Florida Gators add six recruits from the Class of 2025, highlighted by All-Americans

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Florida Head Soccer Coach Samantha Bohon announced the signing of six new Gators.

The six-member class includes signees with All-America honors, played internationally and found success with their club and/or high school teams.

Two – Katie Johnston and Sophia Sindelar – will enroll at UF for the spring 2025 semester.

“This 2025 class is different in that this is the first class we as a staff were able to really evaluate for an entire year,” Bohon said. “We could not be happier with the group that we are bringing in. We feel, first and foremost, they embody the student, person, player model that we build our program around. Second of all, they are relentless competitors who will compete to win. They come from very successful backgrounds so we hope that they will bring that winning mentality to Florida. We feel like we’ve kind of hit every position – forwards, midfielders, defenders, goalkeeper – at a very high level. We think that this class is going to be very impactful right from the beginning.”

Florida Soccer Signees

Enrolling for 2025 season

Lily Holden

lily.holden3 | lilyholden07GK

• Position: Goalkeeper
• High School: Bertram Trail High School (Coaches: Jen Rodriguez)
• Hometown: St. Augustine, Fla.
• Club Team: Jacksonville FC (Girls) (Coaches: Wale Leyimu)

Club

• #39 Regionally Ranked Player in Florida
• ECNL Playoffs once
• ECNL Final Four 2020-21
• ECNL National Playoffs: Under-14 Best XI | Club Soccer | Youth Soccer
• ECNL Girls Florida: U17 Players to Watch | Club Soccer | Youth Soccer
• Attended 2022 ID2 National Development East Training Camp

High School

• Bartram Trail won 2023 Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) 7A title. Turned in a goals-against-average of 0.45 and 13 shutouts as a sophomore
• Bartram Trail advanced to 2022 and 2024 FHSAA 7A regional semifinals
• Athlete of the Week for Dec. 19-24, 2022
• 2024 All-First Coast honorable mention for soccer
• 2024 All-News4JAX honorable mention
• 2023 Volusia-Flagler-St. Johns All-Area team honorable mention
• 2021-22 District Champion
• 2023-24 season: 0.68 GAA, 10 shutouts
• 2021-22 #1 nationally ranked 7A high school soccer team
• 2024 All-First Coast honorable mention as flag football wide receiver
• Varsity all four years

Bohon Said: “Lily is an in state kid, just local from Jacksonville who has a pretty high ceiling. We’re excited to see her in this training environment to see how much she can grow into her potential. I know she’s looking forward to the challenge.”

DYK: Holden is among more than 20 players from the Jacksonville area who have been a part of Gator soccer teams.

Katie Johnston

katie.b.johnston | realKatieJ

• Position: Forward
• High School: Bishop McGuinness Catholic High School (Coach: Kal Okot)
• Hometown: Edmond. Okla.
• Club Team: Oklahoma Energy FC (Coach: Kal Okot)

Club

• #52 Nationally Ranked Player in the Nation by TopDrawerSoccer
• #16 Nationally Ranked Forward in the Nation
• #1 Regionally Ranked Player in the South
• 2022 & 2023 ECNL All-American
• 2022, 2023 and 2024 ECNL Texas All-Conference First Team
• Named to West roster for 2024 Continental Tire ECNL National Selection Game
• Named to West U15 roster for 2022 ECNL National Selection Game
• Selected for 2022 ECNL Girls National Training Camp
• Selected for YNT Regional ID in 2021

High School

• McGuinness H.S. won 2022 Oklahoma Secondary School Activities Association (OSSAA) 5A title
• McGuinness H.S. advanced to 2024 OSSAA quarterfinal round
• The Oklahoman’s 2024 All-City High School first team selection. Scored 32 goals and 11 assists.
• Nominated for 2024 Girls Soccer Player of the Year for the OKC Metro High School Sports Awards
• Graduating in December 2024 to enroll at UF in spring 2025

Bohon Said: “Katie Johnston has been an incredible player for her club team, Oklahoma Energy. She’s received all sorts of accolades for ECNL All-America and all conference. I have literally watched her run till her legs were jelly – that kid has a relentless, competitive attitude. She wants to compete to win. She can play a lot of different positions. She can play the nine, she can play out wide, maybe even the 10. We’re excited she’s coming in early so that we get the spring semester to work with her. But she is definitely a player that embodies that student, person, player mentality, with that little extra biting competitive edge.”

