Marist men’s soccer announced its incoming class for the 2026 fall season earlier this week. Of the 11 players that joined the Red Foxes’ roster, seven are true freshmen. Six starters left the program after the 2025 season, as multiple graduated, transferred out or turned professional. This class, like others put together by head coach Matt Viggiano, relies not only on local, tri-state area talent, but also brings in an international feel, with players from Canada, Senegal, Trinidad and Tobago and the Netherlands.
Cole Caviness – Defender (Montclair, NJ)
Caviness comes from Montclair High School, where he won two conference titles and was named to the all-state team. He also played for Cedar Stars Bergen, where he was a huge part of his team’s remarkable goals-against record of just 26 goals conceded in 26 games, which ranked among the top 3 in the country. Caviness primarily lines up at center-back, but can slide over to fullback to provide cover. The 6-foot-1 defender scored four times and assisted on seven goals throughout his career, according to numbers on Highschoolsports.nj.com. After losing graduate student defender Liam Evans, Caviness provides Viggiano with another option to shore up the backline.
Rafael Coulanges – Forward (Montreal, Quebec, Canada)
One of a pair of Canadians in this class, Coulanges comes from the CF Montreal Academy, one of MLS’s and Canada’s best youth development programs. He featured in the Canadian Premier League’s U-19 roster for a showcase in Quebec last summer and featured regularly in MLS NEXT play. Coulanges primarily lines up on the wing and uses his pace to get past defenders. He brings a strong work ethic to Viggiano’s program, which has had a consistently good pressing system in years prior.
Seth Hadeed – Center Midfielder (Diego Martin, Trinidad and Tobago)
Hadeed brings an international pedigree to this Red Fox lineup, having played for Trinidad and Tobago’s youth national teams since the U15 level. He played in the CONCACAF U17 Championship in 2025 and even participated in the U17 World Cup qualifiers. In his 2025 season at Fatima College, Hadeed dished out a dozen assists and scored nine goals from midfield. After spending time in different academies, Hadeed has been playing for AC Port of Spain in the Trinidad top division. Marist lost its star midfielder, Kyle Evans, after the 2025 season, but the addition of Hadeed replenishes that talent and adds plenty of experience.
Gavin Mitlitski – Goalkeeper (Demarest, NJ)
Mitlitski also hails from Cedar Stars Bergen, where he was teammates with Caviness on the backline that conceded one of the lowest tallies in the country. He led his club to the MLS NEXT Cup for the fourth straight season and is a very consistent shot-stopper with a strong leadership quality. Measuring in at 6-foot-3, Mitlitski has a strong presence in net, where he looks to control the game. He has a good ability to cover both sides of the net, including sliding across the face to make quick stops. Graduate student goalkeeper Jamie Lowell graduated in 2025, leaving a vacancy in the net. Junior Alex Murania seems likely to fill the role, but there’s no reason Mitlitski can’t give him a challenge.
Tucker Nakazono – Central Defensive Midfielder (Denver, CO)
Nakazono joins the Red Foxes after putting together a strong season with Wake FC in MLS NEXT. He captained his team to back-to-back MLS NEXT Flex appearances and won the Southeast division. Nakazono has previously earned invitations to United States National Team camps, where he led the team and played as a defensive midfielder. He possesses a strong ability to break the opposition’s lines with passes and has a very strong shot. Four-year defensive midfielder Skylar Cunha recently graduated from Marist, leaving a gap in Viggiano’s 4-3-3/4-2-3-1 formation that Nakazono can look to fill.
Sammy Ramirez – Winger/Fullback (Paterson, NJ)
Coming from New York City FC’s MLS academy, Ramirez made his debut for NYCFC II at only 16 years old last year, and throughout that season, he provided 20 goal contributions in academy play. He helped his club qualify for the MLS NEXT Cup Playoffs during the 2026 MLS NEXT Flex Event by scoring a goal in three straight matches. Ramirez was born in 2008 and stands at just 5-foot-6, just a few months older than 18 and shorter than average when the season starts. That shouldn’t have an impact on him, as he’s able to get past defenders on the wing and handle business when at fullback.
