Xavier University Athletics
Coach Higgins Previews the Upcoming 2026 Season
08.20.26 | Men's Soccer
“I’d love for us to have that killer mentality”: Higgins hopes fresh roster and tactics can return Musketeers to Big East glory
CINCINNATI - On November 12, 2023, John Higgins' Xavier men's soccer program conquered the Big East in just his second year at the helm. On August 29th of the next year, they blanked No. 2 Marshall 2-0 at Corcoran Field, seemingly igniting another successful campaign on Victory Parkway.
But with just seven victories in the nearly two years since that defining win over the Herd, Higgins was forced to reexamine how his program recruited talent and organized said talent tactically. Now, heading into season five in Cincinnati, Higgins believes that his program has adequately adjusted to the modern landscape of college soccer and is poised to return to its position atop the Big East.
After an inexperienced Xavier side finished 2025 at 5-6-4, Higgins and his staff made a strategic plan to target players out of the transfer portal who could arrive at the beginning of the next semester, not the following summer. "I think where we've benefited is we brought our roster in back in January. Our season started in January and a lot of programs start in August," he said.
While some programs like Marshall and Vermont have won while going all-in on international transfers, the reigning national champions Washington Huskies had just one. Higgins stated that with the ever-changing transfer system, he focused on targeting players with winning experience who could gel together at Xavier, instead of merely looking at where they came from. "We overhauled the roster for us to be in this position in '26. Even though it's a bunch of new guys, we've got an experienced roster. We've got guys who have won national championships at the JUCO level, so we've got guys who have played a lot of college soccer."
This year's roster will have 15 transfers and 12 student-athletes from outside the United States. Despite this influx of talent away from Xavier's traditional recruiting approach, Higgins still was careful not to undertake a complete overhaul of the program. Higgins will rely on a handful of upperclassmen to protect Xavier's culture and identity, specifically naming graduate goalkeeper Jonny Mennell and senior defenders Nathan Trickett and Ekene Okeke "The biggest thing for them off the field is for them to protect our culture. It's really important that those guys are strong enough personalities to get all these new players on board, which I think we do have within the group," Higgins said.
The Musketeers will also be shifting their tactical approach this fall, again due to some recent changes in NCAA rules. "When I first got here, we won the Big East because I felt like we were the best pressing team. We were able to keep the intensity of the game crazy high," Higgins explained of his early tactical approach. "College soccer changes the substitution rule, and it did not work for us, so defensively, we're sitting off a little bit more. We're allowing the opposition to get a little bit more expanded, and we're trying to hit them on the counterattack," he continued.
In addition to targeting players who could acclimate to the Xavier culture in January, Higgins also wanted to find individuals whose talents fit the new tactics. "We recruited specifically for the change of shape," Higgins stated bluntly. "Because we're playing with real width now, we need pace out there. We need guys with one v. one ability," he explained.
Perhaps the crown jewel of this transfer class is sophomore midfielder Osi Onwudiwe. After winning player of the year in the state of Virginia as a high school senior, Onwuidwe spent last year as a Virginia Tech Hokie. Higgins said that they have never recruited a winger with the skillset of Onwudiwe, but noted that his ability will fit the new system perfectly.
Another transfer that Higgins highlighted is junior midfielder Efraims Valutadatils, who alongside fellow Xavier newcomer Ajmal Tesilimi captured a national championship at Iowa Western in 2024. Valutadatils, a Latvian playmaker who tallied 19 assists over his time in Iowa en route to earning 2025 NJCAA First Team All-American honors, is also an addition that may not have formulated under Xavier's play style of the past. "Efraims is a national champ and he's a great fit for us because he's left-footed and plays in the middle of the park. He was another specific signing that maybe we wouldn't have signed given our old tactics," Higgins commented.