DYK: She is the second Katie Johnston to be a part of the Gator soccer program. The first Katie Johnston was from Massapequa, N.Y., and recorded 86 starts on the Gator backline from 2001-05.

Victoria Madison

victoriamadison_11 | victoriam_2025

• Position: Defender
• High School: Hillsborough High School (Coach: Shawn Meek)
• Hometown: Tampa, Fla.
• Club Team: Florida Premier FC (Coach: Leo Martini and Stuart Campbell)

Club

• #19 Regionally Ranked Player in Florida
• Florida Premier won 2024 Southeast Conference ECNL title
• 2024 ECNL U-17 Southeast All-Conference First Team after turning in 16 goals and 8 assists
• Named to ECNL National Selection Game at ECNL Dallas 2024

High School

• Hillsborough H.S. won 2023 6A D10 District Championship, advancing to regional quarterfinals
• 2023 Hillsborough County National Division first team
• Hillsborough County Player of the Week (Jan. 31, 2023) after a hat-trick in the Terriers’ semifinal win in  FHSAA Class 6A, District 10 action
• Led team in goals and assists; third in district for goals

Bohon Said: “Victoria is a beast in the back. She can hold her own with physicality and athleticism so we’re excited to see what she can do. One of the areas we’re going to work on with her is building out of the back from a distribution standpoint, but she has this incredible ceiling. We’re really excited to get to work with her.”

DYK: Madison was born in Gainesville and her entire family went to UF, making her a Gator fan from day one. Madison was also part of a Nike commercial.

Ava Paolini

 ava.paolini | AvaPaolini

• Position: Center Back / Defender / Center Midfielder
• High School: San Marcos High School (Coach: Alex Martinez)
• Hometown: San Marcos, Calif.
• Club Team: Slammers FC HB Koge (Coach: Ziad Khoury and Craig Bull)

Club

• #93 Nationally Ranked Player in the Nation by TopDrawerSoccer
• #22 Nationally Ranked Defender in the Nation
• #17 Regionally Ranked Player in Southern California
• US Soccer Training Invitee (2020-22)
• U15 ECNL National Champion (2022)
• U16 ECNL National Runner-Up (2023)
• ECNL U-17 Finals – Quarterfinalist (2024)
• ODP State Team (2020-22)
• iD2 Selection (2020-22)
• Cal South State Cup Champion (2016-18)
• Cal South National Cup Champion (2019-20)
• Far West Region National Cup Champion (2019)
• ODP Far West Regional Champion (2020-21)
• So Cal ID2/PDP Regional Selection (2020-21)
• Represented Cal South in 2020 West Regional ODP championships
• Named in Prep Soccer: ECNL PHX 2007 Standouts

High School

• All-Palomar Conference (2022-24)
• Southern California Division 2 State Championship Runner-Up (2022-23)
• CIF San Diego Champions (2022)
• Southern California Division 1 State Championship Runner-Up (2021-22)
• Member of varsity team all four years of high school
• Player of the Match four times (Jan. 12, 2022; Mar. 5, 2022; Dec. 15, 2022; Dec. 14, 2023)

Bohon Said: “Ava Paolini comes from an incredible heritage of club soccer, the Slammers out in California. They’re very well coached and well trained. She’s in a really good training environment. Ava’s got a really smart soccer IQ as a center back. We obviously graduate our entire starting center backs, so I know she’ll be looking to have an impact. Really smart player with good distribution skills – can have a textured ball, can drive a ball, can slot a ball from the back – and also a really good individual defender. So we’re really excited to have Ava.”

DYK: Paolini has an older sister, Madison, who is a member of Oregon State University’s soccer team.