Rocco Strazzella – Center Midfielder (Cary, NC)
Strazzella is a fellow graduate from Wake FC’s MLS NEXT program and also featured in their USL Academy competitions. He has featured at events like the MLS NEXT Fest, San Diego Surf Cup and the Dallas Cup. Despite not being the largest midfielder, at 5-foot-7, Strazzella can create in the midfield and join the attack to provide extra options, something typical of Marist’s playstyle. Another player born in 2008, Strazzella enters as one of the younger players on the team.
Four transfers are also coming to the banks of the Hudson River: two graduate students from Division I schools, a redshirt freshman from the Big East, and a former junior college champion, adding experience to the roster.
Mani Diop – Graduate Student, Defender (Kaolack, Senegal, University of Washington)
Diop joins Marist for his final year of eligibility after becoming an NCAA champion at the University of Washington last year. At 6-foot-5, Diop dominates the backline but has also played up front, where he uses his heading ability to his advantage. After his freshman year at Akron, Diop went out west, appearing in 19 games across two years, including six starts, 500-plus minutes and a pair of goals. Before college, he featured for Philadelphia Union II in MLS NEXT Pro play and the USL. The transfer defender brings serious experience to this team, having won an NCAA title and played at the highest MLS NEXT level. His role is undetermined and will undoubtedly shift throughout the year, but that is part of the versatility that he brings to the squad.
Dylan Gugin – Redshirt Freshman, Defender/Midfielder (Dix Hills, NY, St. John’s)
After redshirting his freshman year at St. John’s, Gugin came over to Marist during the spring semester of 2026. As a kid, Gugin spent a decade playing for BW Gottschee in MLS NEXT, where he co-captained his team for five years and led them to multiple titles. While leading his side, Gugin was a part of a 2024 MLS NEXT League championship team and a 2022 and 2023 MLS NEXT Cup championship winning teams; those titles helped his team garner a ranking of 7th in the country in 2024. Gugin is a 5-foot-8 midfielder with professional roots; his grandfather, Garbis Gugin, played professionally for Fenerbahce FC in Turkey, one of the nation’s most storied teams, and was a huge inspiration to Dylan.
Nathan Karanganwa – Junior, Midfielder (Montreal, Quebec, Canada, Iowa Western Community College)
Karanganwa joined Marist after two years at Iowa Western Community College, where he helped his team win the NJCAA Division 1 national title in 2024 and back-to-back district championships. He earned all-region honors last fall and started every single match during Marist’s spring 2026 exhibition schedule. Karanganwa redshirted in 2023 before appearing in six matches in 2024. He broke out in 2025, starting 10 out of 19 games, scoring twice and assisting on seven goals. The 6-foot-2 junior can play at the back or in midfield, providing strong cover and experience to a Red Fox backline that needs it.
Gijs Velings – Graduate Student, Center Midfielder (Bergharen, Netherlands, IU Indianapolis)
Velings has spent the last three years as a regular starter for IU Indy, who play in the Division I Horizon League. Velings racked up over 3500 minutes across 45 starts and 52 appearances, where he scored once and assisted twice. Before college, he was a member of FC Eindhoven’s U21 professional academy team as well as Willem II and SC Woezik; FCE and Willem II are touted Dutch clubs known for their youth development. Unlike his new teammate and fellow countryman Gijs Verheul, Velings is 5-foot-11, five inches shorter than Verheul. He controls the midfield well and is a strong veteran who can complement the side around him well. There’s a sizable gap in the midfield for Marist entering this fall season, and Velings can certainly help plug that.
After a 2025 season that started with an eight-match unbeaten streak and a national rank of No. 18, Marist lost a considerable amount of talent to graduation and the transfer portal. Viggiano dipped portal a little more than usual this offseason, expanding his international reach outside of Canada and the Netherlands. The Red Foxes’ schedule is yet to be released, but will almost certainly be competitive as they look to build on last year’s strong start.
Edited by August Lieberman and Mike Schiavone
Photo from Marist Athletics
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