First year Eastern Illinois men's soccer coach Ruy Vaz has begun to assemble the pieces for his first Panthers team with the addition of seven freshman players as part of his initial recruiting class.
 
Set to join the Panthers roster this fall are Gustavo Almeida, Max Sudor, Pedro Otta, Conner Bayliss, Samuel Toruno, Landon Cassidy and Shotaro Sekinada.
 
Gustavo Almeida (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) played for coaches Miguel Faria and Matheus Mendes while attending Northern Pre-University/Ribeiro-Moojan Pre-University in Bosibriand, Quebec, Canada.  He played club soccer for Volta Redonda Futebol Clube.  He was selected as both the Best Offensive Player and Most Improved Player in 2024. 
 
Max Sudor (Bloomingdale, Ill.) played for coaches David Richardson and Brett Hall at Benet Academy.  He helped lead the program to the 2024 NAC Championship.  He played club soccer for both Sockers FC MLS Next and SC Borea Dresden.  He would be a part of the 2024 MLS Next Cup Quarterfinalist team and the 2025 GA Cup Qualifier Champion. 
 
Pedro Otta (Londrina, Brazil) played for coach David Graydon while attending Monteverde Academy.  Otta was a multiple-year starter for the program. 
 
Conner Bayliss (St. Charles, Mo.) played for coaches Luis Swisher and David Critchley at Saint Charles High School and club for St. Louis City SC Academy.  He earned first team All-Conference honors as a freshman in high school.  At the club level he was a member of the U17 MLS Next Mid America Division champion, a U17 MLS Next Semifinalist, UPSL National Finalist and UPSL Gateway Champions.
 
Samuel Toruno (Boca Raton, Fla.) played for coaches Savio Carrijo, Paulo Reis and Rafa Solares while attending Monta Vista High School in California and playing club for Silicon Valley Soccer Academy.  Toruno was selected to play in the MLS Next U16 All Star Game and was a U16 USYNT ID Pool Camp Call Up. 
 
Landon Cassidy (St. Louis, Mo.) played for coach Dan Legters playing at Westminster Christian Academy and playing club for Saint Louis Scott Gallagher ECNL.  He was named the Missouri Class 3 Defensive Player of the Year and a two-time All-State selection.  Cassidy earned All-Region and All-Conference honors twice and was a member of the 2023 State Championship team.  He was twice named the ECNL team captain.
 
Shotaro Sekinada (Tokyo, Japan) played for coach Tetsumasa Kimura while attending Aoyama Gakuin Senior High School and playing club for SC Sagamihara U18.  He was named to the Kanagawa Prefecture Club Select three times for U16, U17 and U18 while being named to the Tokyo Regional Select Team as a U15.  He helped lead his team to a 2024 Kanagawa Prefecture Club Tournament semifinal finish in 2024 and runner-up finish in 2023.  His team was the Sagamihara City Tournament Runner-Up in 2022.