After another successful USL League Two campaign and a fourth straight Northwest Division title it’s time for the Ballard Boys to head into their fall seasons.
Ballard FC have always utilized the college ranks and leaned heavily on local talent to create a special environment on and off the pitch. So let’s take a look at where the players will reside this school year.
As always, the club’s identity starts local. The University of Washington remains Ballard FC’s biggest pipeline, with six Ballard FC players suiting up for the Huskies this fall: Stockton Short, Zach Ramsey, Cameron Cruz, Emmett Layman, Jordy Dierks, and Noah Newman.
Goalkeeper Stockton Short will be between the goalposts for Washington after transferring in from Utah Tech, being named WAC Preseason Goalkeeper of the Year in 2025 before getting selected by the Seattle Sounders in the third round of the MLS SuperDraft. Headlining the midfield is Zach Ramsey who is set for a great junior year after a stellar sophomore season.
Ramsey came to “U-Dub” with huge expectations after winning Washington Gatorade Player of the Year as a senior in high school. In his first season with the Dawgs, Ramsey earned Big Ten All-Freshman Team honors. Then after a summer with Ballard FC, Ramsey truly broke out a a sophomore. Last fall, Ramsey was named offensive MVP of the College Cup, and earned First Team All-Big Ten honors for the 2025 National Champions before being selected 17th overall by the Vancouver Whitecaps in the MLS SuperDraft. This summer with Ballard FC, Ramsey starred in midfield, leading the club in assists (5) and winning his second straight NW Division Title and earning himself a spot on the USL 2 Western Conference Team of the Year. Heading into this fall, Ramsey was named a Big Ten Player to Watch, TopDrawerSoccer (TDS) Preseason Second-Team Best XI, and is ranked 12th on the TDS Preseason Top 100.
Cameron Cruz is back with the Huskies for his senior season after winning the starting left-back spot for the National Champions last fall. The positionally versatile Cruz will look to be a leader for the Dawgs as they aim to repeat as Champions in 2026. In attack, newcomers Dierks and Layman will be on the wings for Washington.
Layman joins the Huskies after a year with Fort Lewis College and two with Point Loma Nazarene University (PLNU). Layman was named to the RMAC All-Tournament Team as a freshman at Fort Lewis where he was teammates with current Ballard FC teammate, Anton Hjalmarsson. Then at PLNU he earned All-PacWest Second Team honors as a sophomore before truly breaking as a junior. In 2025, Layman scored 15 goals and recorded five assists on his way to Second Team All-American, First Team All-Region, and Second Team All-Conference honors. Now, Layman will make the jump up to Division One and join the reigning National Champions with two years of eligibility left.
Dierks will be a freshman for Washington this fall after being a standout attacker for the Sounders Academy and key rotational piece for Ballard FC in 2026. Joining Dierks as a freshman with the Huskies is goalkeeper Noah Newman. Newman, another Sounders Academy product, joins the reigning National Champions this year after starring for Ballard FC in the playoffs this summer and making six professional appearances for the Tacoma Defiance.
A trio of Ballard FC players will continue to play at Interbay Stadium this fall with Seattle Pacific University. Isaac Ketcham, Cristian Chel Lara, and Victor Cabañas were all 2025 GNAC Regular Season Co-Champions last year and will look to repeat in 2026. Ketcham is going into his fifth and final year and will be a leader on the backline after being a consistent starter the past two seasons for the falcons and winning three straight NW Division Titles with Ballard FC. After training with Ballard FC in 2024, and missing most of the 2025 USL 2 season through injury, Chel-Lara finally made his Ballard FC competitive debut in 2026, winning a penalty in the club’s 2-1 win over FC Olympia. He heads into his third season with Seattle Pacific. Cabañas will look to star as a sophomore after winning GNAC Freshman of the Year honors in 2025.
