CONWAY, S.C. – Coastal Carolina men's soccer head coach Shaun Docking announced the addition of 15 new signees for the upcoming 2023 fall season on Thursday.

The fresh faces will consist of eight transfers in Simon Wittmann, Ewan Gordon, Loed Klaasen, Noah Lechelt, Djavid Abdullatif, Ethan Stewart, Evan Howard, and Kilian Vallant, six freshmen in Robert Valdimarsson, Kari Sigfusson, Kabl Kahkesh, Anton Bjarkason, Gudjon Stefansson, and Evan Alvarez along with one graduate student in Asgeir Magnusson.

"We are very excited about the new additions to our squad for this fall. We believe that we have added some important starting players with good overall experience from other college programs and high levels of play internationally," stated head coach Docking. "We have addressed some key areas that we needed to improve and we feel that we can provide a very attractive style and progressive way to play for this fall, while also addressing our long-term growth as a program," Docking continued. 

"Our goal has always been not only to get into the NCAA tournament, but to win the Sun Belt Conference Championship, and the NCAA Division I Tournament Championship," stated Docking. "We have had success as a National Top 25 NCAA Division I program and we believe we have that same chance again this year!" 

Simon Wittmann

The Ingolstadt, Germany, native is transferring to the beach after a two-year stint at the University of Montevallo. Wittman played and started in all 32 matches, scoring four goals in his 2,569 minutes of playing time. During his sophomore year, the midfielder was named to the All-GSC second team and was an academic all-district team selection.

Docking on Wittmann: "Simon comes to us with some very strong collegiate experience over the past few years. He is very good on the ball and has great soccer savviness about how he plays the game. He is such a great person and character, and will be a great leader for us this Fall."

Ewan Gordon

Gordon will join the Chants after playing for two years at Casper College, where he played and started in 27 matches. The Sunshine Coast, Australia, native picked up many accolades while playing at Casper College, including being named a NJCAA Division I first-team All-American, the 2022 Region IX Defensive Player of the Year, and a NJCAA first-team All-Region selection. The defender scored three goals during his sophomore season and also tallied two assists on the year.

Docking on Gordon: "Ewan is a ball-playing center back who also comes from a strong collegiate background. He is a good organizer and leader and we are very excited to see how he adjusts to Coastal's soccer program and the Sun Belt Conference. If he adjusts well, he will see playing time early on, as he has great commitment and competitiveness on and off the field."

Loed Klaasen

Klaasen is a transfer sophomore from Utah Valley, where he made 15 appearances for the Wolverines while earning six starts. The Aerdenhout, Amsterdam, native tallied three assists on the season, two of which contributed to game-winning goals versus UT Rio Grande Valley and Utah Tech. Before coming to the States, Klaasen played for AFC Ajax in the Netherlands for 10 years.

Docking on Klaasen: "Loed is a great playmaking central midfield player who will control and dictate play for us and allow us to express ourselves as a group. He is transferring in with a good year of collegiate experience already which will help him adjust and thrive in the Sun Belt."

Noah Lechelt

The Edmonton, Canada, native is transferring to Coastal after one year at National Championship-winning Syracuse. The midfielder was a three-year letterman in high school and played for Albany Rush in the USL League Two Eastern Conference. Lechelt logged 737 minutes of playing time for Albany Rush and scored one goal on the season.

Docking on Lechelt: "Noah is an exciting prospect with a lot of potential on the attacking side of our team. He brings some good experience as a transfer already. He is very competitive and eager to express himself straight away. If Noah settles in he will establish himself to earn playing time with our group straightaway!"

Djavid Abdullatif

The Itzehoe, Germany, native is a transfer sophomore from the University of Pittsburgh. Abdullatif played in three matches for the Panthers and helped them reach the 2022 NCAA College Cup semifinals. During high school, Abdullatif played for a variety of clubs, including Hertha BSC, Norderstedt, Niendorger TSV, and Eimsbutteler TV, but his greatest success came when he lead Hamburger SV to the U20 German Championship League title.

Docking on Abdullatif: "Djavid is another exciting transfer prospect with good experience in Germany prior to his time here in the US. He will compete early on for the wide right attacking role within our group and will be an exciting player for our fans to watch this season!"

Ethan Stewart

Stewart is transferring to the beach from CCBC Essex where he was a pivotal player for the Knights, competing in 54 matches while earning 53 starts. The defender scored four goals and tallied eight assists in his collegiate career to date along with scoring one game-winning goal versus Heartland Community College. During high school, the Fairfax, Va., native was a two-year letterman and was named to the all-state second team.

Docking on Stewart: "Ethan has had a very successful collegiate career, earning All-American honors at the junior college level and having had a great summer with his UPSL team. Ethan is an athletic and very fit, outside back, that will compete straightaway for playing time with us this fall."

Evan Howard

Howard is an incoming transfer from Georgetown College, where he played in 16 matches while earning 12 starts. The forward recorded four goals and tallied three assists during his one-year spell with the Tigers. The Newcastle, England, native earned Freshman of the Year honors at Georgetown College and scored back-to-back game-winning goals versus Siena Heights and Goshen. Prior to moving to the US, Howard was the leading goal scorer for both his club and high school teams.

