LOS ANGELES – UCLA had four players featured in TopDrawerSoccer's Postseason Freshman Top-100 Rankings, the website revealed on Friday.
Midfielders Frankie Amaya (No. 21) and Matt Hundley (No. 24) both cracked the top-25 for the Bruins, while defender AJ Vasquez was placed at No. 72 and goalkeeper Justin Garces at No. 91.
UCLA's four honorees were twice as many as any other Pac-12 school. Nationally, only Akron – which had five in the top-100 – had more ranked players than UCLA.
Amaya had an accolade-filled debut season for the Bruins, earning Freshman All-American, First Team All-Pac-12, and All-Region honors. He recorded two goals and two assists for UCLA in 14 games (10 starts). The Santa Ana, Calif. native was called up to the U.S. U-20 Men's National Team twice during the course of the season, helping the U.S. to a CONCACAF U-20 Tournament title, ensuring a spot in next year's U-20 World Cup.
With 17 points in 19 games, Hundley finished 2018 with the most points on the team and the 11th-most points nationally among freshmen. He was an All-Pac-12 Second Team choice. The Littleton, Colo. native recorded two-goal, one-assist efforts against Coastal Carolina on Aug. 24 and against LMU on Oct. 20, becoming the first Bruin since Matt Taylor in 2003 to log multiple five-point performances in one season.
Vasquez slid in seamlessly to the starting lineup as a true freshman, playing 17 games as an outside back. He contributed to six UCLA shutouts.
Garces won the starting job between the sticks for UCLA in 2018, ending the season with a 7-7-0 record, 1.24 GAA, and .667 save percentage. His wins and GAA were the best by a qualifying Bruin freshman since DJ Countess in 2000 (12, 1.06).