SAN RAFAEL, Calif. — The Dominican University of California men's soccer team has signed six of the state's best prep soccer players to National Letters of Intent, announced head coach Zach Kingsley.
 
The Penguins bring back the core of their 2016 team, which recorded Dominican's best PacWest finish and most wins in five years. 2016 was a season of rebuilding and implementing a new system of play for the Penguins. They now will look to build on a promising attack that created many opportunities to score last year, recording the second-most shot attempts and shots per game in Dominican's Division II era. Dominican will also bring back one of the stingiest defenses in school history, after posting a 1.455 goals against average last season. The Penguins will look to improve on a successful 2016 season and challenge for PacWest supremacy in 2017 after stockpiling an impressive array of talent with the addition of their 2017 class. Joining Dominican in the fall are Cameron Baca (Lake Elsinore, Calif./Temecula Quails Academy), Casey Bravo (Roseville, Calif./Galaxy Blues), Cole Henderson (Rocklin, Calif./Placer United), Chris Ochoa (Petaluma, Calif./Santa Rosa Junior College), Logan Siemers (Nevada City, Calif./Placer United), and Wyatt Walsh (Rocklin, Calif./Placer United).
 
"In the process of recruiting student-athletes to join our program, we are always looking for certain qualities and for us they always come back to the individual's character," Kingsley said. "We are looking first and foremost for individuals who strive for excellence on and off the field. We want enthusiastic players who are coachable and possess a strong work ethic and a hunger to continuously improve. Our entire staff did a fantastic job in the recruitment process and we are very exited about this incoming 2017 class. Only time will tell whether it's worthy of that excitement, but we cannot wait to get this talented group on campus and get to work."
 

Cameron Baca : Lake Elsinore, Calif. : Temecula Quails Academy

• Coast Soccer League Champs from 2015-2017
• LA Galaxy cup finalists
• Four Year starter for Temescal Canyon high school
• First Team All-League sophomore year
• Second Team All-League Junior year
• League champions 2016 and 2015
• 3 CIF appearances
• Top 25 academically in 2017 graduating class
• Member of the High Honors society 2016, 2015, 2014, and 2013
• Maintains a 4.2 GPA

Kingsley on Baca-
"Cameron is a well-rounded player who can play in the midfield or up front for us. We feel that he is a player with the makeup to come in and compete right away. He has the skill and vision to get into good scoring positions, and also an engine that drives him to constantly recover and prevent counter attacks."
 
 
Casey Bravo : Roseville, Calif. : Galaxy Blues

• Back to back Division 1 section champions with Jesuit HS
• Club captain of Galaxy Blues last 3 years
• Assist and Goal leader for last 3 years with Galaxy Blues (100+ points)
• National Hispanic Recognition Program Scholar
• Accepted into Dominican Honors Program
• Maintains over a 4.0

Kingsley on Bravo-
"Casey is a hard nose player who comes to us from one of the best high school soccer programs in the nation. He has been in and around a winning environment and thrived, something we really value in a player. His ability to hold the ball up with great strength, and also use his pace and power to get in behind defenses will allow us to use him across the front three positions."
 

Cole Henderson : Rocklin, Calif. : Placer United

• PDP State Player
• Three time Davis Legacy College Showcase Champion
• Dallas Cup participant 2016
• NPL Champion 2016
• NPL Champions League 2017 and 2016
• Varsity starter 2016, 2015, and 2014
• First Team All Sierra Foothill League
• San Juaquin Northern California Section Finalist
• Honor Roll 2016, 2015, 2014, and 2013
• Maintains over a 3.9 GPA

Kingsley on Henderson-
"Cole is a vocal leader at the back and is equally versed at playing center back or right back. His   desire to win and compete is arguably his most important quality and will allow him to come in and compete for us right away. He is a good organizer and really impressed us with his technique on the ball and ability to break lines with his passing from the back. "

  
Christopher Lemus-Ochoa : Petaluma, Calif. : Santa Rosa Junior College

• Soccer career started as a freshman in high school
• Scholar Athlete at Petaluma High School
• BIG 8 Player of the year 2015/2016
• First Team all BIG 8 2015/2016
• SRJC Team MVP 2015/2016
• CCCAA All State Team 2015/2016
• NSCAA All Region Team 2016
• Deans Honor Roll 2015
• Tallied 36 goals and 27 assists in his historic two year career at SRJC
• Ranks in the top 3 all time in single season goals, career goals and career assists at SRJC

Kingsley on Ochoa-Lemus-
"Chris is a player we have watched very closely the last two years, and have seen blossom into a dominant force at the community college level. The experience and professionalism he brings day in and day out will be tremendous for our program and younger players. He brings a unique blend of speed, power and flair that makes him adept at any of the front four positions. Chris is a natural leader who craves to compete and is desperate to score goals the absolute top quality we look for in an attacking player."
 

Logan Siemers : Nevada City, Calif : Placer United

• Dallas Cup participant 2016
• NPL Champions League 2017 and 2016
• Placer United club captain three years
• Surf Cup Thanksgiving Champion
• Varsity starter 2016, 2015, 2014 and 2013
• Varsity captain 2016
• Scholar athlete 2016, 2015, 2014 and 2013
• Maintains over a 4.0 GPA 

Kingsley on Siemers-
"Logan has a maturity to his game that is beyond his years and a big presence when he steps onto the field, something you don't normally see at his age. His athleticism and soccer IQ will allow us to play him anywhere across the back four. His will to close down players early and ability to tackle hard and defend in 1v1 situations is very, very, impressive to us."
 

Wyatt Walsh : Rocklin, Calif. : Placer United

• First Team Sierra Foothill league 2016, 2015, and 2014
• Varsity Starter 2017, 2016, and 2015.
• Captain's award 2017 and 2016
• Section finalist 2015. 
• Scholar athlete 2016 and 2015.
• Surf cup finalist 2016
• NPL Champions League 2017 and 2016

Kingsley on Walsh-
"Wyatt is a player we feel has great versatility between the posts because of his skill set. We feel that his instincts, and personality will allow him to come in and compete from day one. He is a natural shot stopper with great positioning and reactions, and also brings the distributional skills we put a high premium on."