The Hoosiers strengthened their midfield considerably with the recruitment of blue chipper Dema Kovalenko.

It’s slim pickings this year in the recruiting pool, not just in Region I but all over the country, according to college coaches. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t some real prize prospects out there.

“There are two big-time blue chip players, then five or six very good players and the rest you can throw together,” said new Virginia head coach George Gelnovatch.

Gelnovatch considers one of those two blue chippers to be Ukrainian transplant Dema Kovalenko; the other is on the opposite coast in Sacramento’s Sasha Venturine, bound for UCLA.

Kovalenko — one of a group of Ukrainian youngsters who settled in the Rochester, N.Y., area after playing in a youth tournament there in 1991 — has the ability to become a dominant force in the college game.

“Dema is a special player,” said Jerry Yeagley, who pulled the coup of Region I recruiting by coaxing the former Dynamo Kiev youth team midfielder to Bloomington. “He brings excitement to the game for the players and the spectators. He’s a tremendous athlete — his touch is clean, his ball work is clean.

“You don’t give a role to this type of player… you just let him play. We plan to put him in between the frontrunners and the midfield and let him improvise and create.”

Kovalenko’s arrival in Bloomington has been anticipated for some time. It was George Perry, who played for Yeagley at Indiana in the early ’70s and coached at Rochester University when the Ukrainians first arrived, who advised Yeagley early on that he had someone special in his backyard. “We sort of planned to have some recruiting money set aside for him,” Yeagley said.

According to the rumor mill, Yeagley may have one or two more of the Ukrainians joining him in Bloomington — including midfielder Yuri Livranenko, whom one coach contends is even better than Kovalenko.

Although Gelnovatch missed out on the region’s cherry — “[Kovalenko] is head and shoulders above everyone else,” he says — he’s pleased with the Region I players that did decide to go to Virginia.

He expects Mike Green to step into middle of the Virginia defense right away. At 6-4, Green has the size to win aerial battles, but Gelnovatch is equally impressed with his ability on the ground.

“He’s got the build and his feet are good,” Gelnovatch said. “He’s coming into the right environment here at Virginia to develop into something.”

In midfield, the Cavaliers add Grover Gibson and Drew O’Donnell to the fold. Both have the touch and the mindset to play the passing game that made Virginia so successful under Bruce Arena. But both need to “develop a little physically,” according to Gelnovatch.

Up front, striker Brian West will add additional speed to the Cavalier attack.

Other winners in recruiting from Region I were:

Maryland, which picked up one the nation’s top young defenders in U-20 national team member Carlos Parra.

“He has all the tools,” said one coach. “He’s the best out-and-out defender [in the region]. He’s tough to beat but can also join the attack.”

Brown, which picked up the region’s top striker in Josh Anderson.

Anderson drew raves from coaches for his work ethic, as well as his ability to find the back of the net.

“The best word to describe him is unpredictable,” said one coach. “He doesn’t look like he’s going to do much but he creates problems for other players. He’s difficult to defend against.”

(Poul Swain is an associate editor at Soccer America.)

Soccer America’s Super 11 Recruits

(Region I)

GDoug BrooksSuccasuna, N.J.California

Athletic, good positional sense

DMike GreenColumbia, Md.Virginia

6-4 and has good feet

DCarlos ParraWest Haven, Conn.Maryland

Tough man marker

DChad EvansLa Plata, Md.Wake Forest

Attack-minded outside back

MJoey DiSalvoHolland, Pa.North Carolina

Solid left-footed midfielder

MDema KovalenkoRochester, N.Y.Indiana

Best in the region, if not the country

MDrew O’DonnellNewtown Square, Pa.Virginia

Reads game, good passer

MGrover GibsonFredericksburg, Va.Virginia

Technical player, fits Cavaliers’ style

MMiles RommBuckingham, Pa.Duke

Plays on right side, a runner

FBrian WestColumbia, Md.Virginia

Makes things happen with his speed

FJosh AndersonBethesda, Md.Brown

Hard worker with good instincts