Mladen Lemez

What Scouts Say: "He's huge, good in the air and he actually plays ... His distribution is really good ... He doesn't move badly ... He's 6-foot-5 but can he handle little guys? ... Gets a shot as a late pick ... Huge, big, shaved-headed centerback ... No nonsense leader ... Reads the game well which helps becauase he's not the quickest ... Drops away well ... Composed and makes good decisions on ball ... Can get exposed for flat-out pace. Can't stay with flyers ... Huge dominant player ... Not great jumping ability but he heads the ball out ... Threat on set pieces. ... Too slow to keep up in MLS ... In the air he plays every bit of 6-foot-5 ... He's a physically dominant player, no question about it ... Technically he's very good and a better passer than most centerbacks ... Very calm and comfortable on the ball ... Pace will be the question ... Similar to Omar Gonzalez coming out of college and he had the same questions ... Mladen matched up with lots and lots of quick people in college ... Tough player ... Slow on the turn but a big man who reads the game really, really well ... He can take a set play and drives a good ball ... A guy you want on your team ... Someone will bring him in for a trial to see if he can fit in."

University of Alabama-Birmingham

Junior Season (2011)

One of the top defenders in not only Conference USA, but in the entire nation ... earned NSCAA All-Region Second Team accolades ... selected as a third-team all-conference honoree ... started and played 19 contests as a central defender ... was a backbone of one of the league's stingiest defenses, helping hold the opposition to a 1.01 goals per game and seven shutouts - both of which led C-USA ... also one of the top threats in the air for the Blazers' offensive attack ... scored four goals on the year which ranked second on the team ... selected as the Conference USA Defensive Player of the Week and earned a spot on the College Soccer News National Team of the Week (Sept. 29) ... named the UAB "Soccer For A Cure" Classic's Most Outstanding Player by helping shut down the opposition and also scoring three goals in wins over then-No. 20 VCU (9/16) and Milwaukee (9/18) ... scored a pair of goals against the Panthers, including the game-tying goal in the 86th minute of play and the game-winner in overtime ... finished the season with 34 shots, which ranked third on the squad, and nine shots on goal.

Sophomore Season (2010)

Only newcomer to start all 18 contests ... led all field players in minutes played (1,381) ... helped defense to hold opponents to 1.08 goals against average ... first goal of his career was the game-winning tally on senior night against Marshall (11/3) ... also recorded an assist in the victory over North Florida (9/11) ... finished the season with seven shots, three of which came on frame.

Other Soccer Info

A big, strong and athletic defender who made long trek from Serajevo, Bosnia to compete for UAB ... attended the University of Novi Sad for one year, where he studied business management ... also competed for the Bosnian Youth National Team ... competed for the club team FC Slavija in his home country.

Miscellaneous

Born Mladen Lemez on Jan. 25, 1990 in East Sarajevo, Bosnia. ... favorite food is chicken ... favorite movie is Armagedon ... favorite musician is Red Hot Chilli Peppers ... his sisters have had the biggest influence on his career ... he chose UAB because he "wanted to have a good education and play soccer."