2026 D3 Men's Soccer National Perspective

[jknezek]

JHU plays D1 lax. RPI and St Lawrence play D1 hockey. Colorado College has to pay a fortune in travel. CNU has an unfortunate conference situation that gets very expensive.

That leaves the NESCACs as the big spenders. Considering how compact they are, the shorter seasons, etc., the NESCACs are flashing the cash! Fortunately they can afford it.

[Ron Boerger]

Good points ... and CC also plays D1 hockey in addition to D1 WSoc. 

[Ejay]

Endowment per student:

Williams	$1.7m
Bowdoin	$1.4m
Colby	$508k
Middlebury	$494k
Colorado College	$491k
Johns Hopkins	$400k
Tufts	$190k
St. Lawrence	$180k
RPI	$130k
CNU	$25k

[Kuiper]

Big transfer news.

According to Emory Men's Soccer's Instagram, MF Ewen Robertson is transferring from Colorado College to Emory for Fall 2026

As a freshman at Colorado College, Robertson started 17 of 18 games and scored 14 goals with 2 assists.  He was named 2nd team All Region X, SCAC Newcomer of the Year, and 1st Team All SCAC.

This reminds me of GK Jasper Broad's transfer from CC to Pomona-Pitzer after his sophomore year after being named 1st Team All SCAC.  Both seem to be about something other than playing time or fit.

Colorado College isn't for everyone - more travel than any other school in D3, block scheduling with one class at a time for 8 blocks over the year that each last about a month, high altitude - but I have no idea if that is what spurred the transfer.  Emory is also obviously a big academic and soccer attraction on its own.

Either way, this is a big loss for Colorado College and gain for Emory in the increasingly common D3 to D3 transfer in the era of the portal.

[Kuiper]

Turns out that half of Emory's announced recruiting class are transfers, all but one of whom were regular contributors/star players at their former schools and all of whom have multiple years of eligibility left. 

Ewen Robertson F Colorado College (D3) (rising sophomore) (started 17/18 games with 14g/2a)
Jack Yough D VMI (D1) (rising sophomore) (started 17/18 games with 3g/0a)
Justin Buchwalter (D3) (rising junior) (started 22/38 games with 5g/3a)
Jeremiah Cateau MF Holy Cross (D1) (rising junior) (yet to see action; Trinidad & Tobago U20 and U17 YNT player)

This feels like the next evolution of transfers, from grad, medical redshirt, and Covid transfers to transfers of proven players with lots of years left instead of relying upon unproven freshman.  The reason I mention it in this thread is that it might represent a more national trend, at least with some of the more attractive soccer/academic schools where they accept transfers, of the squeezing of DI rosters.  Middling D1 players and strong D3 players all enter the portal to move up and both may be finding that their best option is a better (academic/soccer/location) D3.  I'll be interested to see if other transfer-friendly schools like Johns Hopkins are doing the same thing.

[Gray Fox]

This feels like the next evolution of transfers, from grad, medical redshirt, and Covid transfers to transfers of proven players with lots of years left instead of relying upon unproven freshman.  The reason I mention it in this thread is that it might represent a more national trend, at least with some of the more attractive soccer/academic schools where they accept transfers, of the squeezing of DI rosters.  Middling D1 players and strong D3 players all enter the portal to move up and both may be finding that their best option is a better (academic/soccer/location) D3.  I'll be interested to see if other transfer-friendly schools like Johns Hopkins are doing the same thing.

In basketball,  Caltech had a freshman SCIAC Newcomer of the year transfer to Penn.

Oxy had two star players transfer to NYU and Johns Hopkins.

[Ejay]

Jeremiah Cateau MF Holy Cross (D1) (rising junior) (yet to see action; Trinidad & Tobago U20 and U17 YNT player)

Side bar: how does a u17 and u20 YNT player not see the field at a historically weak D1 program? HC hasn't had a winning season since 2008 and finished below .400 in each of the last 4 years. Edit: Did play 14 games and started twice freshmen year. Maybe was hurt So. year?

