PEORIA, Ill. – Get to know more about Bradley Soccer Claudel Ngongang.

Ngongang, originally from Montreal, Canada, finished the 2023 season with 531 minutes played, nine starts, and two goals.
 

He started playing soccer when he was four years old in Rosemère & Mirabel. From ages eight to 14, he played for CS Trois-Rivières. Between 14 and 17, he played for AS Pierrefonds, later making Team Québec U-16. During his senior year of high school, he played at the Soccer Institute at Montverde Academy in Florida.
 

Before coming to Bradley, Ngongang played for Iowa Western Community College for two years, where he won a JUCO National Championship.
 

Ngongang enjoys catching up with friends from home and watching his favorite sports teams during his free time. 
 

"In soccer, it is most definitely Bayern Munich. I really like them. It is a team that I have followed since 2013, and I am very loyal to them," Ngongang said. "After they won against Dortmund in the 2013 UCL [Uefa Champions League] final, I was like, okay, this is a good team to support,"

Ngongang grew up watching players like Cristiano Ronaldo, Paulo Dybala, and N'Golo Kanté, who taught him to work hard and stay disciplined. He uses a motivational board daily as he finds it helpful when trying to achieve personal goals.
 

"I adopted that last year, and I think it has really changed a lot. I am somebody who knows what I want, and I want to achieve it, and I need to find a way to get to my longer objectives," Ngongang said. "This board helps me stay disciplined because I have seven objectives every day that I usually change and try to achieve in my day,"
 

Ngongang's favorite thing about Bradley is all the resources available for his personal development and success. 
 

"I have everything I need here to succeed," Ngongang said. "All the amenities, all the people here, the structures, the good schedules and quality of BECC [Business Convergence Center], Renco [Renaissance Coliseum], Markin, and what Markin has it is very great,"
 

Outside of the field, Ngongang enjoys learning about business. His favorite class is BUS400, where he gains real-world experience.
 

"We work with a company, and we just help them scale. You talk to the CEO and help him grow his company," Ngongang said. "It is very nice to see how real-world businesses work, especially ours, that is a start-up. This is very rewarding."

At Bradley, Ngongang has had many memorable experiences, but his favorite memory is the trip to Wisconsin with the squad.
 

"It was a very nice experience," Ngongang said. "It was very nice to see their school as well. I think with the whole squad, I think their performance was great, though I could not play. I really liked the trip to Wisconsin, and I hope to make many more memories,"
 

Ngongang shared what it means to represent Bradley.
 

"The more you play for Bradley, the more you feel how important it is, not only for your teammates, but the community as well. It is a very nice feeling, and it is something that I want to enjoy because not everybody has the chance to do that," Ngongang said. "I really like playing for Bradley, and I want to represent them more,"
 

Ngongang feels blessed to have the opportunity to play at Bradley and will always be thankful to the people who brought him here.
 

"I want to thank Jim DeRose, Coach Tim Regan, and Coach Barnett for recruiting me here. I want to say thank you to Bradley University for welcoming me as well," Ngongang said.
 

Ngongang shared his personal goals for next season.
 

"For next season, I want to play and help the team win. Personally, I would like to have the best season, the most consistent," Ngongang said. "As a team, I want to win something. We have a great group of players, and it is nice to see us improve every day. I trust the players around me, and I think we can do something great."
 

Watch Ngongang during the 2024 fall season at Shea Stadium.