SANTA CLARA, Calif. – Santa Clara men's soccer signed Caden Buckley, an Allstate All-American and a Bimbo All-American high school soccer game selectee, to a national letter of intent to join the program for the 2020 season.  Broncos head coach Cam Rast made the announcement.  

 

Buckley, who attends Bishop Gorman High in Las Vegas and plays club soccer for the Las Vegas Sports Academy, was one of 250 high school juniors selected out of nearly 800,000 players across the country to the first-ever Allstate All-America soccer program.  

 

Additionally, the six-foot defensive midfielder will participate in the 2019 Bimbo High School All-American game in Orlando, Florida this Saturday (Dec. 7).  

 

"I chose Santa Clara University because I was very impressed with the high level of soccer as well as academics at the school.  Santa Clara feels like a place that I can call home.  Also, I fell in love with the campus, and loved the atmosphere.  Finally, the coaches and players were very welcoming and very excited to have me coming," said Buckley.  

 

The three-time captain at Bishop Gorman helped lead the Gaels to a state championship his senior season en route to being named to the Class 4A All-State team.  It was the third time he was named to the all-state team.  

 

Academically, Buckley has thrice been recognized to the NIAA Nevada All-State Academic Team and was named the Bishop Gorman Scholar-Athlete as a sophomore.  

 

"Caden is a defensive midfielder who has a presence and real leadership quality that I'm excited about," said Rast.  "I had a chance to see Caden a couple of times this past year.  First, back in Orlando, Florida at the Disney Showcase and he was so good in the game.  He's capable on the ball, he can divide it and he can handle it even under pressure.  He has a composure to him but he can be really tough.  He covered so much ground in the game that I saw which just convinced me that he's someone we needed to look at.  

 

"More recently, I saw him at the Surf Cup before our season started and he was playing up a year in the college division and he looked right at home.  His team did really well and again, he got into a tough scrap but bounced right back.  He has the ability on the ball to hold onto it but also has a toughness to enforce.  We are looking forward to having Caden join the Bronco soccer program."