germany)
3. Chase Vosvick (Loyola Maryland)
4. Jake Gelnovatch (Louisville)
5. Jahmali Waite (Fairleigh Dickinson, Jamaica)
6. Matthew Rosenberg (Xavier)
7. Andrew Pannenberg (Wake Forest)
8. Noah Lawrence (Cincinnati)
9. Alec Smir (North Carolina)
10. Colin Shutler (Virginia)
Most improved: Paul Tyson. The English goalkeeper has most certainly been tracking Jordan Pickford when discovering his own style of play, except add a few inches to Tyson’s frame. At 6’7”, Tyson can cover a foot above the goal with ease yet somehow get low on shots from close range with either his hands or feet. His handling ability isn’t exceptional but his use of his entire body makes up for some sloppy rebounds he may give away. Tyson will struggle to find a job as a goalkeeper in the United States after graduation but with more professional options each year, the Georgia State goalkeeper has shown up at a good time.
Sophomores
1. Andrew Thomas (Stanford)
2. Giannis Nikopolidis (Georgetown, Greece)
3. Quantrell Jones (UMBC)
4. Hunter Morse (Michigan State)
5. George Tasouris (Grand Canyon, Cyprus)
6. George Marks (Clemson)
7. Elian Haddock (Yale)
8. Daniel Husa (Gardner-Webb, Norway)
9. Sam Ilin (Marist)
10. Justin Garces (UCLA)
Most improved: Quantrell Jones. Coming back from his freshman year, Jones looks about fifteen pounds lighter and has clearly worked on his footwork to minimize excessive movement on multi-step runs. The added agility has aided Jones on post-to-post plays and 1v1s, although the latter can look a little like he’s simply winging it at times. Moving forward, Jones’ potential is hard to pin down. He checks a lot of boxes but he still needs to face more high-pressure situations to continue his development. If Jones makes a similar jump from his sophomore-to-junior year as he did last offseason, the world is his oyster. But if he rests laurels as a USYNT alum, the UMBC goalkeeper will be an extremely polarizing figure for his final two years.
Freshmen
1. Kris Shakes (Penn State)
2. Patrick Schulte (Saint Louis)
3. Tomas Romero (Georgetown, El Salvador)
4. Dane Jacomen (George Washington)
5. Michael Collodi (Columbia)
6. Niklas Neumann (Maryland, Germany)
7. Nate Holladay (UNC Asheville)
8. Martin Sanchez (Northern Illinois)
9. Owen Finnerty (Michigan)
10. Oren Asher (Rutgers, Israel)
Most improved: Owen Finnerty. Finnerty didn’t make his first collegiate start in an easy fashion. Filling in for an injured senior, Andrew Verdi, Finnerty would help aide the Wolverines to an unbeaten finish in 2019, allowing just three goals in 484 minutes of play. The freshmen class is still very fluid at this point, but it’s hard to bet against an undefeated freshman goalkeeper with the 13th seed in the national tournament. Finnerty plays with a lot of passion and heart so whether the young Michigander is featured in 2019 postseason play or not, expect to get accustomed to seeing Finnerty’s name in headlines in the near future.
Past Collegiate Goalkeeper Rankings
2019: Preseason
2018: Preseason and Final
2017: Preseason and Final
2016: Preseason and Final
2015: Preseason and Final
2014: Final