Rutgers is adding Steve Rammel to its 2026 Athletics class, a fitting nod to a player whose college career and pro run both left a clear mark.
Rammel was a driving force behind back-to-back College Cup Final Four trips for the Scarlet Knights in 1989 and 1990, years in which Rutgers went 40-7-2 with him in the lineup. His senior season pushed all the way to the championship game, where the title was decided on penalty kicks, and he finished that year with All-America recognition.
The honors kept piling up. Rammel was the 1990 Atlantic 10 Player of the Year and the runner-up for the Hermann Trophy, which goes to the top college soccer player in the country. He scored 17 goals in each of his two seasons at Rutgers after transferring from Connecticut, and his 84 career points still place him ninth on the Scarlet Knights’ all-time scoring list.
After college, Rammel got a look with the U.S. national team camp and played with the B-team in the 1991 World University Games in Sheffield, England. That same year, he joined the U.S. National Team and appeared in seven games for Penn-Jersey Spirit of the American Professional Soccer League.
His pro path then took him overseas from 1991 to 1993 with German lower-division clubs SC Norderstedt and Tus Celle before he returned to the United States to earn a master’s degree in finance while working as an assistant coach at UMass.
In 1996, Rammel signed with the Washington Mustangs of the USISL and was later acquired on loan by D.C. United in MLS.
That season became a defining one: he was a 1996 MLS All-Star, scored 17 goals, and recorded the first MLS hat trick in a May 15, 1996, win over the Columbus Crew. He also helped D.C.
United capture the 1996 MLS Cup and US Open Cup titles. Before retiring in 1999, he also spent time on the rosters of the Colorado Rapids and NJ/NY MetroStars.
Rammel’s post-playing career stayed rooted in the game. He served as top assistant at UCLA and helped the Bruins reach three NCAA Tournament appearances, including a College Cup trip in 1999. He later spent five seasons as head coach at Saint Mary’s, coached 20 players to All-West Coast Conference honors, and worked as an assistant coach in MLS with the Los Angeles Galaxy.
He also held leadership roles off the field, serving as Executive Director of Orlando City Youth from 2012-15, Executive Director of the West Florida Flames Futbol Club from 2015-16, and Santa Rose United from 2007-08.
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