UNIVERSITY PARK – Penn State men’s soccer announces the newcomers to the 2025-26 roster as the team nears the start of the 2025 preseason. The Nittany Lions’ 2025-26 class consists of eight freshmen and two transfers.

“I am delighted to welcome this outstanding group of student-athletes to our Penn State men’s soccer program; we look forward to their contributions this season and beyond,” said men’s soccer head coach Jeff Cook “Following the 2024 season, our staff focused on two priorities: to work tirelessly with our returning group of players on their development, and to attract the best recruiting class possible to drive our program forward. We feel confident that we have achieved both objectives! Our staff is proud of this new group of student-athletes, and I am very appreciative of the excellent work that has been done to rebuild our roster – we are all incredibly enthusiastic about the future of men’s soccer at Penn State.”

#2 Ben Nash | Freshman | Defense

Hailing from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, Nash most recently competed with the Vancouver Whitecaps Academy team, as well as with the Vancouver Whitecaps II in MLS Next Pro. With the BTB Soccer Academy, which he competed with from 2020-23, Nash was a back-to-back Alberta Provincial Champion in 2022 and 2023. In the 2022 season, he helped lead his team to the Toyota National Championship. He was three-times voted to the BTB Best XI during his time with the club.

Nash is the son of Elizabeth and Grant Nash, and has one brother, Charlie. Nash intends to major in business.

#5 Joe Sheridan | Freshman | Defense

Sheridan comes from East Grinstead, England, where he competed for the past 13 seasons. The rookie spent the last five years developing with Crystal Palace F.C., appearing in 50 matches for the Eagles at both the u18 and u21 level. The defender clocked over 1,000 minutes at the Premier League 2 level as well. Sheridan brings some considerable height to the Nittany Lions back line, standing at a towering 6’6”.

Sheridan is the son of Mark and Lucy Sheridan. He has a brother, Toby, and a sister, Lori. Sheridan intends to major in finance.

#7 Jeppe Runge | Freshman | Forward

An attacker from Odense, Denmark, Jeppe Runge joins the Nittany Lions after being named the best player in his u19 cup final with Naesby Boldklub. Runge earned a silver medal in the u17 Danish League and won the cup at both the u17 and u19 levels with Odense Boldklub. He also trained with the Danish national team twice at the u15 and u16 levels.

Runge is the son of Mads and Dorte Runge, and has one brother, Kristian. Runge intends to major in Kinesiology.

#12 Matiwos Rumley | Senior | Defense

Rumley was a three-year player with Georgetown before arriving in State College. The Hebron, Connecticut native competed for the Hoyas as a defender, contributing directly to six shutouts. Prior to starting his collegiate career, Rumley was a four-year starter with the New England Revolution Academy. He attended the regional youth national team camp in 2019 and appeared with New England Revolution II.

Rumley is the son of Mark and Jodi Rumley. He has one brother, Luke, and three sisters, Rebecca, Hannah, and Sarah. Rumley majors in sociology.

#15 Matthew Eger | Freshman | Defense

Eger joins the Blue and White from Rahway, New Jersey, after spending over a decade developing with the Cedar Stars Academy, an MLS Next youth soccer academy in the Garden State. After appearing in the NAL (National Academy League) and MLS Next All-Star Games in 2023, he helped lead his team to back-to-back MLS Next Cup Championships in 2024 and 2025.

Eger is the son of Tara and Richard Eger and has a sister, Brooke. Eger intends to major in criminology.

#16 Davy Leavey | Freshman | Midfield

Leavey joins Penn State from Waterford, Ireland, from which he brings 15 years of soccer experience. The midfielder has played with three different club teams, most recently with The Soccer Institute at Montverde Academy (SIMA) in Montverde, Florida. Before arriving in America, Leavey played club soccer with his hometown team, Waterford FC. With his high school team at De La Salle College in Waterford, Leavey led his team to a u17 Munster Championship title. In addition to his soccer background, he also lettered in hurling and Gaelic football.

Leavey is the son of Sean Leavey and Marian Ryan. He has two sisters, Clare and Ruthie, and one brother, Paddy. Leavey intends to major in business.

#18 Frederik Flaskager | Freshman | Forward

Flaskager, a native of Kolding, Denmark, has been playing soccer since age four, most recently competing with VSK Aarhus. Prior to Aarhus, he competed for Esbjerg fB for one season. While at the top academy level in Denmark, with Vejle Boldklub, Flaskager twice finished the year ranked third in the league in scoring. He was crowned the u17 Cup Champion with the same club and spent two full seasons in the Vejle BK tree after beginning his competitive career with Kolding. In the u19 Boys League, Flaskager made 64 appearances, scoring 21 goals and adding four assists.

Flaskager is the son of Maj-Brit and Anders Flaskager. He has a sister, Caroline, and a brother, Emil. Flaskager is enrolled in the Division of Undergraduate Studies.

#19 Kai Phillip | Graduate Student | Forward

In three seasons with the University of Evansville, the forward totaled 15 goals, including five game-winners, and five assists. He guided his team to a 2024 NCAA Tournament appearance after winning the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament and was selected as the tournament MVP. In 2023, he was honored by the United Soccer Coaches with All-Region honors. Before his time with the Aces, Phillip had a successful junior college career at Salt Lake Community College, where he scored 20 goals over 2 seasons, while helping SLCC to a Junior College national championship in 2020, a program first. He helped lead a return to the national title game for the squad in 2021, a year where he was also named to the All-Region 18 team. Prior to SLCC, he starred for Trinity Moka College in his home country of Trinidad and Tobago and was named to the full Trinidad and Tobago national team training camp prior to the 2020 pandemic.

Phillip is the son of Kathy-Ann Paul. He has three brothers, Marcus, Kya, and Justin, and a sister, Tneal. Phillip will be pursuing a graduate certificate in Business Management.

#28 Riley Ferraro | Freshman | Forward

Ferraro arrives in Happy Valley from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. A former teammate of Ben Nash at the Vancouver Whitecaps MLS Academy where he played for six years, Ferraro was named the 2023 Player of the Year by the club, as well as earning Player of the Week and Player of the Game honors in 2024. In addition, Ferraro played for the u17 Canadian regional team and was named a Top 40 player for the u17 World Cup as a u16 athlete.

Ferraro is the son of Ray Ferraro and Cammi Granato and has three brothers, Matt, Landon, and Reese. Ferraro intends to major in business or kinesiology.

#29 Drew Mattingly | Freshman | Goalkeeper

A native of Hydes, Maryland, Mattingly is poised to join the goalkeeper room. A netminder for Loyola Blakefield, he helped anchor his team to back-to-back MIAA Championship titles in 2023 and 2024, in one of the top high school conferences in the United States. In 2024, he held the lowest Goals-Against Average in the conference at a stingy 0.56 goals per game, with a career GAA of only 0.69, alongside 18 clean sheets in 38 games played. He competed at the club level with Baltimore Armour of MLS Next, and Academy One Goalkeeping referred to Mattingly as a top goalkeeper prospect coming out of Maryland.

Mattingly is the son of Scott and Diane Mattingly and has two sisters, Charlotte and Claire. Mattingly intends to major in business.

The 10 new additions will join the rest of the returners in summer training in preparation for the 2025 season. After a trio of preseason scrimmages, The Blue and White kick off their campaign with a home contest against Stetson at Jeffrey Field. Kickoff is set for 5 p.m. on Thursday, August 21.