Docking on Howard: "Evan is a strong, athletic, confident striker that is also transferring in with a good pedigree from England and the collegiate level. He is versatile and very intelligent in his movement as a striker. We look forward to an exciting first season for Evan."

Kilian Vallant

Vallant is a transfer sophomore from the University of Pittsburgh. The goalkeeper was a three-time Austrian youth champion at the U15, U16, and U18 levels and led his team to an undefeated U18 season. The Salzburg, Austria, native competed in the UEFA Youth League and played for the Red Bull Akademie. 

Docking on Vallant: "Killian was very unlucky not to play more last year as a college freshman, and we are excited about his potential in joining our GK group. He is fresh off his time this summer with the Austrian U21 National team, and will come into preseason looking to push for a starting spot with us!"

Robert Valdimarsson

The Hafnarfjorour, Iceland, native was a four-year letterman in high school and competed for the Icelandic National Team in 2020. The midfielder played for FH Hafbarfjorour, which competes in the top Icelandic division of soccer and he led the team to a National Cup victory in 2021 along with a National Championship title in 2020. Valdimarsson was also named the FH Hafbarfjorour MVP in 2021.

Docking on Valdimarsson: "We are very excited to have Robert join us this fall. He comes from a very strong playing background at FH, one of the strongest Premier League clubs in Iceland. He is a very versatile and athletic player that should compete straightaway for playing and starting time with us this fall."

Kari Sigfusson

The Arbaer, Iceland, native made his debut in the Icelandic premiership at 18 years old. The forward played for Throttur Vogum FC and led the team with seven goals scored on the season. Sigfusson played a pivotable role in the Throttur Vogum offense, starting in all nine appearances while playing the full 90 minutes in six.

Docking on Sigfusson: "We are very excited to add Kari to our team this year. He will compete straightaway for a starting spot as an attacking and connecting guy for us when in possession. He has a proven track record of scoring goals at the highest levels in Iceland and is a very intelligent soccer player with great promise to do well in the US collegiate game."

Kabl Kahkesh

The Edmond, Okla., native was a four-year letterman and captained the team for his entire high school career. The forward picked up many honors, including being named to the all-conference and all-district team all four years (2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023) while also tabbing an all-state and all-area selection in 2023. The accolades do not stop there, as the incoming freshman also led his high school team to four conference championship titles, the 6A state finals, and the district playoffs for four-straight years (2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023).

Docking on Kahkesh: "We were delighted to find out about Kabl this past spring, at one of our ID camps. He thoroughly impressed us with his explosive and tricky attacking play, and as a result, we are very excited to have him join us this fall. He has great potential and we believe he will become a great four-year college player for us here at Coastal."

Anton Bjarkason

The incoming freshman was a three-year letterman in high school and captained the team for one year. The Reykjavik, Iceland, native played for the Reykjavik senior team and helped lead them to the 2019 championship title. Bjarkason also excelled for his youth team and was named the most talented player on the U19 squad.

Docking on Bjarkason: "We really like Anton and believe that he is a very good player and his versatility will be a massive plus for all of us. He is hard-working, very quick, and has great ideas with the ball. He is immensely competitive and driven and has great toughness IN how he approaches training and games. We believe that he will compete straight away for a starting spot with us this preseason."

Evan Alvarez 

The Alpharetta, Ga., native is one of three American additions to the 2023 Chanticleer squad and will bring his experience as a four-year high school letterman. Alverez has picked up many accolades, including the Alpharetta High School Regional Championship title (2021), the Peachtree City Mobo Georgia State Championship title (2021), along with winning the UPSL regular-season championship title with Atlanta United (2022).

Docking on Alvarez: "Evan is a guy that is a very smart soccer player and has great versatility to his game. He can play a few different positions because of his high soccer intelligence. We believe that Evan will flourish in our system and will be a great four-year player with our program."

Asgeir Magnusson

The Faskruosfjorour, Iceland, native was named the Young Player of the Season for Leiknir Faskruosfiroi FC and he led the team to the Icelandic C-division championship title in 2019. The incoming master's student has recently been playing for Keflavik FC, which competes in the top Icelandic soccer division. The defender was also named to the league's Team of the Week in 2023.

Docking on Magnusson: "Asgeir has had some great experiences playing at the highest levels of Icelandic soccer. He is a very versatile soccer player with a wonderful soccer brain and has the speed and quickness and ability on the ball to play for us straightaway. We are very excited about the addition of Asgeir to our team this Fall."

Gudjon Stefansson

Stefansson was a three-year letterman in high school and is the fourth new Icelandic addition to the 2023 squad. The Keflavik, Iceland, native earned both Best Midfielder of the Year (2016) and Best Defender of the Year honors (2017) in high school. Stefansson also led his club soccer team to the league championship title while earning MVP honors.

Docking of Stefasson: "Gudjon comes to us from Iceland with a lot of great experiences and from a great soccer environment. He is a versatile player and a great soccer player with a high soccer IQ. We are very excited that he will be joining us this fall and expect him to compete straightaway for a starting position with our group!"

For complete coverage of CCU men's soccer, follow the Chants on social media at @CoastalMSoccer (Twitter), Facebook.com/CCUChanticleers (Facebook), @GoCCUSports (Instagram), or visit the official home of Coastal Carolina Athletics at www.GoCCUsports.com.