Seven seasons after the Michigan State men’s soccer program made a run to the College Cup in 2018, the Spartans are still trying to find their way back to the NCAA tournament.
MSU had high expectations last season, but finished 5-7-5 overall and missed the postseason for the sixth straight season.
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Now, with 12 new faces blending with a high-level returning group, MSU believes it has the depth and talent to break through and make a run to the postseason.
Michigan State’s Will Eby, a junior out of Northville, controls the ball during a game last season.
“This is a deeper team than we’ve had the past couple of years, and the competition in training and preseason games has been great,” junior defenseman Will Eby said. “The cohesiveness is there. Off the field, this is one of the closest teams I’ve been on. Everyone has each other’s back and wants one another to succeed.”
Damon Rensing is in his 18th season directing MSU. He led the Spartans to the NCAA tournament in eight of his first 11 seasons and has a 148-111-49 record. Rensing believes this is one of the best recruiting classes he’s brought into MSU in years, along with bringing in three transfers, though Oakland transfer forward Andrew Darakdjian is out for the season with a knee injury.
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Richie Ludwig, Collin Arce and Jack Guggemos are all experienced returning midfielders who played big roles last season. That trio will try to mix with some of the newcomers who Rensing expects to make a big impact, including freshman midfielder Luke Spadafora and freshmen forwards Chimnosoh Okeke and Kayden Hudson, both of whom scored once in MSU’s two exhibition wins.
“We’re in good form for early in the season,” Rensing said. “I like where we are at as a group, and getting better every day is a good sign. We’re on the same page, our defending and possession have been good, and we’ve created dangerous chances here in our first two exhibitions, and that’s going to be big going forward. We’re going to be balanced, and we are starting to show our depth.”
Michigan State soccer players huddle during a game last season.
MSU will have to replace two former All-Big Ten players in Jonathan Stout and Jeremy Sharp, who both transferred to other programs. However, MSU does bring back the 2024 Big Ten Goaltender of the Year, Zac Kelly, and three of the four starters from last season’s back line, including Eby and 2024 All-Freshman team member Brandon Munson.
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Defense and goalkeeping figure to be the big strengths for the Spartans, with senior Jake Spadafora, who was a forward the previous three seasons, having transitioned to replace Sharp at right back.
“Building out of the back is going to be one of our strengths, but it takes all 11 guys working together,” Spadafora said. “I’ve been enjoying the defensive side of the game, and I’ve been able to help the team more from this spot.
“We’re going to do something this season, and not to build too much hype, this team has a chance to be a Big Ten champion. We are capable of making a deep NCAA run, and I truly believe that. This is one of the most talented teams I’ve been on.”
The Spartans open the 2025 regular season on Thursday, Aug. 21 at home against UC Riverside and have early September non-conference home matchups with Detroit and Oakland. MSU opens Big Ten play on the road at Washington before hosting Ohio State and Indiana. MSU will also face Michigan, Penn State, Northwestern, Wisconsin, UCLA, Rutgers, and Maryland in conference play.
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Contact Nathaniel Bott at nbott@lsj.com and follow him on X @Nathaniel_Bott
This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: MSU men’s soccer: Better depth key in quest to return to NCAA tourney