Sophia Sindelar

sophia.sindelar | SindelarSophia

• Position: Forward/Midfielder
• High School: Rocky River High School (Coach: Patrick Hopkins)
• Hometown: Rocky River, Ohio
• Club Team: Internationals Girls SC (Coach: Zdravko Popovic and Keri Sarver)

Club

• #182 Nationally Ranked Player in the Nation by TopDrawerSoccer
• #12 Regionally Ranked Player in Great Lakes
• #67 Nationally Ranked Midfielder in the Country
• 2024 ECNL U-17 Girls Ohio Valley All-Conference First Team
• Advanced to ECNL National semifinal (2023)
• 2023 ECNL U-16 Girls Ohio Valley All-Conference First Team
• 2022 ECNL U-15 Girls Ohio Valley All-Conference First Team
• Member of the East Roster for the 2023 Continental Tire National Selection Game

High School

• 2023 United Soccer Coaches Fall High School All-American
• West team selection for Dec. 14, 2024 12^th Annual High School All-American game
• Ms. Ohio Soccer (2023) by Ohio Scholastic Soccer Coaches Association (OSSCA)
• 2023 OSSCA Division II Player of the Year after posting 59 goals and 19 assists
• 2023 United Soccer Coaches Ohio Player of the Year
• 2023 Female High School Athlete of the Year at the Greater Cleveland Sports Awards
• Division II Greater Cleveland Player of the Year (2023)
• 2023 and 2022 United Soccer Coaches All-Central Region
• First Team All-Ohio by OSSCA (2022 & 2023)
• First Team All-Greater Cleveland (2022 & 2023)
• All-Great Lakes Conference Player of the Year 2022 & 2023
• All-GLC First Team (2022 & 2023)
• Greater Cleveland Honorable Mention (2021)
• Conference Honorable Mention (2021)
• Rocky River High School advanced to state semifinal for second consecutive year in 2024; advanced to 2023 final
• Co-Captain 2024-25 season, scoring 63 goals as a senior

Bohon Said: “Sophia Sindelar is a little worker bee who plays the 10. She plays for another really good club team with the Internationals, playing alongside some talented players as well, but college is her chance to do what she does in her own right. Works relentlessly, can finish two footed, loves to combine and get in behind, makes these really good off balancing runs as a 10. So we’re excited to have her come early and to be able to work with her this spring.”

DYK: Sindelar scored 167 goals for Rocky River High School – 63 in 2024, 59 in 2023, 31 in 2022 and 14 in 2021.

Kai Tsakiris

 kai.tsakiris

• Position: Midfielder
• High School: Corona del Mar High School (Coach: Bryan Middleton)
• Hometown: Corona del Mar, Calif.
• Club Team: Slammers FC HB Koge (Coach: Ziad Khoury and Craig Bull)

Club

• #87 Nationally Ranked Player in the Nation by TopDrawerSoccer
• #15 Regionally Ranked Player in Southern California
• #34 Nationally Ranked Midfielder in the Nation
• 2024 ECNL U-18 Southwest All-Conference U18/19 First Team
• Selected to KC Current Pro Development Team for Trips to Denmark and Spain

High School

• 2023-24 All-California Interscholastic Federation-Southern Section Division 1 selection
• 2022-23 All-SCA Southern Section Division 3 First Team by Southern California High School Soccer Coaches Association
• 2024 Sunset Conference of CIF Southern Section Most Valuable Player

Bohon Said: “Kai is this little hidden diamond in the rough. We have been so excited about her as she’s another really good player coming from the Slammers. She is so unique in her individual ability to beat players and is incredibly technical. Loves facing up and taking players on 1v1 – just has this soccer technical ability that is going to be really impactful. Comes from a really strong soccer family with her brother playing in the MLS and her dad being youth national team coach. We are very excited to see what she can do in the SEC.”

DYK: Her father, Shaun Tsakiris, coaches the LA Galaxy U-17 team. Older brother, Niko, is part of Major League Soccer’s San Jose Earthquakes