Midfielder

Age: 22

Position: Midfielder

Hometown: Mekelle, Ethiopia

Height: 6-0

Abeselom Zemenfes is a first-year player for Ballard FC. Before coming to Seattle, he played in the Ethiopian Premier League with Saint George SC and won a league title in the 2022-23 season. Unfortunately due to the country’s Civil War, Zemenfes had to flee Ethiopia and came to the United States, specifically Seattle. He found Ballard FC through Open Tryouts where he impressed and made the final roster. Zemenfes joins Kaydin Wall as the second player on the 2025 roster to make the team from Open Tryouts. After an impressive summer with Ballard FC, Zemenfes joined Western Oregon University as freshman ahead of the 2025 fall season. He continued to star in midfield in NCAA soccer just as he did in USL 2, earning Second Team All-GNAC honors for the GNAC Regular Season Co-Champions and GNAC Tournament Champions. Zemenfes still has three years of collegiate eligibility remaining.

With Ballard FC: After joining the 2025 roster from Open Tryouts, Zemenfes became star for Ballard FC. He led the team in appearances (18), starts (17), and minutes (1,495) on his way to earning USL League Two Northwest Division Player of the Year and Western Conference Player of the Year honors.

Age: 23

Position: Midfielder

Hometown: Los Angeles, CA

School: San Diego State University

Height: 5-10

Beto Apolinar is a first year player for Ballard FC. Before college, he played for El Camino Real Charter High School where he received All-West Valley Team Honors. Apolinar joined San Diego State in 2021, utilizing his redshirt season. Then in 2022, he began to make a real impact on the Aztec program. Apolinar played in all 18 matches, starting five, and assisted twice as a redshirt freshman. In his sophomore season, he started 16 matches, dished out another two assists, and played the most minutes of any Aztec midfielder. Then as a junior, Apolinar started 17 matches, assisted four times, and played over 1,500 minutes as the Aztecs won the regular season Western Athletic Conference (WAC) Championship. In October, he received WAC Defensive Player of the Week honors.

Age: 22

Position: Midfielder

Hometown: Tacoma, WA

School: Seattle Pacific University

Height: 5-11

Connor Tollan is a first year player for Ballard FC. Before college, he played for Silas High School where he received Pierce County First Team honors twice. Tollan joined Seattle Pacific University (SPU) in 2022. As a freshman, he played in 19 of 20 matches for the Falcons and made seven starts while scoring his first collegiate goal and dishing out five assists. Tollan’s breakout year came in his sophomore season where he made 17 starts and received GNAC Honorable Mention honors. Then this past fall, he got even better. In 2024, Tollan received First Team All-GNAC honors after scoring five goals and dishing out eight assists (the most in the GNAC). After a summer with Ballard, Tollan returned to SPU for his senior season. He starred once again for the Falcons, earning First Team All-GNAC honors once again for the GNAC Regular Season Co-Champions.

With Ballard FC: Tollan suffered through injury for most of the 2025 Ballard FC season, however he did play in two matches and start one. In that one start, Tollan scored an absolute stunner in a 2-1 win against Bigfoot FC.

Age: 21

Position: Midfielder

Hometown: Redmond, WA

School: University of Washington

Height: 5-10

Zach Ramsey is a first year player for Ballard FC. Before college, he played club soccer for Crossfire and played for Mount Si High School where he won Washington Gatorade Player of the Year. Ramsey then joined the University of Washington in 2024 and made an immediate impact. He played 17 matches and made three starts while scoring two goals and dishing out two assists. Ramsey’s efforts earned him Big Ten All-Freshman honors. After a summer with Ballard FC, Ramsey came back to Washington set for a breakout sophomore season. Ramsey did in fact break out as he was second on the team for goals (6) and points (18). Ramsey received TopDrawerSoccer Team of the Week Honorable Mention honors in on his way to earning First Team All-Big Ten recognition at the end of the season. Ramsey still has two years of collegiate eligibility remaining.

With Ballard FC: Ramsey had a great debut season for Ballard FC in 2025. He was third on the team for assists with five and he also scored two goals of his own. Ramsey played in 14 matches and made three starts for Ballard across all competitions in 2025.

Age: 20

Position: Midfielder

Hometown: Bellevue, WA

School: Seattle Pacific University

Height: 6-0

Cristian Chel Lara is a third year player for Ballard FC. Before college, Chel Lara played for Sammamish High School and won First Team All-League honors. Then, Chel Lara trained with Ballard FC for a summer before joining Seattle Pacific University (SPU) as a freshman in fall 2024. In his freshman season, Chel Lara appeared in 15 of SPU’s 18 total matches. After another summer with Ballard FC, Chel Lara returned to SPU for his sophomore season. In 2025, he played in all 20 matches for the Falcons while starting in eight for the GNAC Regular Season Co-Champions. Chel Lara finished tied for third on the team for points (11) as he scored four goals and recorded three assists. Chel Lara still has two years of collegiate eligibility remaining.

