POPLARVILLE, Miss. — In search of another trip to the Gulf District Final, the Pearl River men's soccer team has finalized a versatile 2022-23 signing class.
High school standouts joining the team are Sumrall's Barrett Breazeale, South Jones' Gio Cruz, Biloxi's Zachary Edwards and Ian Graham, Brandon's Cameron Kent, Pearl River Central's Brayson Kirby and Ocean Springs' Mark Peaden III. International talents include Allerød, Denmark's Noah Fazal, Værløse, Denmark's Mikkell Fredsgaard, Clarendon, Jamaica's Kristoff Graham, São Paulo, Brazil's Tiago Honorio, Jr. and Farsø, Denmark's Noah Nymark.
BARRETT BREAZEALE
Breazeale comes to Pearl River after a highly successful prep career at Sumrall. During his varsity career, the 5-foot-10 defender racked up 37 goals and 27 assists. In 2023, he was named Region 5-4A Most Outstanding Midfielder and a Mississippi Association of Coaches All-Star. He was also named Sumrall's Player of the Year in 2022 and 2023.
"Barrett is a super athletic player from Sumrall and has a Hattiesburg Futbol Club background as well," Pearl River head coach Drew Gallant said. "He's played a variety of positions, and we can see him in a lot of places. Losing outside backs, we have a lot of work to do in those positions. We could see him filling in at one of those spots."
GIO CRUZ
Cruz comes to Pearl River from South Jones, where he was integral to the team for several years. The midfielder was named First Team All-District all four years of his prep career, and in 2023 he scored nine goals to go along with 18 assists.
"Gio is a very underrated player. He's technically and tactically a great player. I expect him to come in and fight for a starting position," Gallant said. "I think Gio is good enough to come in and earn a spot. He played club for Southern States, and they've done a great job developing players over the last few years. Gio is one of those players, and we have high expectations for him."
ZACHARY EDWARDS
Edwards becomes a Wildcat after spending his high school career with Biloxi. During his junior and senior seasons, Edwards helped lead the Indians to back-to-back District Championships. Following his senior campaign, he was named to the Mississippi Coast High School All-Star game.
"Zach is a defender and center defensive mid type player," Gallant said. "He's a technical and physical player. He comes from a great high school program in Biloxi and a great club background in Hattiesburg Futbol Club. We're really excited to get him."
IAN GRAHAM
Graham began his high school career at Clarkdale in Meridian. As a sophomore, he bagged 16 goals and assisted on 11 more. He one-upped his previous season as a junior, picking up 24 goals and 17 assists, leading his team to the 3A State Championship game. He was named 3A All-State after the season. He played his senior season at Biloxi, picking up 13 goals and eight assists, helping lead the Indians to a district championship.
"He's a physical player. Ian is definitely a goal scorer and true striker," Gallant said. "He does a good job of running behind the lines and adds some much-needed athleticism. He can also do some work on the wing and maybe even some work at outside back.
CAMERON KENT
Kent is one of several goalkeeper options the Wildcats will have going into the 2023 season. Kent graduated from Brandon, where he helped lead the Bulldogs to a 6A State Championship appearance. After the year wrapped up, Kent was named 6A All-Region.
"He's a great goalkeeper and has been coached very well," Gallant said. "He's very good technically and fits our playing style well. He's explosive and quick. He's vocal at the back and commands the team in front of him. It will be a good battle for a starting position."
BRAYSON KIRBY
Kirby will bring a little bit of local flair to the Wildcats, joining after playing his prep career for Pearl River Central. As a junior, Kirby turned away 122 shots and picked up 13 wins between the posts. His senior season saw him pick up 67 saves and 12 wins while helping his team reach the 5A South State Championship game. Kirby was selected to the Mississippi Association of Coaches All-Star Soccer Game.
"Brayson is a good local goalkeeper. He's a taller goalkeeper, which is beneficial in our league," Gallant said. "He should do a good job fighting for the starting spot as the goalkeeper. He has a high ceiling, and we expect him to grow a lot throughout this season."
