KALAMAZOO, Mich.- Western Michigan head coach Chad Wiseman has announced the addition of Marquette transfer Brendan Skinner to the Bronco men's soccer roster. Skinner is currently enrolled at Western Michigan and will be eligible to compete for the Brown & Gold in the fall of 2018, as well as train in the upcoming spring season.

"Brendan adds great size, strength and athleticism to an already athletic team," Wiseman said. "At 6-4, Bronco fans will have no problem identifying who he is on the field. He played just about every minute of every match at Marquette in the Big East last season, who played one of the toughest schedules in college soccer."

A 6-4, 210-pound defender, Skinner has three years of eligibility remaining. As a freshman this past fall, he started all 16 games for Marquette and led the Golden Eagles with over 1,500 minutes played. He registered two goals, scoring nine minutes into a match against UIC on Sept. 1 and netting his second goal in a draw against Providence on Oct. 7. For the season he took nine shots, placing five on goal.

A native of Surrey, British Columbia, Skinner attended Burnaby Central Secondary School where he was an academic honor roll student grades 8-12. Skinner played for the Canadian U-18 men's national team and club soccer with the Vancouver Whitecaps Residency program on their U-14, U-16 and U-18 teams, leading the Whitecaps to three USSDA Northwestern Conference championships.

"Brendan comes from a great pedigree of youth soccer playing with the Vancouver Whitecaps Academy as well as having a few caps with the Canadian U18 National Team," Wiseman said. "Although he has only played one college season, we are getting a very smart and experienced competitor that will have three years left to leave his mark on the Bronco program."

Western Michigan is coming off its best season in program history in 2017. The Broncos won their first ever Mid-American Conference regular season championship, defeated UAlbany in the NCAA Tournament and advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16. The Broncos finished the year ranked No. 9 in the nation and were ranked as high as No. 4 in the country during the season.