BURLINGTON, Vt. -- Six student-athletes, Tim Berggren of Salt Lake City, Utah, D.J. Edler of Atlanta, Alassane Kane of Macon, Ga., Seth Rebeor of Fairfax, Vt., Jordan Smith of Atlanta and Teddy Vallee of South Burlington, Vt. will attend the University of Vermont and join the men's soccer program. Head coach Jesse Cormier made the announcement today.

"I have to give a lot of credit to our staff in finding a very athletic group of young men," said Cormier. "They ar exceptional all-around athletes who may be young and raw but we feel they have the talent and potential to develop into good Division I college soccer players. Replacing a good senior class will be difficult, but with the hard work that our returning players are currently doing and the addition of these new faces, we will have a new identity going into next season."

A 5-9, 165-lb outside midfield candidate, Berggren attends East High School in Salt Lake City and is preparing for his senior season this spring. He has been an all-conference selection his first three seasons and last year was the league's offensive player of the year and an all-state choice. In 2008 he helped the Leopards to a 12-5-0 record and a berth in the Utah 4A State quarterfinals. Berggren also competed with the Real Salt Lake Academy team and the Sparta 91 Team that was the State Cup finalists and the Surf Cup semifinalists the past two years. He also played for the Utah ODP team and attended the 2008 Vermont Soccer Academy summer soccer camp at UVM where he impressed the staff with his work ethic and attitude, and he is very coachable.

"Tim is an impressive young man with a good work ethic," said Cormier. "We feel he has the attributes and character we look for in our squad and should be a good fit. He will need to be fully prepared physically to compete for playing time as a freshman. He will have a great opportunity to impact us on the left side."

Edler is a 6-2, 185-lb forward candidate who has been an exceptional all-around athlete at Pace Academy in Atlanta. On the soccer field he has twice been named team's Most Outstanding Offensive Player after leading the team in scoring the last two seasons. As a sophomore he helped lead the Knights to the Georgia Class AA/A State Championship. He was an all-region football running back in the fall and this winter is the leading rebounder on the basketball team. He has captained all three teams at Pace and was the recipient of the school's 2008 Jim and Lesley Wheeler Scholar-Athlete Award.

Also a standout and top scorer for the Atlanta premier club GSA Phoenix, Edler led the team to three state cup titles. He also competed for the Georgia ODP Team.

"Perhaps the purest athlete we have brought in during my time at UVM, D.J. is one of the sleepers in this class," said Cormier. "He has imposing size and strength and can simply over-power defenders fighting for the ball in front of the goal. For a player who has limited high school soccer experience, he has good feet and good positional sense as a striker. He is a great addition for our program."

Kane is another big (6-3, 185 lbs), fast, athletic striker prospect from Georgia that is spending a post-graduate year at the Berkshire School in Sheffield, Mass. This fall he scored twenty-six goals for the Bears, was selected the team's Most Valuable Player and was named to the 2008 Western New England Prep School Soccer Association All- Star Team. Prior to coming to Berkshire, he graduated from Stratford Academy in his hometown where he broke five scoring records as a senior in the spring of 2008 when he was named the Macon Telegraph Player of the Year. During his high school career he was a four-time All-State selection, a four-time All-GISA Region Team selection and was named to the All-Middle Georgia First Team four times. He also is a track athlete and competed on Stratford's 4x100 meter relay team that won the Georgia High School Championship.

Kane also played club soccer for the Atlanta Fire and was one of the top scorers on one the top club teams in Georgia and throughout the South region.

"Alassane is gifted in so many ways. He can attack teams with his overall physical ability and skill, and knows how to score goals," said Cormier. "We are looking for him to have an immediate impact for us up front. He also should develop and grow into a top level player over his four-year collegiate career."

One of two Vermonters of the Catamounts initial group of newcomers, Rebeor attends Bellows Free Academy in Fairfax, Vt. A 5-10, 165-lb midfield candidate, he is an outstanding all-around athlete for the Bullets in soccer and basketball. This past soccer season he was named the Lake Division Co-Player of the Year and was selected to the VSCA Division III All-State Team. He was a 2008 Burlington Free Press All-State Second Team selection, one of three players from Division III named to the first two teams. On the basketball court he has become the all-time leading scorer at BFA-Fairfax this winter. Rebeor was a defensive standout for the successful Nordic Soccer Club, the 2008 Vermont State Cup Champions.

"Like D.J., Seth is another sleeper with a great upside," said Cormier. "He comes into our program as a relative unknown even in this state. He was an unsung center piece for his team at Nordic and has many good attributes that will serve him well as a player for us over his career. With his athleticism and attitude, I think Seth will surprise a lot of people at this level and could contribute right away."

A 6-0, 165-lb midfield candidate, Smith attends the Walker School in Marietta, Ga., a suburb of Atlanta. A four-year all- league selection, he helped lead Walker to the 2008 Georgia State Championship and was named the 2008 Georgia High School Player of the Year. He led the state with 44 goals and was named to the 2008 NSCAA All-Region III (South) Team. As a member of the Concorde Fire Premier club, Smith was the steadying influence for a team that won many national tournaments including the prestigious Disney Showcase and Atlanta Cup. He also is a four-year member of the Georgia State ODP Team.

"Jordan is the picture of consistency and balance in the midfield," said Cormier. "He understands the game and is very much a student of it. He will be counted on right away and with hard work and more maturity, he could be a future leader for us."

A 5-9, 165-lb outside midfield candidate, Vallee has attended the Shattuck-St. Mary's School in Faribault, Minn. for the past three years. This season he is one of the top players for the SSM U-18 boy's soccer team that is currently 12-8-5. Prior to his high school years, Vallee and his family lived in Slovakia where he competed and trained with the CSK junior squad. He also competed for the Far Post Soccer Club in Vermont and with the state's ODP program. He also was a two-year member of the Region I ODP Team that traveled to Europe.

"Teddy is a young man who we feel can really do well at the Division I level," said Cormier. "He does his best stuff at full speed and has shown himself to be a good attacking weapon at whatever level he plays. We feel he will influence our midfield and play a role in helping create an identity for our young attack."

The six prospects are the first piece of Vermont's group of newcomers that also includes two freshmen, forward Dwayne Dove (Turnersville, N.J.) and midfielder Greg Lachtrupp (Stowe, Vt.), who were redshirts last fall. UVM lost six seniors from a team that advanced to the semifinals of the America East Championship for the third straight season in 2008 after winning the school's fourth conference title in 2007.