Luca Nikolai

Position:
Defender
Height:
6-1
Weight:
181
Class:
Junior
Hometown:
Düsseldorf, Germany
High School:
Albert Einstein Gymnasium

2024 - Sophomore Season (JMU)
First Team All-Region • Sun Belt Defensive Player of the Year • First Team All-Sun Belt • First Team All-State • Second Team All-ECAC • TopDrawerSoccer National Team of the Week Honorable Mention (9/17) • Ranked No. 20 in TopDrawerSoccer's Midseason Top 100 • Earned an invite to the MLS College Showcase • Started in all 19 matches • Tallied four goals and added two assists, finishing the season with 10 points • Played all 90 minutes in 17 out of the 19 matches.

2023 - Freshman Season (JMU)
TopDrawerSoccer First Team Freshman All-American • College Soccer News First Team Freshman All-American • All-Sun Belt First Team • TopDrawerSoccer National Team of the Week (8/29 & 11/21) • Sun Belt Defensive Player of the Week (8/29) • Ranked No. 18 in TopDrawerSoccer's Midseason Top 100 Freshmen • Ranked No. 6 in TopDrawerSoccer's Postseason Top 100 Freshmen • Played in and started 20 matches • Scored one goal and four assists for six points • Scored first career goal against Old Dominion • Recorded assists against Duquesne, UCLA, Radford and Pitt • Tallied assists in first three matches of the season • Took a season-high three shots against LMU in NCAA Round of 16 • Put seven of 15 shots on goal • Claimed the JMU Gold Star Award for pursuit of academic excellence.

Prep
Played club soccer with Borussia Mönchengladbach for 10 seasons.

Personal
Son of Christine and Marc Nikolai • Has one older sister • Majoring in management and society • Birthday is March 2.