Wright State men's soccer coach Jake Slemker has announced the signing of five players joining the Raider program and continuing their educations at Wright State University.
 
The newest Raiders are: Jake Iller, Ethan James, Joe Kouadio, Presten Manthey and Lars van der Vlugt.

"This recruiting class is full of very talented players," Slemker said. "They are coming into a program with some very high standards, and they will need to come in ready to work and train at a very high level this fall. With that said, we are extremely excited to get to work with this group. We know they are not only talented but they are good students and good guys. It's going to be fun to see this group grow and develop over the next couple of years."

Here's some background on each signee:
Jake Iller: A native of Tampa, Florida, Iller attended H. B. Plant High School, where he was rookie of the year for H.B. Plant High School as a freshmen, a 4 year starter and team captain. Iller played club soccer at Tampa Bay United. Iller is also on the US Virgin Islands National Team. In 2018 Iller qualified in the 800 meter event for Track & Field for the Junior Olympics. Iller is also a legacy student-athlete of Wright State with both parents as former athletes in Baseball and Swimming.
"I'm excited to follow in my parents footsteps as a student-athlete at Wright State but also help Coach Slemker and the team continue their winning tradition in being the best Division 1 men's soccer team in Ohio and strive to play in the college cup finals for the next 4 years!"

Ethan James: A native of Boyle County, Kentucky, James attended Boyle County High School. James played club soccer for Kings Hammer Academy based out of Cincinnati, Ohio. As a junior, James recorded six shutouts for Boyle County.
"I chose Wright State University because it just felt right at home for me."
   
Joe Kouadio: A native of South East London, England, Kouadio comes to the Raiders by way of Valparaiso University. The forward saw action in nine games and made two starts during the 2018 season for the Crusaders. Prior to coming to America, Kouadio played with the Nike Academy and the U23 sides for clubs like Burnley, Nottingham Forest and Huddersfield Town.

Presten Manthey: A native of Las Vegas, Nevada, Manthey comes to the Raiders by way of Santa Clara University. Manthey played club soccer for Heat FC. During the 2019 season, Manthey started in nine of the 16 matches he appeared in, tallying his first career points against San Jose State where he recorded a goal and provided two helpers in a 5-1 win for the Broncos.

Lars van der Vlugt: A native of Amsterdam, the Netherlands, van der Vlugt attended Keizer Karel College in Amstelveen. Van der Vlugt would play for several club teams before ending his youth career as a champion and a promotion to division 1. Van der Vlugt played for the First Team of Zeeburgia before coming to America.