A native of Elk Grove, CA, Murillo joins the Hornets' sideline after prepping at Elk Grove HS and spending last season at nearby Folsom Lake College as a center back for the Falcons. Photo courtesy of Sacramento State Athletics

SACRAMENTO REGION, CA (MPG) - Sacramento State head men's soccer coach Michael Linenberger added a sixth commitment for the 2026 campaign, welcoming local product James Murillo to the roster in time for the upcoming campaign.

“We are excited to add James to our roster,” Linenberger said. “We work hard to keep good local talent at home, and James has had a lot of college success already. We expect him to challenge for a starting role in our back line this coming fall."

A native of Elk Grove, CA, Murillo joins the Hornets' sideline after prepping at Elk Grove HS and spending last season at nearby Folsom Lake College as a center back for the Falcons. In his first collegiate campaign, he was named the team's Defensive Player of the Year, added Big 8 Conference First Team honors, and was selected to the California Community College Athletic Association's all-regional squad.

He appeared in 21 matches as a sophomore at Folsom Lake, helping lead the Falcons to a conference title with an 8-1-1 record (13-6-2 overall) and adding his first career goal — and game-winning score — in a 1-0 victory over Cosumnes River College on Oct. 7. That helped his case for Big 8 Conference Player of the Month honors.

As a true freshman in 2024, he started 17 matches and appeared in 1,453 minutes at Jessup University, attempting one shot.

Prior to his time at Jessup, Murillo competed with Sacramento United SC from the U9 all the way up to the U19 level, earning a selection to the MLS NEXT All-Star game. He also competed with the Sacramento Gold semi-pro club in the NPSL and with FC Folsom in the UPSL, helping the latter to a spot in the national finals.

Murillo is the latest addition to the Sacramento State roster for 2026, joining previous commitments from defender Mateus Romualdo (Snow College), midfielder Henry Hedden (Monte Vista HS), goalkeeper AJ Bengds (UNC Asheville), forward Jakub Kozlowski (Palomar College) and defender Cameron Martino (Clovis East HS).