[Kuiper]

Jeremiah Cateau MF Holy Cross (D1) (rising junior) (yet to see action; Trinidad & Tobago U20 and U17 YNT player)

Side bar: how does a u17 and u20 YNT player not see the field at a historically weak D1 program? HC hasn't had a winning season since 2008 and finished below .400 in each of the last 4 years. Edit: Did play 14 games and started twice freshmen year. Maybe was hurt So. year?

Thanks for clarifying.  I meant to say he didn't see action this past season.  He played his freshman year (332 minutes).  No idea why he didn't play his sophomore year, but it's possible it was injury.

[Kuiper]

Turns out that half of Emory's announced recruiting class are transfers, all but one of whom were regular contributors/star players at their former schools and all of whom have multiple years of eligibility left. 

Ewen Robertson F Colorado College (D3) (rising sophomore) (started 17/18 games with 14g/2a)
Jack Yough D VMI (D1) (rising sophomore) (started 17/18 games with 3g/0a)
Justin Buchwalter (D3) (rising junior) (started 22/38 games with 5g/3a)
Jeremiah Cateau MF Holy Cross (D1) (rising junior) (yet to see action; Trinidad & Tobago U20 and U17 YNT player)

This feels like the next evolution of transfers, from grad, medical redshirt, and Covid transfers to transfers of proven players with lots of years left instead of relying upon unproven freshman.  The reason I mention it in this thread is that it might represent a more national trend, at least with some of the more attractive soccer/academic schools where they accept transfers, of the squeezing of DI rosters.  Middling D1 players and strong D3 players all enter the portal to move up and both may be finding that their best option is a better (academic/soccer/location) D3.  I'll be interested to see if other transfer-friendly schools like Johns Hopkins are doing the same thing.

Another transfer to Emory!  Although this one is a grad transfer.

Walker Stebbings F Hampden-Sydney (D3) (started 17/18 games with 6g/2a and 2nd team All Region VI and first team All ODAC)

If Emory can knit all of this new talent together with existing players, they are going to be stacked!

[SKUD]

Jeremiah Cateau MF Holy Cross (D1) (rising junior) (yet to see action; Trinidad & Tobago U20 and U17 YNT player)

Side bar: how does a u17 and u20 YNT player not see the field at a historically weak D1 program? HC hasn't had a winning season since 2008 and finished below .400 in each of the last 4 years. Edit: Did play 14 games and started twice freshmen year. Maybe was hurt So. year?

I think being on the Trinidad & Tobago sides is the equivalent to being on the Mercer County, NJ all-star team.

[jknezek]

Jeremiah Cateau MF Holy Cross (D1) (rising junior) (yet to see action; Trinidad & Tobago U20 and U17 YNT player)

Side bar: how does a u17 and u20 YNT player not see the field at a historically weak D1 program? HC hasn't had a winning season since 2008 and finished below .400 in each of the last 4 years. Edit: Did play 14 games and started twice freshmen year. Maybe was hurt So. year?

I think being on the Trinidad & Tobago sides is the equivalent to being on the Mercer County, NJ all-star team.

I think that's pretty harsh. The T&T Youth National team has players from several MLS Academies and Crystal Palace's Academy. Most of the rest play for the academy/senior team of the best pro club in T&T or at the Cox Football Academy, which is kind of a permanent T&T national training camp for youth. I'm not saying they are world beaters, but T&T is a legitimate small soccer nation with a world cup tie in their history (2006), several quarter and semifinal Gold Cup finishes, and several other World Cup qualifying close calls, including the nation we had to beat to qualify for our historic 1990 Italia appearance.

Typically they are in the mix for the second tier of CONCACAF. And yes, I know it's a big step from Mexica/USA/Canada (currently but not historically) to the second tier, but T&T is usually there.