ROCHESTER, Mich. – Becoming official when ink met paper during the Fall National Signing Day on Wednesday, November 9, Oakland Golden Grizzlies men's soccer added goalkeeper Wyatt Appelt to their 2023 recruiting class.

Possessing promising size for the position at 6-foot-3 and 205 pounds, Appelt hails from Farmers Branch, Texas, part of the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. Playing his high school soccer for the R.L. Turner Lions and club for the Dallas Texans ECNL, he had previously taken a recruiting visit to Oakland's campus on June 28.

"I am very excited to sign for Oakland!" Appelt shared. "The team made me feel like part of their family when I visited and I look forward to learning from Coach Pogue and the rest of the coaches. The size and academics of Oakland are a good fit for me. I believe Oakland is a place that will help me succeed in the future."

Set to embark on his 15^th season at the helm of the program in 2023, head coach Eric Pogue spoke highly of what Appelt can bring to the Golden Grizzlies.

"Wyatt has a good foundation in the tools it takes to be a top-level Division I goalkeeper – physical, psychological, technical and tactical," he began.

"He comes from one of the top clubs in the nation – Dallas Texans – and Sagu is a top-level goalkeeper coach, so the framework is all there, but now the real work begins for Wyatt. To come into preseason sharp and fit, so he can learn, grow and compete with our current goalkeeping crop to help bring championships back to Rochester."

As Pogue referenced, Oakland is set to return 2022 Horizon League All-Freshman Team selection Michael Sly, Jr. in net in 2023, who stepped into a larger than anticipated role following an early-season injury to redshirt senior Finn Jurak.

With Sly's experience and Appelt's upside, the Golden Grizzlies now have a couple of strong goalkeeping options to deploy over the coming seasons as they begin their journey back to a Horizon League Tournament Championship.

Appelt's highlight video: