PUEBLO, Colo. (August 26, 2025) - Colorado State University Pueblo Men's Soccer Head Coach Nick Blackwell has officially announced the 2025 signing class, featuring a talented group of student-athletes from across the globe set to make an impact for the ThunderWolves on and off the pitch.

"I am very excited to welcome this class of ThunderWolves to our Pack here at CSU Pueblo," said Coach Blackwell. "Each of these student-athletes are tremendous footballers but, at the heart of it, they are excellent people. We were able to bring in players from around the world who I believe will positively impact our program both on and off the field. Many of the incoming student-athletes have been captains of their club, high school and junior college teams. Bringing this group together with our returners will be our challenge this preseason but we are excited to build off the positive cultural architects and princples we already have in place here."

The 2025 signing class includes:

Diego Orquiz (Jr., Chihuahua, Mexico) - A standout left-sided defender and former captain at Mercer CC, where he led his team to an NJCAA DII National Tournament appearance.

Abram Wall (Fr., North Newton, Kan.) - Abram has the ability to make big saves and has a tremendous upside. Being 6'6 he can cover much of the goal and has a top wingspan to allow him to do special actions in goal. He is a soccer guy that wants to get better every day and loves the games! I am excited for Abram's career here at CSU Pueblo.

Miguel Vazquez (Fr., Aurora, Colo.) - Miguel is one of the top players in Colorado in his class. I have seen him play for years and his ability on the ball is exceptional. He can play in any of the 3 midfield positions along with playing in wide area's. He is an excellent footballer that will add quality into our team from day one.

Katsutoshi Hayashi (Fr., Tokyo, Japan) - Katsu comes from one of the top J league clubs in Japan. He is an industrious and robust CM that can cover so much ground. He is technically excellent with his ability to play a variety of passes, break pressure off the dribble, and add in the final 3rd. I am really excited to have Katsu a part of our football family!

Andres Sanchez (Fr., San Antonio, Tex.) - Andres is an incredible young man that has an infectious personality. We saw him at our ID camp and he just loves to score goals. He is an explosive 1v1 player that loves to make defenders defend and has a very high work rate. Andres is a top human being that will enhance our culture.

Nick Cenek (Gr., Peoria, Ill.) - Nick is a top player coming from a really good environment at Creighton. Nick's ability to stretch the game as a wide or central attacking player is top. He has incredible pace and strength that makes him very hard to defend in open space. Nick came on a visit and instantly we both knew this was the place for him.

Liam Sloan (So., Aurora, Colo.) - Liam is a top young goalkeeper coming out of Colorado; he originally went to play Division III in Virginia which provided him with a great experience and gained a lot of minutes as a freshman. Liam is a top person that I have known for years and will make our goalkeeping unit even better.

Esteban Gonzalez (Jr., Brussells, Belgium) - Esteban comes from one of the best junior colleges in the country at Arizona Western adn is a second team All-American. He is a former captain of his team and loves the big moments. He is an excellent shot stopper, great feet to play out, and even takes penalties. He has a big personality that add so much to our culture.

Connor Hulbert (Fr., Colorado Springs, Colo.) - Connor is a technically gifted midfield that I have known for years and is from our backyard in Colorado Springs. He is a very good technician with the ball at his feet, his ability to pass is at a high level and with his size; he will only continue to grow in our environment. Connor is a top young man and excited to have him with us!

Tristin Lee (Fr., Peoria, Ariz.) - Tristin came onto campus last summer and instantly impressed all of the staff with his enthusiasm, work rate, and love to score goals. He can score goals in a variety of ways as an attacking player and has a great starting point to become a top attacking player. Tristin loves football and knows he will add so much to culture every day!

So Nagano (Sr., Kobe, Japan) - So is an all-region attacking player that we are grateful to have for his final year of college soccer! He is a proven goal scorer in college soccer and every year he continues to score more goals than the previous season. He has excellent awareness in the box and knows where the back of the net it.

Joseph Delaney (Jr., Sutton, England) - Joe is an All-American attacking player from NJCAA that can play in all front three positions and can impact the game in the final 3rd. Joe is an elite set piece specialist and will provide great service on restarts. What impressed me most about Joe was his desire to be apart of our program at CSU Pueblo; his love for the program and desire to be here showed me that he wants to leave this place better than he found it.

Pedro Martinez Castro (Fr., Langreo, Spain) - Pedro is a left sided defender that has competed at an excellent level in Spain. What I love about Pedro first and foremost is that he loves to defend. He is aggressive, closes space quickly and loves to win duels. His ability to play out of pressure will also add great balance to our game model.

Gabe Selby (Jr., Woodbury, NJ) - Gabe is an excellent goalkeeper that is experienced having competed at the junior college level. Gabe is blue collar and team first; Gabe has the character qualities to thrive in our environment and knows he can make big saves in net as well. Gabe is a top human being that will enhance our goalkeeping culture.

Gabriel Obletter (Jr., Ortisei, Italy) - Gabriel comes from Miami Dade Junior College where he played a pivotal role in helping them go to NJCAA Nationals. Gabriel is a left footed center mid that can play in either 6/8 role, he has excellent passing range, loves to get into duels and is a top person as well. He is an incredibly hard worker that continues with our tradition of blue collar center-mids that have the ability to play.

Juan Pablo Orozco Soto - (Fr., Rabun Gap, Ga.) - Juan Pablo is a versatile attacking player that is originally from Mexico but has been in the U.S. the past year. He can score goals from distance, in the box, and create in the final 3rd, and has a strong growth mindset to improve himself every day. He is the definition of team first student-athlete and will work every day in our performance environment to reach his potential.

Mohammed Shahabodien (Gr., Johannesburg, South Africa) - Moe is an experienced CM out of South Africa that has been in the U.S. for the past four years. Moe has ability to help in all phases of play, he has something different than all the center mids and loves to build from deep parts of the pitch. Moe has an infectious personality that you want in your locker room and culture. I am so excited to have Moe about our football family!

Josh Axelrod (Fr., Phoenix, Ariz.) - Josh is an exciting young attacking player out of Arizona. He can play on either wing and has an excellent football brain. His ability in the box to score goals and create is very good. Josh loves to go at players 1v1 and I love how aggressive he is in attacking transition. Josh brings so much to our culture and is a really top person that I love getting to work with every day.

Leonardo Vilchis (Gr., Mexico City, Mexico) - Leo is an experienced right sided defender that competed at Florida International (FIU) last fall and competed for his national team at the youth level prior to that. He is an incredible human being that will bring so much to our culture, he has a winners mentality and will set a positive example every day for the group.

Jose Peris Gimeno (Fr., Burriana, Spain) - Jose is an exciting attacking left back out of Spain that is going to be able to contribute immediately to our program. Jose's ability to impact the game in both boxes is special along with his tendency to win his individual duels. He can help us in all phases of possession and can provide special moments in a match. He has an infectious personality that will add to our culture and has a big future in the CSU Pueblo jersey.

Raul Perez Rodriguez (Fr., Seville, Spain) - I am very excited to add Raul to our football family. Raul is a top central defender from Spain that has the elite aerial ability and has excellent feet that allow him to play out in a variety of ways. He is a strong personality that will enhance our culture both on and off the pitch.

Modicai Jones (Fr., Orange County, Calif.) - I am excited to welcome Modicai to our football family here at CSU Pueblo. He is a central attacking player that is shifty and excellent with the ball at his feet. He can break pressure off the dribble and make the opponent miss in the middle of the park. He has the ability to create a special moment by scoring a goal from distance or playing the final pass. He loves football and know he will fit in very well with our culture here at CSU Pueblo.