SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Three different men's soccer recruits picked up post-season honors in their final season of prep soccer and will look to continue their success when they arrive on campus this fall.
Taylor Scalera (Dacula, Ga.) was recently named as the Region 7-AAAAA (Ga.) Forward of the Year. Scalera was a four-year starter at Mill Creek High School as a member of the varsity soccer team. As a senior, Scalera was the team's captain, leading goal scorer and was tabbed as the team's MVP. Played club soccer with the Georgia Futbol Club Elite 93 and was named the Region-3 Premier League Player. Georgia FC was a state cup semifinalist and 2009 and was a state cup finalist in 2010. He also has ODP experience and traveled to England when he was 14 to compete in a tournament as part of the team representing the United States.
Two incoming players were part of state championship squads in 2011. Tyler Fletcher (Greenville, S.C.) was part of the South Carolina 3-A Champion, Eastside HS, while Dustin Bailey (Charleston, S.C.) claimed a S.C. 4-A championship with Wando HS.
Fletcher earned four letters as a member of the varsity soccer team (captain as a junior and senior) at Eastside. Fletchers' high school coach at Eastside is former Upstate graduate and Athletics Hall of Fame member, Scott Halkett. Halkett was one of the central figures in the soccer program as it made its mark in the early days of the University's membership in NCAA Division II. Halkett's stellar four-year career as the starting sweeper culminated with an appearance in the 1995 national title match played at Rifle Field on campus.
In 2010, Fletcher notched the game-winning goal against Riverside HS to lead Eastside to the Upper State Championship match. He finished that season as the team's second leading scorer and was named to the all-region team. Fletcher played club soccer for the CESA under the direction of U.S. Soccer great, Bruce Murray and former Citadel standout, Nick Finotti.
Fletcher was starting defender for the nationally ranked CESA 92 Premier team for the last six years and the team went undefeated in the S.C. State Cup from 2003 to 2010, setting a state record. The team claimed the Southern Regional Championship in 2008 and won the Disney Soccer Showcase Championship in 2009 and 2010. Fletcher was also a participant with the S.C. ODP from 2007 to 2008.
Bailey was a member of the varsity soccer program all four years and has started since his sophomore season. During his club career, he played for the Mt. Pleasant Soccer Club and S.C, United. Bailey owns a 3.4 GPA and intends to major in chemistry.