Yellowjacket Men's Soccer Announces 2008 Signings

February 11, 2008

Brady Blankenship	Austin Re'	Alex Rios	Michael Triano

Lamoni, Iowa-Graceland University men's soccer head coach Ivan Joseph announced the official signing of four student-athletes who will be joining the Yellowjacket family.

 "I am very proud of this incoming class," stated coach Joseph, the 2006 NAIA National Coach of the Year and 2007 Region V Coach of the Year.   "We did not set out to bring a lot of players but only a privileged few with specific skills and great talent, it is my belief that we have accomplished just that."

Signing national letters of intent to play at Graceland in the 2008 season are:

Brady Blankenship from Glenwood (Iowa), Austin Re' from Blue Valley North H.S. (Kansas), Alex Rios from Brownsville (Texas) and Michael Triano from Overland Park (Kansas).

These student-athletes are winners on the field and in the classroom and Graceland is proud to have them continue to pursue their academic and athletic interests here.

Brady Blankenship, a center midfielder, comes highly recommended from Casey Mann. Casey is the Head coach of the Des Moines Menace of the Premier Development League (PDL).  Brady is local talent from  Glenwood, Iowa.  Captain of his High School team for the last two years, 1^st Team All-Conference and 2^nd Team All-State, Blankenship is an excellent student who is a regular as a Presidential Scholar and has been on the Honor Roll since his freshman year.  Brady plays club in the renowned Arsenal Hibernian of Omaha Nebraska.  

"Brady is a very mature player who has all the characteristics to be a leader in the future.  On the field he has great vision and touch, but it is his ability to possess the ball and play simple that make him an outstanding player." - Coach Joseph.

Austin Ré a 5'11'' outside midfielder from Blue Valley North High School will be one more player to be added to the list of players who have played with a sibling at Graceland.  "Every time you have an older sibling advise their family member to come to Graceland you know you are doing something right" said Joseph.  Austin will be joining Second Team All-Conference brother Hunter Ré at Graceland.  Austin was a Kansas State Champion his senior year and runner-up his junior year.  Among his honors are a 1^st team All-Eastern Kansas League, 2^nd Team All-State and 2007 All-Academic Team.  Austin's Blue Valley North High School was ranked as high as 15^th in the Nation under coach Tom Holland.  Austin played club for the KC Legends and most recently KC Comets under coach Neil Kelly.

"Austin is a tough, aggressive and hardworking outside midfielder identified form our Academy and we have watched him as a young prospect develop over the years.   He is a feisty competitor, who brings character to the field we are pleased to have him join our program."- Coach Joseph            

Alex Rios is a forward who has been a four-year starter for coach Salvador Garcia at Rivera High School in Brownsville Texas.  "In the past we have been very fortunate with the quality of players we have been able to recruit from this area" said coach Joseph.  Alex will be following the footsteps of Graceland Alumnus who hail from the Brownsville Valley: All-American Jesus Rodriguez (2005) All-Conference defenders Isaias Diaz (2006) and Edson Ortiz (2003) to name a few.

Alex is a gifted player who can single handedly change the outcome of a game.  He has the Rivera High School's all-time record for goals; Alex currently sits at a whopping 108 goals with more than half a senior season to go.  Alex's honors include Offensive MVP of his district,  as well as District MVP and Texas 1^st team All-State. 

"Alex is the kind of player we hope can bring a different approach to our attack.  Gifted with speed and great skill he is not afraid to take defenders and create his own goal.  He is a formidable young man and we look forward to him scoring for Graceland."- Coach Joseph

Michael Triano hailing from Blue Valley West High School, Triano, also known as "T"  played for Alumnus Randall Porter (2000) before changing clubs to KCFC.  Triano is a well rounded athlete who has lettered in soccer and wrestling. Among his honors stand 1^st team East Kansas League and a member of the National Honor Society with an exemplary accumulative GPA of 3.59.  Triano's skilled has not gone unnoticed in his state where he has been starting for the Kansas Olympic Development team for five years.

"Michael is a great addition to our program.   We try to identify talent from our academy and the surrounding areas and we are pleased T fits the bill in both categories.   When we get a player the caliber of Triano's level who can perform on and off the field, it makes all our efforts worth while."- Coach Joseph

These recent recruits will join a 2007 team that ended a trail-blazing season with a 17-2-2 record, securing the programs second Conference Championship, in three years and their first ever Regional Championship, and a third straight appearance at the National Tournament.  With three returning All-Americans among their ranks, the 2008 team should contend for a national title once again.

"This in-coming class is very important.  The true mark of a great program is consistency...to always be a contender we need freshmen who can learn from the upper-classmen and be ready to take over in the future," said head coach Ivan. 

Graceland plans to only seek three more players to round up the 2008 recruiting class.  "We are still waiting for a few players to make up their minds and for others to come visit.  Once we have these key signings we will be finished with our recruiting" concluded coach Joseph.