Go WEST young man (and NORTH)

[Kuiper]

Whitman

Whitman had a pretty successful season, finishing 12-6-2 with a 9-5-2 record in the Northwest Conference.  They had solid victories against Chapman and La Verne from the SCIAC and a 2-1 close loss to Redlands, while beating every team in the NWC at least once, including the top two teams in Pacific Lutheran and George Fox, although the PLU victory was at home on the last day of the season after PLU had already clinched the NWC title and the automatic bid.  This year will be a rebuilding year, though, as they lose almost all of their top players from last season, including the majority of their regular starters from last year.

Key Departures:

They lose multiple key contributors at every position.  At forward, they lose first team All-NWC player Jacob Burrill, who led Whitman with 16 goals and 7 assists last season, and second team All-NWC player Sawyer Valero, who was second on the team with 7 goals and 5 assists.  Those two started virtually every game up top for Whitman last season.  They also lose Zachary Stonier, who started 12 of 15 games at forward last season and had 5 assists.  At midfield, they lose Oliver Dickson, who also started almost every game and was tied for second on the team with 5 assists, and honorable mention All-NWC player Josue Tobar, who started 16 of 18 games last season.  At defender, they lose Eric Gantt, who started every game and played the second most minutes on the team, and at goalkeeper, they lose Lucas Haigh, who started 15 games last season.

Key Returners:

Lucas McAllister, a first team All-NWC player, is the most experienced returner at midfield, scoring 3 goals and contributing 4 assists, while basically serving as the midfield engine for the team.  Kevin Serrano, the NWC Freshman of the Year and honorable mention all conference player, is the only legit goal scorer up top returning, after scoring 7 goals with 3 assists last season.  He was a first year in 2024, though, so the fact that he did well in his first season bodes well for him taking a major jump this season.  Having said that, 5 of his 7 goals were against Lewis & Clark and Linfield, the NWC's weakest teams, so he'll need to step up to show he can score against the better teams in the conference too.  On the defensive side, Jude Clem-Stockton and Adrian Valencia are the only regular starters returning.

Freshman:

9 member class.  Diego Villalbal might be one to watch.  He has been getting time this summer with the first team at Temecula FC in Southern California, a NISA pro-level team in SoCal.