Amani Walker (born 16 December 1989 in

San Diego, California San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United Stat ...

) is a

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

Career

College and Amateur

Walker attended Francis Parker High School, and played for the Surf FC club team, before going on to play four years of

college soccer College soccer is played by teams composed of soccer players who are enrolled in colleges and universities. It is very prominent in United States, Japan, South Korea, Canada, and as well as in South Africa and the Philippines. The United K ...

at the

University of California, Irvine The University of California, Irvine (UCI or UC Irvine) is a public land-grant research university in Irvine, California. One of the ten campuses of the University of California system, UCI offers 87 undergraduate degrees and 129 graduate and p ...

. He was named to the All-Big West first team and led his team in goals as a junior in 2009, while as a senior in 2010 he was named to the NSCAA All-Far West Region first team and the All-Big West first-team, was the Big West Co-Offensive Player of the Year, and was voted as one of TopDrawerSoccer.com Top 20 Players to Watch. He finished his college career as UCI's all-time leader in games played with 85, scoring 27 goals in the process. During his college years Walker also played with

Orange County Blue Star Orange County Blue Star was an American soccer team based in Irvine, California. Founded in 1997, the team played in the USL Premier Development League (PDL), the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, in the Southwest Division of the Wester ...

in the

USL Premier Development League USL League Two (USL2), formerly the Premier Development League (PDL), is a semi-professional developmental soccer league sponsored by United Soccer Leagues in the United States and Canada, forming part of the United States soccer league syst ...

, scoring 12 goals in 16 games for the team in 2010.

Professional

Walker was invited to the 2011 adidas Major League Soccer Combine, and was subsequently drafted with the 9th overall pick of the 2011 MLS Supplemental Draft by Chicago Fire, but was not offered a contract by the team. He subsequently signed his first professional contract when he was signed by the

NSC Minnesota Stars NSC may refer to: Sport and competition * NSC United, an American soccer team * National Scholastics Championship, an American quiz bowl competition * National Scrabble Championship, now known as the Scrabble Players Championship * National Sho ...

of the North American Soccer League. He made his professional debut on 7 May 2011, coming on as a substitute in a 1–1 tie with the

Fort Lauderdale Strikers Fort Lauderdale Strikers may refer to: *Fort Lauderdale Strikers (1977–1983), member of North American Soccer League from 1977 to 1983 *Fort Lauderdale Strikers (1988–1994), member of American Soccer League from 1988 to 1989 and American Profes ...

. Walker started his 2012 season with several strong performances.

International

In March 2009, Walker made an appearance for the Jamaica U-20 national team versus

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. He is eligible to play for Jamaica through his Jamaican-born father.

Honors

NSC Minnesota Stars

* North American Soccer League Championship (1): 2011

References

External links

UC Irvine profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Walker, Amani 1989 births Living people Jamaican footballers UC Irvine Anteaters men's soccer players Orange County Blue Star players Minnesota United FC (2010–2016) players Tampa Bay Rowdies players Orange County SC players Soccer players from California Chicago Fire FC draft picks USL League Two players North American Soccer League players USL Championship players Association football forwards