With Ballard FC: Chel Lara was a training player with Ballard FC in 2024. He did not see match action in 2025 due to injury.

Age: 21

Position: Midfielder

Hometown: Seattle, WA

School: West Virginia University

Height: 5-6

Juan Alvarez is a second year player for Ballard FC. Before Ballard FC, Alvarez played professionally with the Tacoma Defiance and FC Pinzgau Saalfelden. He also made three appearances for the United States Youth National Team. Then after two successful summers with Ballard FC in 2024 and 2025, he joined West Virginia University as a freshman in the fall. Alvarez played in 15 matches, started eight, scored one goal, and recorded three assists in his first collegiate season on his way to earning Sun Belt All-Freshman Team honors. Alvarez still has three years of collegiate eligibility remaining.

With Ballard FC: In his debut season with Ballard FC in 2024, Alvarez played in 13 matches, made 12 starts, and scored his first USL 2 goal for the Northwest Division champions. Then in 2025, Alvarez battled injury but still played in four matches and made one start. In that lone start, he scored one of the goals of the season.

Age: 21

Position: Midfielder

Hometown: Seattle, WA

School: University of Washington

Height: 5-7

Cameron Cruz is a second year player for Ballard FC. Before college, Cruz played his club soccer for the Seattle Sounders Academy and also with Franklin High School. Cruz started his collegiate career with Grand Canyon University in 2022. In his freshman season, Cruz appeared in 18 matches and started eight, playing the second most minutes amongst freshmen on the team. The following year, Cruz led Grand Canyon in assists (5) as a sophomore, averaging an assist every 180 minutes. After the 2023 season with Grand Canyon, Cruz took a gap year where he played with Ballard FC as part of our Open Cup and USL 2 rosters. After the USL 2 season ended, he continued to train independently and coach with the Bridges United Foundation. Then in 2025, Cruz enrolled at the University of Washington and joined their spring 2025 roster. After a second summer with Ballard FC, Cruz went to Montlake for his debut fall season with the Huskies. He made an instant impact as he played in 16 of 18 matches for the Huskies while starting 13 of them. Cruz’s positional versatility proved invaluable as he was able to lock up the starting left back spot for washington despite being a more natural attacking midfielder or winger.

With Ballard FC: Cruz was a very versatile member of the Ballard FC 2024 roster, playing both on the wing and in midfield. Cruz played in 11 matches and started three across all competitions while scoring two goals and adding four assists. Cruz’s two goals came on his birthday in a 8-1 win against CFC Atletico. In 2025, Cruz played in 11 matches and started four of them for Ballard FC in league play. He scored two goals and two assists on the season. His first goal of the season was this stunner on the road against Midlakes United.

Age: 23

Position: Midfielder

Hometown: Issaquah, WA

School: University of California, Los Angeles

Height: 6-1

Sean Sent is a second year player for Ballard FC. Before college, Sent played his club soccer for PacNW and was named ECNL Northwest Region U19 Player of the Year. Sent started his collegiate career at the University of Washington in 2021. In 2021, Sent took a redshirt year. Then in 2022, Sent played in eight matches as a redshirt freshman for a Husky team that won a PAC-12 Championship and made the NCAA Tournament. The following year, Sent played in 10 matches and started one while also scoring his first two collegiate goals in his redshirt sophomore season. After a summer playing in the Ballard FC midfield, Sent returned to Montlake for his junior season. In 2024, Sent was named a Big Ten Player to Watch in preseason and went on to play in all 21 matches (starting 20) for a Husky team that made the second round of the NCAA Tournament. After graduating from the University of Washington, Sent transferred to the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) for his redshirt senior season. After a second summer with Ballard, Sent headed to UCLA for one final season of college soccer. In 2025, he played in 16 matches, made nine starts, and recorded an assist for a Bruins team that won the Big Ten Tournament Title. This is Sent’s final year of collegiate eligibility.

With Ballard FC: Sent made an instant impact for Ballard FC in 2024, earning Player of the Match honors in his first club start. Sent appeared in 16 of the club’s 17 matches in 2024, making 13 starts and recording one assist. In 2025, Sent played in 15 matches, made 8 starts, and scored his first two goals for the club. The first came in a comeback victory on the road against Lane United and then his second goal was the opener in the 2-1 playoff victory over Snohomish United.