MORROW, Ga. – Clayton State head men's soccer coach Pete Petersen has announced a group of 11 newcomers for the 2015 season, highlighted by five transfers, including former Clemson University striker Iain Smith.

IAIN SMITH: 5-10, Graduate, Suwanee, Ga. (Clemson University)
Smith joins the Lakers after two years at NCAA Division I power Clemson University. During his three years with the program, he played in 37 matches, including 22 starts and an appearance in the Tigers 2013 NCAA Tournament game.

As a freshman in 2011, was Clemson's third leading scorer with nine points (2g, 5a), including scoring the game-winner over Adelphi (10/21). He also notched a pair of assists against Duke (9/16) and assisted on the winning goal against both NC State (9/23) and Virginia Tech (11/3). That season Smith was also named to the Atlantic Coast Conference Academic Honor Roll.

After redshirting in 2012, he played in 18 games with eight starts in 2013. Smith also scored against No. 17 Furman (10/15) and posted an assist vs. Gardner-Webb (9/8). In addition to his collegiate career, he has also played for the prestigious Gwinnett Soccer Association.

MICHAEL HYNES: 5-10, Graduate, Belfast, Northern Ireland (St. Mary's University)
Hynes competed at the high school level with Malone College, serving as team captain as a senior but truly made his mark at the club level.

He has played on teams from Under-9 through Under-19 and helped lead Aquinas FC to the U14 Championship as well as the U15 League Cup Championship and Windmuhlen Cup Championship. With Lisburn Distellery FC that club advanced to the U17 League Cup Semifinals and he Hynes was selected to represent Northern Ireland in U18.

NICK BRACEY: 6-3, Junior, Madison, Miss. (Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College)
A tall athletic defender, Bracey joins the Lakers following a season at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College.

While there he started all 20 games he appeared in and even notched an assist as a defender. The latter came in a 2-1 win over Pearl River Community College (10/7). Bracey helped to lead MGCC to a 14-5-2 overall record, 11-2-2 conference mark and team goals against average of 0.93.

OLIVER PANNELL: 6-1, Junior, Nottingham, England (Mars Hill University)
Pannell comes to Clayton State from fellow Southeast Region foe Mars Hill University, where he played the past two seasons.

During his time with the Lions, he saw action in 16 games between the pipes, including 11 starts last year as a sophomore. That season he went 5-5-1 with one shutout  and a 1.80 goals against average in nearly 1,000-minutes in goal. He collected the shutout in a 2-0 victory over Lenoir-Rhyne (10/8).

MARIO AGUERO: 5-7, Freshman, Roswell, Ga. (Riverwood High School)
A member of Riverwood High School's soccer program, Aguero moves to the college level following a successful three-year run with the Raiders.

Over the course of his career he notched 56 goals and helped RHS to the GHSAA 5-AA State Tournament each year. That run culminated with a trip to the Final Four as a senior as well as a 5-AA Runner-Up outing. Aguero delivered 24 goals that season following 17 as a junior and 15 as a sophomore.

CONNOR ATKINSON: 6-1, Freshman, Liverpool, England (De La Salle Academy)
A 6-1 midfielder, Atkinson played for De La Salle Academy, helping the Ako to the Liverpool Echo Cup Championship. He was also a part of the team that won the Merseyside Cup.

JEFF BARRON: 6-4, Junior, Forsythe, Ga. (Georgia Military College)
An imposing defender, Barron joins the Lakers as the tallest member of the team following two seasons at Georgia Military College from 2014-15.

During his time with the Bulldogs he played in 27 games, starting 25 of them. He also posted two goals and a pair of assists in his career, including a goal and two assists as a sophomore. That year he saw action in 17 games, starting all but one of them, and helped GMC to seven shutouts and a 1.92 goals against average.

AKSELI EKLUND: 6-0, Sophomore, Joensuu, Finland (Lady of the Lake University)
Eklund becomes the third native of Finland on the Lakers 2015 roster following a transfer from National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) member Our Lady of the Lake.

In his one season with the Saints he took over as starting goalkeeper from a senior and proceeded to go 3-1-1 with a .975 goals against average in five starts. Eklund also earned the first shutout of his career with a 2-0 decision over Texas College (10/11).

CARLOS NARANJO: 5-7, Freshman, Fayetteville, Ga. (Fayette County High School)
A midfielder, Naranjo stays close to home following a playing career at Fayette County High School. As a junior he started every game and was an All-Region selection before helping the Tigers to the postseason as a senior. Additionally, Naranjo also played at the club level for AFC Lightning 98.

BRANDON STAHL: 5-9, Freshman, Fayetteville, Ga. (Northgate High School)
Stahl joins Clayton State after playing at Northgate High School and Glen Este High School (Cincinnati, Ohio).

At Glen Este he played the junior varsity level as a freshman before making the jump to varsity as a sophomore. Following that season he joined NHS, earning All-Conference Second-Team honors as a junior and serving as team captain as a senior.

Additionally, he brings a family lineage of playing quality soccer at the college level. His father, Roby, was a two-year captain while playing at Akron from 1971-75 and was also part of the United States Olympic Team player pool and played professionally in Europe for a number of years.

JAKE STEPHENS: 6-0, Freshman, Gainesville, Ga. (North Hall High School)
A four-year member of the Trojans soccer program, Stephens helped lead North Hall to the GHSAA State Tournament in each of his first three seasons.

As a junior, the club would advance to the Final Four before Stephens took over a leadership role as team captain as a senior.

In addition to his high school career, he was also a member of the 2013 United States Youth Soccer Association (USYSA) National Finalists and Southern Regional Champions with Norcross Soccer Association. Stephens also played on the 2014 USYSA Georgia State Cup Championship team.

Head Coach Pete Petersen on the 2015 Signing Class
In the midfield, Connor Atkinson and Michael Hynes each bring intensity in the middle and Nick Bracey and Jeff Barron, two JUCO defenders, bring size and experience to shore up the back line. I look forward to seeing the three freshmen of Brandon Stahl, Mario Aguero and Jake Stephens as well. They are very technical and can keep the ball but we'll need to see how they adjust to the speed of play at the next level.

I am excited to see what we have and what we are going to look like in a couple of weeks when we open up the 2015 campaign!

Transactions
Clayton State University announced that Iain Smith, Michael Hynes, Nick Bracey, Oliver Pannell, Mario Aguero, Connor Atkinson, Jeff Barron, Akseli Eklund, Carlos Naranjo, Brandon Stahl and Jake Stephens have accepted offers to play for the Lakers men's soccer program beginning in 2015.