College Soccer

The Xavier athletic department announced Sunday former Musketeers men's soccer player Derrick Otim died in a swimming accident over the weekend. He was 24. 

"Better known to all of us as Del, Derrick exemplified the spirit and hard work of a Xavier student-athlete," the announcement read. "Not only did Del excel on the field of play, but his perseverance through off-the-field challenges demonstrated his character. The entire Xavier family grieves for Del and his family."

Otim was a native of Nottingham, England. He trained at the Nottingham Forest Academy before moving to the United States to attend Xavier.

Pickens County coroner Kandy Kelley said Otim drowned while swimming in Lake Keowee in South Carolina, per ESPN. The South Carolina Department of Natural Resources is investigating his death.

The former Musketeers midfielder made 70 appearances across four seasons (2016-19) with the program. He recorded seven goals and nine assists in those games. He was named to the 2019 All-Big East Third Team.

He graduated from Xavier in May.

Otim was visiting friends at The Cliffs in South Carolina when he died.

Former UCLA Bruins men's soccer coach and MLS player Jorge Salcedo agreed to plead guilty Tuesday to one count of conspiracy to commit racketeering as part of the nationwide college admissions scandal.

Joey Garrison of USA Today reported the news, noting the coach agreed to the plea deal after he said he was innocent for more than a year. 

Salcedo, who was the men's soccer coach for the Pac-12 program from 2004 to 2019, made a deal with federal prosecutors. The racketeering charge comes for accepting $200,000 in bribes to help make sure two students were accepted at the school as fake soccer recruits.

"Prosecutors recommended Salcedo, 47, receive a sentence at the 'low end' of sentencing guidelines that range from 24 to 30 months in prison, one year of supervised release, forfeiture totaling $200,000, an unspecified amount of restitution and a fine," Garrison wrote.

According to prosecutors, Salcedo received $100,000 on two different occasions.

The first happened in 2016 when he worked with Rick Singer, described by Garrison as "the scheme's mastermind," and former USC women's soccer coach Ali Khosroshahin to designate a prospective student as a soccer recruit so she could be accepted.

The second happened in 2018 when he worked with Singer and Khosroshahin to "recruit" someone who did not even play soccer competitively so he could be accepted.

Salcedo won three NCAA championships as a player for the Bruins from 1990 to 1993 and played professionally in the Mexican Soccer League and Major League Soccer. He played for the LA Galaxy, Columbus Crew, Chicago Fire and Tampa Bay Mutiny during an MLS career that lasted from 1996 through 2000.

He resigned as the UCLA men's soccer coach in March 2019 following his indictment.

UCLA men's soccer coach Jorge Salcedo is the latest person feeling the heat from a U.S. Justice Department investigation into an extensive college admissions and testing bribery scheme. 

Joel Anderson of ESPN reported Thursday night Salcedo has resigned in the aftermath of an indictment last week for allegedly accepting payments totaling $200,000. Salcedo's indictment is connected to William "Rick" Singer, the Newport Beach-based businessman who has been at the center of the probe. 

Singer is accused of using his college counseling service to solicit money from parents in order to get their children accepted into prestigious universities such as UCLA. The probe has been in the mainstream news for over a week because of the indictments of successful actresses Felicity Huffman and Lori Loughlin. 

Anderson relayed that court documents reflect Salcedo allegedly accepting two separate $100,000 payments from Singer to admit one male and one female student under the false pretense that they were soccer recruits. Neither played competitive soccer.

On March 12, following Salcedo's indictment, UCLA and UCLA Athletics released a joint statement that read, in part, "The conduct alleged in the filings revealed today is deeply disturbing and in contrast with the expectations we have of our coaches to lead their teams with honesty and integrity." 

The 2018 season was Salcedo's 15th as head coach for the Bruins. His overall record was 172-80-42, including 14 NCAA championship appearances, and he was the second-longest tenured men's soccer coach in program history, per the Daily Bruin. 

Former Yale women's soccer coach Rudy Meredith was among those indicted as part of a college admissions scandal, but he allegedly took part in more illegal activities.

Two former players said Meredith "pressured members of the Yale women's soccer team to not only edit his academic papers but also to write significant parts of them," according to Bill Gallagher and Skakel McCooey of the Yale Daily News.

The coach allegedly used the help to earn a master's degree at Ohio University in recreation and sports science and coaching education in 2018.

Team members reportedly felt compelled to help out their coach, but University President Peter Salovey was allegedly told of the misconduct through an anonymous letter. Still, no official action was taken against Meredith after an investigation.

"I don't know how it didn't become more of an issue because to me it was a clear abuse of power," a team member said.

Meredith resigned from the program last November after 24 years at Yale, providing no additional information besides wanting to "explore new possibilities."

This story comes about a week after a widespread scandal that saw 50 people charged for scams involving college admissions.

Meredith has been charged with "conspiracy to commit wire fraud and honest services wire fraud" as well as honest services wire fraud and is expected to have his first court appearance on March 28. Per Gallagher and McCooey, he is being accused of soliciting a $400,000 bribe to help an applicant get into Yale.