Two of the many newcomers to the UW men’s soccer fall lineup have more in common that most teammates usually do. These two are not only both from the same hometown of Middleton and both honored as The Capital Times Boys Prep Soccer Player of the Year, but they grew up in the same house — they are brothers.
Jed and Aaron Hohlbein are new to the Badger roster, although only one is a freshman.
Jed, a junior forward for the Badgers, transferred to UW from Southwest Missouri State after two seasons of play. While there, he was a strong force on offense. As a freshman, he was third on the team in points, scoring four goals and one assist. Two of his goals were game-winners.
His sophomore season saw an increase in scoring. He put seven shots into the back of the net while assisting on another six. Jed helped the Bears finish No. 12 in the NSCAA/Adidas national ranking with a 16-2-3 record. Although the team was experiencing success, Jed still wanted to make the 550-mile switch.
“Things just weren’t working out for me down in Missouri soccer-wise, so I figured I needed a new environment to get into,” Jed said. “And I thought there would not be a better place than back here in Madison, Wis. It’s just the atmosphere on campus; there’s just no place like it anywhere. Our first home weekend we had almost 2,000 fans there, and it’s just great to be able to play in front of that many people. Wisconsin people love their sports, and it’s good to be part of.”
Jed has continued in his strong scoring touch in his time with the Badgers. During the spring exhibition season, he led the Badgers in scoring with four goals, which included a hat trick against Milwaukee Bavarian S.C. He also scored the game’s only goal in the season opening Rocky Rococo/Adidas Classic this fall against Northern Illinois. He is currently leading the team in shots and tied for the team lead in assists.
Aaron, a freshman defender/midfielder is a welcomed addition to the Badger’s core of backs. Aaron’s high-school accomplishments are nothing short of outstanding. He was all-conference, all-area and all-state three times in each category. Aaron was also a 2002 NSCAA/Adidas Under-17 All-American. He is third all-time in scoring at his high school with 48 goals and 26 assists over four years.
No. 1 on the Middleton High School scoring list is, of course, Jed. The elder Hohlbein had 112 goals and 34 assists for 258 scoring points with the Middleton Cardinals. With such an impressive resume, Aaron was wanted by a number of top-quality programs.
“The main other schools I was looking at were Milwaukee and North Carolina,” Aaron said.
Three of Aaron’s teammates from the Brookfield Lightning soccer club are freshmen for Wisconsin as well. Andrew Cardona, Matt Jelacic and Tommy Woboril all bring the Brookfield club connection to Madison along with Aaron. Having familiar faces on the team has definitely been beneficial for Aaron.
“It helped a lot; we all know each other really well,” Aaron said. “It helped gel all the freshman and even the older guys together, too, so we all know each other and have a lot of chemistry.”
Aaron made an immediate impact for the Badgers this fall and was selected to the All-Tournament Team for the Rocky Rococo/Adidas Classic for his defensive play. However, the college game is quite different from that played in high school.
“It is so much different than the high-school and club game; everything is so much faster,” Aaron said. “I knew it was going to be like that, it just takes time to adjust, and you have to adjust quickly in order to get into it.”
Both of the Hohlbein brothers have been fortunate enough to take their skills outside the country. Jed toured internationally in Brazil and Costa Rica, while Aaron did the same in Mexico, France and Japan.
The Hohlbeins’ talent is not restricted to the soccer field by any means. Jed made the Dean’s list last semester and was selected to the Verizon/CoSIDA Academic All-District VII team while at SMSU. Aaron was an honor-roll student as a senior in high school.
Jed enjoys playing with his brother and is not shy in admitting who he thinks is the more complete player.
“[Playing together] is great; it is good to be able to spend time together. Down in Missouri I really did not get to see family at all; out here we get to hang out,” said Jed. “Overall, I’d say he is the more complete player. I’m more of an attacking player; I’m not really into defense that much, I just like to score goals.”
Aaron happily agrees.
