PEORIA, Ill. – Bradley Soccer's 2013 recruiting class grew to five Wednesday with the announcement that St. Charles, Ill., native Tyler Davis will join the Braves for the 2013 campaign.
Davis is an attacking player from St. Charles North High School who plays for the Sockers FC U18 Academy team. The 5-foot-11 striker joins Alex Garcia, Cody Lofgren, Jon Mifsud and Christian Okeke in a 5-player recruiting class that will team with 18 returning lettermen and five redshirts from the 2012 Bradley squad that finished 10-6-4 overall, including a 3-1 victory against eventual Big Ten regular-season co-champion Northwestern.
“We are very excited to add a player of Tyler's ability to our program,” said Bradley head coach Jim DeRose. “His father (Timothy) is a Bradley alum and certainly we are excited to welcome him to our family as well.
“Tyler has shown great versatility in multiple attacking roles in high school and is now a full-time starter for the Chicago Sockers in the US Developmental Academy, the nation's elite club level,” DeRose continued. “The coaching staff at the Sockers has a celebrated history of developing and producing some of the top soccer student-athletes in the country, and playing at this level and receiving the coaching he has to date, will have Tyler prepared for the Division I level. He has played alongside current Brave Jason Lesch and knows a lot about our program.
”Tyler is a strong target forward with good feet and creates chances for himself and others. He possesses a strong work rate which is a premium for us, and will join a talented group of attacking players to give us great depth and versatility."
After Davis started as a freshman in 2009 at St. Charles North High School and led the team in assists from his right midfield position, a car accident kept him out of action as a sophomore. He returned to the field for the North Stars in 2011 and set the school single-season scoring record with 25 goals in 19 games to earn Illinois High School Soccer Coaches Association all-state honors. He also was named the 2011 high school area player of the year by both the Courier News and Kane County Chronicle.
Davis focused his soccer attention on the club level during his senior season as a member of the Sockers FC U18 Academy squad and is ranked as the #10 player in the Midwest Region in the Class of 2013 by TopDrawerSoccer.com. A starter on his 2009 Olympic Development Program team, Davis was invited to the 2007 ODP National Team Camp and played in an international ODP tournament in Costa Rica in 2009.
“Tyler has been a member of the Sockers FC Chicago development program for several years and has been a full-time academy player since its inception,” said Todd Bailey, Chicago Sockers Academy head coach. “I believe Tyler is prepared mentally and physically to go on to a successful career in Division I soccer. Tyler is a player that has found himself in dangerous scoring situations in every game this season and has proven to be an instrumental component in the team's attack.”
“I liked the business school and the entrepreneurship program,” Davis said of his decision to attend Bradley, “and this will be a place I can excel on the field and in the classroom. I can't wait to be a part of one of the top soccer programs in the country.”
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