Heading to Championship Field, we have two forwards named Alex competing for Seattle University this fall. Both Alex Notzka and Alex Bazia were named TDS WCC Players to Watch heading into their 2025 college seasons. Notzka, the first goalscorer for Ballard FC in 2026, will look to carry a great summer with Ballard FC into his junior season with the Redhawks. Bazia is new to Seattle University after transferring from Gonzaga University in the spring.
Speaking of Gonzaga, we do have one more Ballard FC collegiate duo in the state of Washington. Both Michael Divano and Jackson Farrell are newcomers for the Zags this fall. Divano joins Gonzaga after two years with Western Oregon University. Divano alongside Ballard FC teammate, Abeselom Zemenfes, were both named Second Team All-GNAC for the GNAC Regular Season Co-Champions and Tournament Champions. Divano was named GNAC Tournament MVP after scoring the tournament-winner in extra time. After a great summer with both FC Olympia and Ballard FC, Divano will look to continue his fine form with the Bulldogs. Divano is joined by Jackson Farrell, who will be a freshman at Gonzaga this season. The son of former Ballard FC Head Coach, Jason Farrell, will aim to get his collegiate career started on the right foot in 2026.
The last Ballard FC player who will be taking the field for an in-state college this fall is goalkeeper Charlie Dyer who is going into his final season with Western Washington University. Dyer has excelled in goal for the Vikings over the past two seasons. In 2024, he had the lowest goals against average (1.056) in the GNAC. Then in 2025, he led the GNAC in shutouts (4) on his way to earning Second Team All-GNAC honors. Dyer will look to add onto an already impressive college resume this fall as a senior.
Staying in the Pacific Northwest but down in Oregon, the University of Portland has a trio of Ballard FC pilots, all heading into their fourth collegiate season. Forwards Anton Hjalmarsson and Joe Highfield will lead the attack while defender Angel Martinez will marshal the backline. Martinez, an Everett, WA native and Sounders Academy product started all 19 matches for Portland last fall before being a key starter for the Ballard backline this summer.
Hjalmarsson, who was tied with Joschi Schelb for the most goals (8) for Ballard FC this summer, returns to Portland for his final season after a great college career. Hjalmarsson started his collegiate career alongside Layman at Fort Lewis College where in just two years, he was named a Second Team All-American, First Team All-Region, First Team All-Conference, RMAC All-Tournament Team, RMAC Player of the Year and RMAC Freshman of the Year. Then as a junior at Portland, he scored four goals and assisted three times for the Pilots in 2025.
Alongside Hjalmarsson in attack is Highfield who is set for another big collegiate season. In 2025, Highfield was named a Third Team All-American, First Team All-Region, First Team All-WCC, to the Midseason Mac Hermann Watchlist, and ranked 85th on the TDS Postseason Top 100 list before being selected 11th overall by the Houston Dynamo in the MLS SuperDraft. After joining Ballard FC midseason and helping with the postseason push, Highfield heads into the 2026 college season on the Mac Hermann Forwards to Watch List by United Soccer Coaches (USC), WCC Preseason Team, TDS Third Team Best XI, and ranked 30th on the TDS Preseason Top 100 list.
Former Western Oregon University player Abeselom Zemenfes has transferred to the University of South Florida (USF) ahead of this fall. The 2025 USL 2 Western Conference Player of the Year and Northwest Division Player of the Year will make the jump to Division One soccer in 2026 with USF after earning Second Team All-GNAC honors with Western Oregon as a freshman last year.
Heading down the west coast to California, Ballard FC goalkeeper Trevor Wilson is set to start his third season at San Diego State University (SDSU) after shutting out Utah Valley in his first collegiate start last fall. Wilson was also a Sounders Academy product who made one professional appearance for the Tacoma Defiance before joining SDSU. Wilson made his Ballard FC debut this summer, starting in wins against FC Olympia and Bigfoot FC. Defender Cianole Nguepissi played for SDSU in 2024 and 2025, but is transferring to the University of Kentucky to strengthen their backline. Nguepissi earned WAC All-Freshman Team honors in 2024 and was named 2025 WAC Preseason Defender of the Year while at SDSU, and he now will look to continue collecting accolades with the Kentucky Wildcats.
