As some college soccer programs trend increasingly international when recruiting, the bulk of Fran O'Leary's team at UMass tends to stay within the Northeast.
Look no further midfielder Davis Smith (Amherst, Mass.), a Third-Team All-American in 2017. The same goes for striker DeAndrae Brown (Springfield, Mass.), who recorded eight goals and one assist last fall after transferring from UConn. Current freshmen James McPherson (Danvers, Mass.) and Nathaniel Cardoza (South Easton, Mass.) are both locals, too.
While they must wait two class years for him to arrive on campus, the Minutemen staff is surely hoping Alec Hughes (Glastonbury, Conn.) can have a similar impact. The 17-year-old striker recently verbally committed to the Atlantic 10 program as part of its Class of 2020.
