INDIANAPOLIS - The IUPUI men's soccer program and head coach Sid van Druenen announced two final additions to the program's 2023 signing class ahead of the upcoming fall season. The most recent two additions bring IUPUI's class of newcomers to 16 for the fall campaign. 

Declan Finnegan (Wheaton, Ill./Wheaton Academy) and Gijs Velings (Bergharen, Netherlands/Kandisky College) will join the program this fall and each have four seasons of eligibility remaining. Finnegan, a 6-foot-4 goalkeeper, is the younger brother of current IUPUI standout Logan Finnegan and was originally intending to join the program in January 2024. However, he recently reclassified into the Fall 2023 class and will immediately join the program. Velings, a 5-foot-11 midfielder, was a late commitment to the program this summer. 

Finnegan is a three-time All-Sectional, three-time All-Conference and three-time Conference Goalkeeper of the Year while at Wheaton Academy. He helped Wheaton to an IHSA Class 1A State semifinals appearance this past season and 15-6-3 record. He was named All-State by Chicagoland Soccer. 

"Declan is our captain's, Logan Finnegan, younger brother and a goalkeeper with tremendous potential," van Druenen said. "He has great presence in goal and his distribution is some of the best I have seen in a goalkeeper of his age. We are very excited to get to work with him and see how he progresses."

Velings plays for FC Eindhoven's U21 team after having played for Willem II. The right-footed 19-year old finished high school in 2022 and played for FC Eindhoven's professional youth academy this past year and also has experience with SC Woezik. 

"Gijs joins us from FC Eindhoven, a professional academy in the Netherlands, and is a late addition to an already very strong and capable midfield group," van Druenen said. "His mobility, ability on the ball and high tactical IQ will fit well in our system and we need players like that to continue to be successful."
 
The Jaguars are coming off a 7-7-6 campaign and finished as runner-up at the Horizon League Tournament in van Druenen's first season in 2022. IUPUI scored 31 goals, tops in the program's D1 era, and is expected to return 29 of those tallies and eight starters next season.