Moving east to the mountain time zone we stop at Utah Tech University. Stockton Short’s former school is still home to Ballard FC defender Tanner Dutra. Dutra earned WAC All-Freshman Team honors in 2024 and was named a TDS WAC Player to Watch heading into 2025. In 2025, he started in nearly every match for the Trailblazers before doing the same with Ballard FC this summer. Now heading into his fourth year with Utah Tech, Dutra was named a Mountain West Conference Player to Watch. Ballard FC forward Dunes Nielsen played two seasons at Utah Tech, earning a Second Team All-WAC selection in 2025. Ahead of 2026, Nielsen transferred to Southern Methodist University where he will join former Ballard FC midfielder, Andre Philibbosian.
Heading over to the Ivy League, midfielder Jack-Ryan Jeremiah is going into his senior season at the University of Pennsylvania (Penn) after being a pivotal part of Ballard’s success this season. As a sophomore in 2024, Jeremiah earned First Team All-Region and First Team All-Ivy honors. Heading into 2025, Jeremiah was named Penn co-captain, a TDS Ivy League Player to Watch, a USC Midfielder to Watch, and to the preseason Mac Hermann Watch List. Despite a midseason injury, he still took received Ivy League Honorable Mention recognition. Now after a division title with Ballard FC, the two-time Ivy League Champion will look to collect more silverware this fall.
Joining Jeremiah in the Ivy League is Yale defender Andrew Myerson who also begins his senior season. Myerson made his Ballard FC breakthrough this season for Ballard, and was awarded Player of the match honors in the team’s playoff win against Colorado Storm SC. After starting in nearly every match for Yale last fall, Myerson will look to lead the Bulldog backline again in 2026.
Also on the east coast is midfielder Juan Alvarez who is set to start his sophomore season at West Virginia University. Last fall, Alvarez was named to the Sun Belt All-Freshman Team. After a third successive division-title winning summer with Ballard FC, Alvarez will look to have a stellar sophomore season with the Mountaineers
Rounding out the roster is the duo of Joschi Schelb and Etienne Veillard at the University of North Carolina (UNC). Defender Etienne Veillard is a freshman, but will look to make an instant impact for the Tar Heels after locking down the right-back spot for Ballard FC this summer. Schelb on the other hand is a senior, but new to UNC after spending two years at Saint Francis University (SFU) and last year at Rutgers. At SFU, Schelb made the NEC All-Rookie Team in 2023 before earning First Team All-NEC honors in 2024. Then in 2025 with Rutgers, Schelb was named First Team All-Region, and Second Team All-Big Ten and ranked 86th on the TDS Postseason Top 100 list. This summer, Schelb was tied with Hjalmarsson for the most goals (8) on Ballard FC despite missing a good portion of the season, and was named a USL 2 Playoff Performer. Heading into his senior season with UNC, Schelb has been named an ACC Player to Watch and to the Mac Hermann Midfielders to Watch List by USC.
Beyond the collegiate ties, Ballard FC has had multiple players climb the rank recently including two of Ballard’s most experienced returners, Christian Engmann and Beto Apolinar. The pair played together at SDSU and anchored the Ballard backline and midfield for the past two seasons. Now, they are playing together for Chattanooga Red Wolves SC of USL League One. Other alumni include Peter Kingston and Charlie Gaffney, who have both made their Seattle Sounders debuts in the past 12 months. Kingston is now on a first-team contract with the Sounders, while Gaffney made his first two Sounders appearances earlier this month on short-term loans from the Tacoma Defiance. Fans can keep tabs on all of the Ballard FC pros on the club’s alumni page.
Fans are encouraged to follow along on social media (@goballardfc) and support the Ballard boys all year long as they continue to represent both near and far.
Written by Sam Simpson
