INDIANAPOLIS (Tuesday, January 30, 2024) – Indy Eleven has today announced that five players from the club’s championship-winning Academy program will open the 2024 season under USL Academy contracts. Per club policy, terms of the deal will not be disclosed, and individual status is pending league and federation approval. All Academy Contracts allow players to retain their NCAA eligibility.
Since 2019, Indy Eleven has signed 22 players to USL Academy contracts, making the club one of the premier player development destinations in the USL Championship. In November, the Boys in Blue signed Academy-product Diego Sanchez to his first professional contract after spending three seasons (2021-23) on a USL Academy Contract.
Cayden Crawford (Columbus, Ohio), Benji Chavarria (Elkhart, Ind.), Hayden Vostal (Geneva, Ill.), Nikola Ivetic (Crown Point, Ind.) and Logan Neidlinger (Indianapolis, Ind.) have all inked contracts. Vostal joins the first team for a third season, while both Crawford and Chavarria return after suiting up for the Boys in Blue last season.
Crawford made the team’s 18-man roster as the backup goalkeeper for 12 games in 2023 and has been a member of Indy Eleven’s Pro Academy since 2021 after arriving from the Columbus Crew Academy.
Also a member of the 2023 squad, Chavarria suited up for Indy in three matches a season ago. His first-team debut came in a 4-0 defeat over Charleston Battery on June 2. A member of the organization since 2018, Chavarria is verbally committed to play at Loyola University Chicago.
The 2024 season will be the third for Vostal with the first team. Vostal is committed to play for DePaul University and was an All-Midwest Team selection in high school and has spent time training at Atletico Madrid.
Crawford, Chavarria and Vostal played crucial roles in the club’s 2023 USL Academy Cup Championship run, including an undefeated mark at 12-0-2 en route to the USL Academy Playoffs.
Ivetic and Neidlinger join the Boys in Blue as the newest additions, with Ivetic being the youngest as a member of the U17 squad. Neidlinger arrived in Indy in 2021 and previously played for Columbus Express. He is committed to University of Indianapolis this fall. A two-time Man of the Match honoree with the U17s after a pair of goals in his first three games, Ivetic has eared minutes with the U19 squad.
Indy Eleven Roster as of 1-30-24
Goalkeepers (3):Â Cayden Crawford^, Yannik Oettl, Hayden Vostal^
Defenders (7): Danny Barbir, Younes Boudadi, Callum Chapman-Page, Adrian Diz Pe, Macauley King, Logan Neidlinger^, Aedan Stanley
Midfielders (7):Â Jack Blake, Tyler Gibson, Nikola Ivetic^, Cam Lindley, Aodhan Quinn, Diego Sanchez, Max Schneider
Forwards (6):Â Benji Chavarria^, Elliot Collier, Sebastian Guenzatti, Douglas Martinez, Roberto Molina, Augustine Williams
^USL Academy Contract
Indy opens the 2024 slate on a two-match road swing beginning at non-conference foe Oakland Roots SC on March 9 before returning home to host 2023 Western Conference Champion Sacramento Republic FC at Michael A. Carroll Stadium on March 23. Season Ticket Renewals and new Season Ticket Packages are on sale now for 2024, as well as deposits for groups and hospitality areas. For more information on tickets click here. For questions, please email tickets@indyeleven.com or give us a call at 317.685.1100.