Joshua Saavedra

Photo by: Drake Harlett, BGSU Athletics

Photo by: Drake Harlett, BGSU Athletics

Photo by: Drake Harlett, BGSU Athletics

Photo by: Drake Harlett, BGSU Athletics

Photo by: BGSU Strategic Communications

2025 | Junior

Made his BGSU debut in the season opener vs. IU Indy, drawing the start and playing 76 minutes
Started the Butler match and played 69 minutes
Played 79 minutes of the shutout win at Wright State, picking up an assist, and played 46 minutes at Michigan
Came off the bench to play 21 minutes of the 1-0 win over Michigan State
Played 29 minutes as the Falcons played #18 Kentucky to a 1-1 draw on the road
Played 45 minutes against Bellarmine
Saw 39 minutes of action vs. Evansville in the MVC opener, and played 37 minutes of the 2-0 win over Northern Kentucky
Was back in the Starting XI at Belmont, and played 58 minutes
Played 78 minutes of the match at Cleveland State
Started the Bradley match, playing 54 minutes and firing a shot on goal
Came off the bench to play four minutes at Drake
Also came off the bench at Western Michigan, playing the final 59 minutes of that contest
Was fouled in the box, leading to BGSU's match-tying penalty kick against the Broncos

Brookville, N.Y.

Saavedra and the Sharks

Played two seasons at LIU, helping the Sharks to Northeast Conference championships and NCAA Championships appearances in both years
Saw action in 38 matches, starting 36, and had 24 points on eight goals and eight assists

2024 | Sophomore

Started all 20 matches and had five points on a goal and three assists
The Sharks went 8-5-7 overall and 4-1-3 in NEC play, finishing third in the league before winning the NEC Tournament
His goal came just 26 seconds into the NEC Tourney semifinal match at St. Francis
Played all 90 minutes in 10 matches, and played over 75 minutes in all but three contests
Was ranked 67th in the nation among Division-I college players in TopDrawerSoccer's Preseason Top 100

2023 | Freshman

Was the NEC's Rookie of the Year, and was an All-NEC First-Team selection
Also named to the NEC's All-Rookie Team
Was chosen to the TopDrawerSoccer Freshman Best XI First Team
Played in 18 matches, making 16 starts, and had 19 points on seven goals and five assists
The Sharks finished with a 10-6-3 overall mark and a 5-1-2 league ledger
Was ranked fourth in the nation among D-I freshmen in points
Three-time NEC Rookie of the Week
Was named an NEC Prime Performer for five consecutive weeks to close the regular season
Scored the lone goal in a 1-0 win at FDU in the regular-season finale, clinching the No. 2 seed for the NEC Tournament
Then, in the league tourney, scored the winning goal 30 seconds into the second OT in a 2-1 victory over FDU
His first two collegiate goals came against Merrimack on Oct. 8
Beginning with that match, he scored at least one goal in six of seven matches, including four-straight contests from Oct. 22-Nov. 9
Had 18 points during that seven-game stretch
Scored three game-winning goals on the season

Orlando, Fla.

Born in Cali, Colombia
Son of Gerardo Saavedra and Isnardy Diaz
A psychology major at BGSU
Has a younger brother, Khaled Saavedra
Played for Queensboro FC in 2022, as well as Inter Miami academy team in 2019 and second team in 2020 and '21
Played for USL2's Des Moines Menace in the summer of 2025, where he was a teammate of fellow Falcon Andrew Shaffer
Favorite athlete is Lionel Messi
Lists his father as his biggest influence

WHY DID YOU CHOOSE BGSU?
"I chose BGSU because it offered the perfect combination of strong academics and a competitive soccer program."