Despite adding more transfers than usual, Higgins remained steadfast in his commitment to provide a holistic experience for his student-athletes. "As a staff, we pride ourselves on not being transactional, but developing players within our program. It's always been turning a 2-star recruit into a 4-star recruit over the four years," the coach stated, noting that many of the newcomers expressed confidence in Xavier's ability to develop professionals.
With the roster set, the spring season served as the significant learning curve for this edition of Xavier men's soccer. Higgins was pleased with the individual and group progress made during the spring, stating, "We've had that period to grow together. We probably played harder games in the spring, and we've had periods of real dominance." The Musketeers collected four victories in the spring, matching up well with a schedule that included NCAA Tournament programs Kentucky and Saint Louis.
As the team returned to campus at the beginning of August, Higgins reported that the mission was to simply build on the strong foundation constructed in the spring. "The preseason for us is really just getting back to being Xavier soccer players," Higgins said, as much of the roster went off to play for USL League Two clubs during the summer months.
"The first week was purely on the offensive side of the ball. From our principles, to how we build, to how we are in the middle third, to how we are in the final third. So we took all that attack and we put it into Western Michigan," he continued.
The following week was the same process, just defensively. Both weeks resulted in preseason victories, with the second exhibition win coming over IU Indy back in the city where Higgins led his alma mater Indianapolis to incredible success for 12 seasons.
With the regular season opening up tonight at Corcoran Field against Purdue Fort Wayne, Higgins still needs to see a greater level of consistency from his team. "We've not won enough in the last couple years and I think the boys are so desperate to win. When they get themselves in these positions where we're playing incredibly well, we just let up a little bit. We're not good enough to not be at our best and not be on it all the time."
Put simply, "I'd love for us to have that killer mentality."
Asked what he wants to see from his program this fall, Higgins didn't cite wins, goals, or championships. Instead, he believes that if they do things the right way, those results will take care of themselves. "We always go about it the way of, it's your job to produce a great experience for our seniors. And we have the seniors go up there and present what a great experience looks like. And all we do is sacrifice ourselves for our seniors," Higgins said.
With new players and fresh tactics, much will look different for the Musketeers on the pitch this autumn. But at the core, John Higgins' program never changed from its championship nucleus back in 2023, it's just evolved. "We can still build those relationships and develop those players and they can still leave here feeling like Xavier is their school," Higgins concluded.
But with just seven victories in the nearly two years since that defining win over the Herd, Higgins was forced to reexamine how his program recruited talent and organized said talent tactically. Now, heading into season five in Cincinnati, Higgins believes that his program has adequately adjusted to the modern landscape of college soccer and is poised to return to its position atop the Big East.
After an inexperienced Xavier side finished 2025 at 5-6-4, Higgins and his staff made a strategic plan to target players out of the transfer portal who could arrive at the beginning of the next semester, not the following summer. "I think where we've benefited is we brought our roster in back in January. Our season started in January and a lot of programs start in August," he said.
While some programs like Marshall and Vermont have won while going all-in on international transfers, the reigning national champions Washington Huskies had just one. Higgins stated that with the ever-changing transfer system, he focused on targeting players with winning experience who could gel together at Xavier, instead of merely looking at where they came from. "We overhauled the roster for us to be in this position in '26. Even though it's a bunch of new guys, we've got an experienced roster. We've got guys who have won national championships at the JUCO level, so we've got guys who have played a lot of college soccer."
This year's roster will have 15 transfers and 12 student-athletes from outside the United States. Despite this influx of talent away from Xavier's traditional recruiting approach, Higgins still was careful not to undertake a complete overhaul of the program. Higgins will rely on a handful of upperclassmen to protect Xavier's culture and identity, specifically naming graduate goalkeeper Jonny Mennell and senior defenders Nathan Trickett and Ekene Okeke "The biggest thing for them off the field is for them to protect our culture. It's really important that those guys are strong enough personalities to get all these new players on board, which I think we do have within the group," Higgins said.
