NORTHFIELD, Minn. - After a standout career for the St. Olaf College men's soccer team, Casey McCloskey has committed to continue his playing career at the NCAA Division I level for the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.
 
After capping his career at St. Olaf by being named the Most Outstanding Offensive Player of the 2023 NCAA Division III Men's Soccer Championship while leading the Oles to their first national title, McCloskey will use his final season of eligibility at Charlotte this coming fall. The 49ers are coming off a season where they won the American Athletic Conference Championship and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
 
"I am beyond grateful to my family for their unwavering support and love not only in my playing career, but in all facets of my life," McCloskey said. "Your examples of hard work and dedication have inspired me throughout my playing career. I also want to thank Travis Wall, Justin Oliver, Matthew Gibbons, and all the boys for making my four years here the best of my life. The memories we made will stay with me forever. I am confident my time playing at St. Olaf will help me be successful at Charlotte and I am very excited to get started."
 
After his rookie season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, McCloskey compiled 74 points on 25 goals and 24 assists in 71 games for St. Olaf from 2021-23. Despite playing just three seasons, he ranks third in program history in assists, fourth in game-winning goals (10), tied for sixth in game started (68), ninth in points, and tied for 10th in goals.
 
This fall, McCloskey tallied three goals and two assists over the course of the national semifinals and national championship game to lead St. Olaf to the national title. After scoring twice and picking up an assist in the national semifinals, he had an assist and scored the game-winning goal in the 92nd minute of the Oles' 2-1 victory over Amherst College in the championship game.
 
"Casey was one of the first people to believe in the vision of what we had for St. Olaf," Oliver said. "He could have gone somewhere more established or to a higher level, but instead, he backed himself while trusting us and, along with his classmates, helped make St. Olaf men's soccer into one of the best programs in the country. He has an elite builders' mentality with one of the best work ethics I have ever seen. I have no doubt he will be successful at the Division I level for Charlotte. He is a special soccer player but an even better human being and he will be greatly missed. I am so happy he went out how he did, playing at the level he was with the whole country getting to see what we had been seeing for four years."
 
During his time at St. Olaf, McCloskey was a three-time All-Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) honoree - one of 13 in program history - and a two-time United Soccer Coaches Second Team All-Region IX honoree. He also excelled academically, earning two College Sports Communicators Academic All-District © accolades, three Academic All-MIAC honors, and two United Soccer Coaches Scholar All-North/Central Region laurels.  In 2022-23, he also became St. Olaf's first-ever United Soccer Coaches Scholar All-American.
 
Over McCloskey's three seasons, St. Olaf went a combined 54-11-6 overall and 25-2-3 in MIAC play. In addition to the 2023 national championship, McCloskey was part of two MIAC regular-season championships, two MIAC Playoff championships, and back-to-back runs to the "Sweet 16" in 2021 and 2022.