MARK PEADEN III
After a stellar high school career with Ocean Springs, Peaden III heads to Pearl River. During his senior season in 2022-23, he bagged 14 goals and assisted on 10 more. At season's end, Peaden III was named a Mississippi Association of Coaches All-Star.
"Mark is a very good player. We have really high hopes for him," Gallant said. "He's one of the most technical players of the bunch and is one of the better players we have brought in over the past few years. He has very good vision. He comes from Ocean Springs, which is a great high school program."
NOAH FAZAL
Coming to PRCC from Allerød, Denmark, Fazal spent his youth career with Danish professional football clubs FC Nordsjælland and Akademisk Boldklub. The midfielder was part of the Denmark Future National Team and won a U17 National Championship.
"He's really good. We expect Noah to come in and play alongside Chris in the midfield," Gallant said. "Hopefully, that will be a good connection for us. He will fill the role that Andre (Nicholson) played by Chris last year. He's just another very good international pickup. He has a very good Danish background."
MIKKEL FREDSGAARD
Fredsgaard is expected to come in and make an immediate difference along the backline for the Wildcats. A native of Værløse, Denmark, Fredsgaard spent the majority of his youth career in Brønby IF's programs. He recently featured for Hellerup IK and Allerød FK.
"Mikkell is a very dominant centerback that will really come in and help run everything at the back of the formation alongside Jason Garcia," Gallant said. "He has represented Denmark for the U16 National Team. He's a big, athletic center back that suits our playing style. He can play as both a left and right center back and really balance things out."
KRISTOFF GRAHAM
Graham comes to Pearl River from Clarendon, Jamaica and attended Clarendon College, where former Wildcats Andre Nicholson, Shande James and Taja Brown all featured. During Graham's time at Clarendon College, he helped win two DaCosta Cups, two Oliver Shield titles and the Champions Cup. During the 2022 season, Graham picked up 11 goals and eight assists and was named the Man of the Match for the DaCosta Cup finals.
"We're familiar with his school because he's from the same program as Andre, Shande and Taja," Gallant said. "He has attended National Team Camp, which shows what type of player he is. He's a speedy, technical player. He's going to be great in one-versus-one situations. We expect a lot of goal production from him."
TIAGO HONORIO
Standing at 6-foot-4, Honorio has the chance to be an electric player for the Wildcats. Honorio heads to The River from São Paulo, Brazil.
"Tiago is a big traditional center forward who can score with both feet," Gallant said. "He's very technical and is a true finisher in front of goal. We think that he can come into this league and be really successful."
NOAH NYMARK
A native of Farsø, Denmark, Nymark joins the Wildcats after playing academy football with AaB Fodbold. The goalkeeper stands at 6-foot-1 and will be a viable option for PRCC between the posts.
"Noah is another goalkeeper that is going to come in and fight for the starting position," Gallant said. "He's probably the best goalkeeper prospect we've had as far as being able to build out of the back and keep possession of the ball. He's a good size keeper, and having big goalkeepers in this league is super valuable with all the direct play and balls in the box we get."
CASHLESS BOX OFFICE
To help improve traffic flow and fan experience, PRCC athletics box offices are cashless. Only credit and debit cards will be accepted at the box office. Fans are encouraged to beat the lines and purchase their tickets in advance at PRCCAthletics.com/Tickets or fans can download the HomeTown Ticketing app to their mobile device to purchase and store their tickets.
TICKETS
Tickets for the 2023 Pearl River soccer season are available now at PRCCAthletics.com/Tickets! General admission tickets are $8 or a season-pass can be purchased for $43.
HOW TO WATCH
The Wildcats will once again livestream all matches for free at PRCCMedia.com/gold. Fans who have Roku, Amazon Fire or Apple TV devices can also watch the Wildcat broadcasts by downloading the "Pearl River CC" channel from their app stores.
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