Indiana men’s soccer added five players from the transfer portal per a release from Indiana Athletics on Thursday. The Hoosiers brought in two midfielders, one forward, one defender and a goalkeeper to reinforce every position group.
Senior forward Bennett Painter fills the attacking line for Indiana after the departure of Palmer Ault, who was third in the nation with 16 goals last year. Painter tallied 21 goals and nine assists over his three years at Bowling Green State University.
Indiana brought in graduate student midfielder Alex Matthews and junior midfielder Grant Paskus to add more depth to the center of the pitch.
Matthews comes from Missouri State University, a school that played in the NCAA Tournament three times during his career there. The 5-foot-7 graduate student didn’t miss a match during his four seasons with the Bears. He earned United Soccer Coaches third-team All-American honors in 2024.
Paskus appeared in every match over his first two years at Northern Illinois University. He earned Missouri Valley Conference All-Freshman team honors in 2024.
Indiana also brought in junior defender Nick McHenry, who played two years at Ohio State before coming to Bloomington. He appeared in all 37 matches the Buckeyes played in that span, contributing to 13 clean sheets.
Indiana head coach Todd Yeagley rounded out its transfer additions with junior goalkeeper Michal Mroz.
The junior helped the University of Evansville reach the NCAA Tournament in his freshman year in 2024. Mroz put up six clean sheets last year, winning the MVC Goalkeeper of the Year. He was picked in the third round of the MLS SuperDraft in December by Minnesota United FC, becoming the first player in Purple Aces history to get selected in the MLS SuperDraft.
Follow reporters Elakai Anela (@elakai_anela and eanela@iu.edu) and Mateo Fuentes-Rohwer (@mateo_frohwer and matfuent@iu.edu) for updates throughout the Indiana men's soccer offseason.
