SMU men’s soccer program reveals eclectic 11-player recruiting class

DALLAS – Southern Methodist University (SMU) men’s soccer (Ranked #21 in SoccerWire’s Best 50 NCAA Programs) Head Coach Kevin Hudson has announced the Mustangs’ 2023 signing class.

SMU is looking to build upon its success from the previous season with its new additions. In 2022, the Mustangs finished 10-6-1 overall, including six wins in conference and an appearance in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Six members of the 2022 roster were named to All-American Athletic Conference teams, including two being named to the first team. SMU was also home to the AAC Offensive Player of the Year, Midfielder of the Year and Rookie of the Year.

“We are thrilled to add this talented group to our roster,” Hudson said. “We set out with the clear objective to fill our positional needs with student-athletes who not only possess elite talent but also high character. Much of the credit for this class belongs to Associate Head Coach, Ben Stoddard, and Assistant Coach, Michael King, I cannot thank them enough for their tireless efforts to add such a talented class.”

Hudson and his staff have added 11 newcomers for the 2023 season.

Lamar Bynum – Defender, Junior | Albuquerque, N.M./Colorado State University Pueblo

Bynum joins the Mustangs after two years of experience at Colorado State University-Pueblo. There, he was awarded the 2021 conference player of the year and in 2022, he was named an All-American by the United Soccer Coaches. In high school, he lettered all four years and earned a state title in 2021 while also playing club soccer for NM Rush. Bynum also has experience playing overseas in Italy, and chose SMU due to an opportunity to expand in all areas of his life.

Chris Deamon – Freshman, Forward | Dallas, Texas/Red Oak High School

A Dallas Native, Deamon comes to SMU after being named the two-time district MVP, offensive MVP and earning second-team all-state honors. A dual-letter winner in both soccer and basketball, Deamon attended Red Oak High School while also playing club soccer for the Dallas Texans. In addition to being named to second-team all-state, he also earned first-team all-region and first-team all-district accolades.

Jelldrik Dallmann – Forward, Graduate Transfer | Kuhstedt, Germany/Lipscomb University

Dallmann joins the Mustangs with experience in the sport all over the world. Growing up in Germany, he started playing soccer at just three years old. He has four years of experience playing collegiate soccer across four schools in the United States, with the most recent being Lipscomb University. Here, he was named the ASUN player of the year and first-team all-region by the United Soccer Coaches. He posted 11 goals off of 1,056 minutes in play, in which he also logged 23 shots on goal.

Martin Dominguez – Goalkeeper, Junior | Dallas, TX/Oregon State University

Dominguez comes to SMU as a transfer from Oregon State University and is a Dallas native. He enrolled early last spring and the 5’11 goalkeeper was also a four-year letterwinner for Adamson High School in the Oak Cliff area. During his junior year of high school, he received Most Valuable Player for having the most saves in his school district. During club play for Solar MLSNext, he earned U19 Best Goalkeeper honors.

Richie Garcia – Midfielder, Sophomore | Dallas, TX/California Polytechnic University

Coming off 11 starts, two goals and three assists in collegiate play, Garcia joins the Mustangs after being the captain of MLS Next U-19 from 2020-21. Hailing from family ties, his cousin Homero also graduated from SMU along with most of his family currently residing in the Dallas area. Garcia lettered in soccer his freshman year at Wilson High School, he primarily focused on club play with Solar SC and won the Dallas Cup U19 Championship and a U17 DA National Championship.

Oliver Hald – Defender, Junior| Copenhagen, Denmark/University of Evansville

Hald joins the Mustangs after having the most minutes logged in the MVC two years in a row and two back-to-back appearances in the conference final. He has collegiate experience in two schools, through Muskegon Community College and the University of Evansville. Growing up overseas, in 2015 he played against Manchester City and Valencia. He has already had a professional I division debut in 2020 while in Denmark.

Logan Jones – Midfielder, Freshman | Roanoke, Texas/Byron Nelson High

Jones, who was previously named Offensive Player of the Year and first-team all-district, comes to SMU as a two-year letterwinner for Byron Nelson High and former member of Ayses soccer. He was invited to play soccer in Portugal, but opted for joining SMU’s roster instead.

Ibrahim Keita – Midfielder, Freshman | San Antonio, TX/LEE High School

Keita was a three-year letterwinner and the 2023 team leading scorer at LEE. He was also named first-team all-district, first-team all-area and placed on the all-region team. Ibrahim also helped lead the Volunteers to the 2021 6A State Championship title, while playing club ball for San Antonio City SC. He graduated Magna Cum Laude and has family ties to SMU — his uncle, Richard, is an SMU graduate.

Milton Lopez – Forward, Freshman | Irving, Texas/Irving High School

Lopez dreamed of playing for SMU ever since he was a little boy. While at Irving High School, in his junior year he was named Offensive MVP and honorable mention for the all-state team. His senior year, he earned District MVP and first-team all-state accolades. He finished his time in Irving with 60 goals and 29 assists while also playing for the Dallas Texans Academy ECNL U19.

Jaylinn Mitchell – Midfielder, Freshman | La Mirada, Calif./La Mirada High School

A two-time Offensive MVP in high school, Mitchell comes to SMU after receiving the All-CIF Southern Section Team Award. Playing for La Mirada High School, he logged 40 goals and 18 assists off of 51 games. Mitchell also notched two league titles while playing club soccer for Slammers FC ECNL.

Enzo Panozzo – Defender, Sophomore | Rock Island, IL./IMG Academy

Walking on this past spring, Panozzo attended IMG Academy — one of the top sports academies in the country — and was the U15-19 team captain. During his years on the U15 team, he also earned Most Valuable Player and received the Coaches Award the following year. He has also played in both Iceland and Germany, and advanced to the IMG MLS Next Playoffs during U19.