With strong midfielders serving as the engine for team success, Indiana men’s soccer revamped a midfield group that lost key pieces after the 2025 season.
Even though he was listed as a forward, senior Palmer Ault played a central attacking position within Indiana head coach Todd Yeagley’s 4-3-3 system. Ault was a phenom for the Hoosiers in his one season in Bloomington, scoring a team-high 16 goals — 12 more than second place — and racking up 10 assists.
Ault provided key goals in many Indiana victories last season, earning him a place on the All-Big Ten first team as a unanimous selection. The 5-foot-10 Ault also won Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year and was named a Mac Hermann Trophy semifinalist, an honor given to the top player in Division I soccer.
Along with the loss of Ault, senior Jack Wagoner exhausted his collegiate soccer eligibility. Playing all four seasons with the Hoosiers, Wagoner earned the title of team captain and provided a steady hand for his teammates. The Chesterfield, Missouri, native started in 17 out of 19 matches last season, recording a goal and assist over 1,443 minutes of play time.
But for a program with eight national championships on its resume, Yeagley and his staff got to work over the offseason, bringing in talented transfer portal additions to bolster the squad heading into the 2026 season.
Carnevale, Matthews bring experience to Indiana
With the loss of senior talent, Yeagley looked to the transfer portal to bring in experienced options for Indiana. The Hoosiers brought in graduate Wes Carnevale from Cornell University and redshirt senior Alex Matthews from Missouri State University to bolster the quality in the middle of the field.
Carnevale was a productive player for the Big Red last season, starting all 20 matches and scoring six goals, which tied him for the team’s lead. The 5-foot-10 midfielder earned All-Ivy League first-team honors and produced an assist in Cornell’s first round victory over Lehigh University in the NCAA Tournament. However, the Big Red then fell to the University of Connecticut 3-1 in the second round.
Along with Carnevale, Matthews brings NCAA Tournament experience to Bloomington.
The 5-foot-9 Matthews was a part of three NCAA Tournament teams during his time with the Bears. Matthews redshirted his freshman season but was voted All-Missouri Valley Conference first-team and the United Soccer Coaches All-America third-team by his redshirt sophomore season.
As a native of Derbyshire, England, Matthews also has experience with upper-level English academy soccer. Matthews played in EFL Championship side Derby County’s academy, being named Player of the Year in 2019.
Last season at Missouri State, Matthew earned All-American Conference first-team honors. He appeared in 16 matches, playing all 90 minutes in every game for a team-high total of 1,440 minutes. As a more defensive midfielder, Matthews only produced one shot on goal but helped the Bears keep five clean sheets.
Yeagley pointed to the pair’s ability on the field, along with their leadership on and off the pitch.
“Wes Carnevale, who we feel will have a big impact here. He was a big leader at Cornell and has a really good persona and ability to impact players in a positive way,” Yeagley said during a press conference Aug. 4. “We look for that in our recruiting. Alex Matthews was the captain at Missouri State. Will he be named captain? No, but he'll be leading.”
Even though Matthews or Carnevale will not be team captains for the Hoosiers this season, the duo plays an important role in giving Yeagley offensive- and defensive-minded options when picking his starting 11.
Returning options provide Yeagley with more depth
Losing key options from last season’s NCAA Tournament team hurt Indiana’s depth but returning players will help the Hoosiers during early-season nonconference games.
Redshirt junior Jacopo Fedrizzi returns after appearing in 18 matches last season. Fedrizzi recorded three goals and four assists throughout the campaign but also recorded four goal contributions in the first three matches.
The 6-foot-2 Italian national scored an 81st-minute goal to help Indiana draw with Clemson University in the season opener. With matchups against the University of Notre Dame, Butler University and the University of Louisville in the first four games of the regular season, an early start from Fedrizzi can help the Hoosiers’ chances of producing nonconference victories.
Junior Charlie Heuer also returns for his third season in Bloomington. Heuer started eight games last season and appeared off the bench in three others, recording one goal and four assists over 673 minutes.
Heuer had only one fewer goal involvement compared to a freshman season that ended with four goals and a Big Ten All-Freshman team selection. His return to Indiana’s starting lineup also helped Yeagley’s squad have more flexibility in the midfield. Heuer helped close a tough final stretch of the season by starting in seven of Indiana’s last eight games.
Further down last season’s bench, senior Justin Shreffler also knows his abilities within the Yeagley system. Shreffler has now spent all four seasons of his collegiate career in Bloomington, finally breaking into the squad as a substitute for 10 games in 2025.
The Hoosiers start the regular season against the University of Notre Dame at Bill Armstrong Stadium on Aug. 20, giving Indiana chances to produce early nonconference victories with a new-look roster.
Follow reporters Noah Boudouris (@noahboudouris and nboudour@iu.edu) and Sean McAvoy (@sean_mc07 and semcavoy@iu.edu) for updates throughout the Indiana men’s soccer season.
