Submitted photo – McKinleyville’s Dustyn Huneke

By Ray Hamill — Recruiting this spring has been far from ideal for the College of the Redwoods teams, and there remains uncertainty whether the fall seasons will even be played.

But that hasn’t stop progress.

On Wednesday, men’s soccer head coach Kyle Van Dyke announced the recruitment of another local standout, McKinleyville’s Dustyn Huneke, who will join the program in 2021 after graduation.

Huneke is expected to have an immediate impact at the local community college when he does join and will give Van Dyke some much-needed versatility in midfield.

“He’s played a lot of competitive games and I know he can come in and contribute right away,” the coach said. “He’s strong in midfield and comfortable playing all across midfield. He’ll be able to play multiple spots there for us.”

Huneke played varsity at Mack throughout high school, as well as playing club soccer with Mad River United.

“It is one step closer to my dream of playing soccer at the highest level I can,” he said in a press release.

Huneke, who was an all-league honorable mention this past fall, is the latest in a number of local standouts to commit to CR, including Del Norte’s Sam Cowan, Eureka’s Cristian Bravo Sierra and Fortuna’s Geovanney Ramirez.

Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com

And Van Dyke is still active, despite the challenges of COVID-19 and the uncertainty surrounding the season at this stage.

“We’re still reaching out to some players,” he said. “Everything’s kind of on pause with everything going on, but we’re still communicating with some recruits.”