The Charleston Battery announced Thursday the signing of midfielder Joe Schmidt to the 2022 roster, pending league and federation approval. Schmidt joins the squad following a successful spell as a trialist during the 2022 Breeze Airways™ Carolina Challenge Cup.
“I’m super excited to be joining Charleston, it feels amazing to be able to be a part of such a historic club and represent this amazing city and fanbase,” said Schmidt. “It’s incredible to sign my first professional contract. This has been a dream of mine since I was a little kid, to play professional soccer, so to have that dream come to fruition is super gratifying, and makes all of the hard work and sacrifice worth it.”
The 23-year-old midfielder appeared in all three of the Battery’s CCC22 matches and was among a select group to play for 60 minutes in the match against Inter Miami CF. Schmidt started the game against the Columbus Crew to round out the tournament.
Schmidt is a product of Indiana University where he won three consecutive Big Ten doubles (regular season and conference tournament title in the same year) with the Hoosiers from 2018 to 2020-21. During the 2020-21 campaign, Schmidt tied for the second-most assists on the team, with one assist coming in the conference tournament championship victory over Penn State.
The Ohio native helped Indiana make runs to the NCAA College Cup in 2018 and 2020-21, ending the latter as national runner-up after advancing to the National Championship Game. He additionally captained the Hoosiers his senior year.
“I want to thank all my coaches who have supported me throughout my career, especially Coach [Todd] Yeagley and the staff at Indiana University, for putting me in a position to make this all possible,” said Schmidt.
Schmidt is an adaptable player who is able to be positioned around the midfield and on the back line. Battery Head Coach Conor Casey looks forward to what Joe will add to the unit.
“Schmidt brings a good level of grit and mentality to the squad, which has really impressed me,” said Coach Casey. “He’s a strong, quick and smart player. He’s got some versatility throughout the midfield and outside back positions, and showed his aggressiveness and tenacity during the CCC.
“Indiana have been one of the top soccer schools in the U.S. for a while, so Joe comes from a winning program and you can tell that he’s been around that.”
Prior to joining the Hoosiers, Schmidt was ranked a top-150 recruit in the country and ranked the seventh-best player in the Great Lakes Region by Top Drawer Soccer coming out of high school. Schmidt was also a member of the U14 and U15 U.S. youth national teams.
Joe said the squad has been welcoming to him so far as he makes the step up to the professional ranks with the Battery. He becomes the 20th member of the squad and will wear number 15.
2022 Roster
Goalkeepers: Joe Kuzminsky
Defenders: Leland Archer, Benjamin Ettienne, Patrick Hogan, Preston Kilwien, AJ Paterson, Matt Sheldon
Midfielders: Andrew Booth, Burke Fahling, DZ Harmon, Dominic Oduro, Geobel Perez, Romario Piggott, Matteo Ritaccio, Joe Schmidt
Forwards: Shak Adams, Aidan Apodaca, Nicque Daley, EJ Johnson, Augustine Williams
