PISCATAWAY, N.J. — The Rutgers men's soccer team and head coach Jim McElderry are excited to welcome seven midyear additions to the team. The group consists of three freshmen who have wrapped up their high school careers early as well as four midyear transfers.
"I am pleased to welcome seven incoming players who have joined us this 2025 spring semester," McElderry said. "My staff has done an excellent job working to recruit these young men to Rutgers. A big thank you to our Director of Operations, Ajay Vyas, for making it all happen midyear. There are a lot of moving parts to make it work over the winter break and he has done a fantastic job being the main liaison to all the vital departments and staff at Rutgers. We look forward to a productive spring season with an eye on the 2025 fall season."
The 2025 spring freshmen class includes Jude Essuman, Cedric Lemaire and Jack Andrus. The midyear transfers consist of Joschi Schelb (St. Francis University, Pa.), Camron Boumsong (St. John's University), Andrew Kitch (University of North Carolina) and Timo Jansen (University of Albany).
The Freshmen
Originally from Takoradi, Ghana, Jude Essuman came to the United State to pursue his passion for soccer at Woodstock Academy in Connecticut. He quickly helped his team to success as they were crowned the 2022, 2023 and 2024 Prep Soccer National Champions. His team also won both the 2022 Adidas Cup and Jefferson Cup.
Essuman was rewarded for his contributions as he was named a 2024 Prep High School All-American, the Woodstock Academy 2024 Golden Boot and the 2024 Abel Mickey Waston Most Valuable Player Award. Not only was he impactful on the pitch, but off as well, as he was selected as the South Kent School Directness of Purpose Award winner.
Cedric Lemaire joins the Scarlet Knights from the Northwood School, located in Lake Placid, New York. He helped his team to many accolades including Prep Soccer Best XI, two-time Las Vegas Players Showcase winners, Black Rock Spring Showcase winners, three-time champs of Far Post Invitational, Manhattan Kick-Off Classic Top of Group twice and Bayamon Puerto Rico Invitational Champions. Lemaire was also named a Prep High School All-American.
A native of Williamstown, Massachusetts, Lemaire found success in other sports as well, earning back-to-back Massachusetts State Championships in XC Skiing and compiling the most points on his track anf field team at Mount Greylock. He also excelled in the classroom as he was named to the Northwood Deans list, High Honor Roll and earned a top five spot in his class.
"Jude and Cedric finished their prep careers this past fall," McElderry said. "Jude helped lead his Woodstock Academy to a Prep School National Championship. He brings great pace, attacking quality, and a desire to be great. Both players were named Prep High School All-Americans with Jude at Woodstock and Cedric at Northwood. Cedric can play anywhere at the back, is an excellent athlete, can defend and is a relentless worker."
Originally from Fallston, Maryland, Jack Andrus attended YSC Academy and has been an integral part of the Philadelphia Union organization.
He helped to lead his team to the 2019 Won U13 Concacaf Championship. Then after finishing as a finalist at the 2021 MLSNext Cup, Andrus and his squad were crowned champions of the 2022 MLSNext Cup Champions and the 2023 Generation Adidas Cup.
Andrus also has experience at the national level as he was called up to the United States U17 Team camps in 2021 and 2022.
"Jack has competed with the Philadelphia Union Academy since 2018 and has been involved in all age groups in the club, including Philly Union II," McElderry added. "Jack has a great left foot and can play as a left back or wing back. Jude, Cedric and Jack will fit in well both on and off the field at Rutgers and it will be a huge benefit to the team that they arrived in January."
Transferring In
"For the first time we have had added four midyear transfers," said McElderry. "With the graduation of some very important players this year, we needed to add experience to the group."
Joschi Schelb comes "On The Banks" after two standout seasons at Saint Francis. Hailing from Freiburg, Germany, he was an All-NEC First Team selection after recording 10 goals and eight assists for 28 points. He ended his sophomore campaign with the fifth highest single season points total in program history. Schelb was named NEC Player of the Week three times, a NEC Prime Performer five times in addition to a CSC Academic All-District Team selection.
In 2023, Schleb started in all 15 matches in his rookie campaign. He led the Red Flash with 13 points from three goals and seven assists. He was named to NEC All-Rookie Team as well as the NEC Rookie of the Week on three occasions.
"Joschi contributed 41 points in 31 games the past two seasons," McElderry added. "He is technically very good and has excellent attacking ideas when looking to score or set up teammates. I expect all four of these transfers to make immediate contributions to our team."
Camron Boumsong comes to Piscataway after two seasons at St. John's. The defender is originally from Paris, France but attended high school at Bridgton Academy in Maine. In 2024, he saw action in 18 games and made 14 starts. He recorded an assist against Manhattan (Aug. 29) for his first point of the season. He also recorded a season-high two shots on goal versus Marshall (Sept. 14).
As a freshman in 2023, he appeared in 13 contests, making three starts. He helped Red Storm to clean sheets against RV Marquette (Sept. 29), Providence (Oct. 7) and Seton Hall (Oct. 18). Boumsong logged a season-high 107 minutes of work in BIG EAST quarterfinal against UConn (Nov. 4).
"Camron also played 31 games over the past two seasons," McElderry said. He is good on the ball, can cover ground in midfield and is a leader."
From Amsterdam, Netherlands, Timo Jansen was a big part of UAlbany's success in 2024. He netted seven goals, to rank second on the team, in addition to five assists to lead his squad. He ended the season with 19 points and registered three or more points twice during the season, with a goal and helper against both Niagra (Aug. 22) and Colgate (Oct. 22). Jansen also led the team in game-winners, scoring the clinching goals against both Marist (Sept. 9) and UMBC (Oct. 12).
In 2023, Jansen appeared in 17 games and made eight starts and recorded two assists. Before his time with the Great Danes, he attended Santa Barbara CC and will be a senior in the fall of 2025.
"Timo played 34 times over two seasons and this past year contributed seven goals and five assists," McElderry said. "He too is creative in front of goal, strikes a good ball and can play multiple positions."
Andrew Kitch is a rising junior from Medford, New Jersey who spent his first two seasons at UNC. During the 2024 season he appeared in three matches. He made his season debut in the win at Duke and saw time in the ACC and NCAA Tournament matches versus California and Furman.
"Finally, we have Andrew Kitch who is a New Jersey native and spent the past two seasons at UNC," McElderry said. "Andrew is a target forward with good feet, a desire to get on the end of crosses, and will put himself in great spots to score goals."
The Scarlet Knights will release their 2025 spring schedule in the coming weeks with the fall schedule to follow.
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