The Musketeers will also be shifting their tactical approach this fall, again due to some recent changes in NCAA rules. "When I first got here, we won the Big East because I felt like we were the best pressing team. We were able to keep the intensity of the game crazy high," Higgins explained of his early tactical approach. "College soccer changes the substitution rule, and it did not work for us, so defensively, we're sitting off a little bit more. We're allowing the opposition to get a little bit more expanded, and we're trying to hit them on the counterattack," he continued.
In addition to targeting players who could acclimate to the Xavier culture in January, Higgins also wanted to find individuals whose talents fit the new tactics. "We recruited specifically for the change of shape," Higgins stated bluntly. "Because we're playing with real width now, we need pace out there. We need guys with one v. one ability," he explained.
Perhaps the crown jewel of this transfer class is sophomore midfielder Osi Onwudiwe. After winning player of the year in the state of Virginia as a high school senior, Onwuidwe spent last year as a Virginia Tech Hokie. Higgins said that they have never recruited a winger with the skillset of Onwudiwe, but noted that his ability will fit the new system perfectly.
Another transfer that Higgins highlighted is junior midfielder Efraims Valutadatils, who alongside fellow Xavier newcomer Ajmal Tesilimi captured a national championship at Iowa Western in 2024. Valutadatils, a Latvian playmaker who tallied 19 assists over his time in Iowa en route to earning 2025 NJCAA First Team All-American honors, is also an addition that may not have formulated under Xavier's play style of the past. "Efraims is a national champ and he's a great fit for us because he's left-footed and plays in the middle of the park. He was another specific signing that maybe we wouldn't have signed given our old tactics," Higgins commented.
Despite adding more transfers than usual, Higgins remained steadfast in his commitment to provide a holistic experience for his student-athletes. "As a staff, we pride ourselves on not being transactional, but developing players within our program. It's always been turning a 2-star recruit into a 4-star recruit over the four years," the coach stated, noting that many of the newcomers expressed confidence in Xavier's ability to develop professionals.
With the roster set, the spring season served as the significant learning curve for this edition of Xavier men's soccer. Higgins was pleased with the individual and group progress made during the spring, stating, "We've had that period to grow together. We probably played harder games in the spring, and we've had periods of real dominance." The Musketeers collected four victories in the spring, matching up well with a schedule that included NCAA Tournament programs Kentucky and Saint Louis.
As the team returned to campus at the beginning of August, Higgins reported that the mission was to simply build on the strong foundation constructed in the spring. "The preseason for us is really just getting back to being Xavier soccer players," Higgins said, as much of the roster went off to play for USL League Two clubs during the summer months.
"The first week was purely on the offensive side of the ball. From our principles, to how we build, to how we are in the middle third, to how we are in the final third. So we took all that attack and we put it into Western Michigan," he continued.
The following week was the same process, just defensively. Both weeks resulted in preseason victories, with the second exhibition win coming over IU Indy back in the city where Higgins led his alma mater Indianapolis to incredible success for 12 seasons.
With the regular season opening up tonight at Corcoran Field against Purdue Fort Wayne, Higgins still needs to see a greater level of consistency from his team. "We've not won enough in the last couple years and I think the boys are so desperate to win. When they get themselves in these positions where we're playing incredibly well, we just let up a little bit. We're not good enough to not be at our best and not be on it all the time."
Put simply, "I'd love for us to have that killer mentality."
Asked what he wants to see from his program this fall, Higgins didn't cite wins, goals, or championships. Instead, he believes that if they do things the right way, those results will take care of themselves. "We always go about it the way of, it's your job to produce a great experience for our seniors. And we have the seniors go up there and present what a great experience looks like. And all we do is sacrifice ourselves for our seniors," Higgins said.
With new players and fresh tactics, much will look different for the Musketeers on the pitch this autumn. But at the core, John Higgins' program never changed from its championship nucleus back in 2023, it's just evolved. "We can still build those relationships and develop those players and they can still leave here feeling like Xavier is their school," Higgins concluded.
Players Mentioned
GK
/ Men's Soccer
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MF
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