James Thomas (born 5 June 1997) is an English footballer who plays as a defender for One Knoxville in

USL League One USL League One (USL1) is a professional men's soccer league in the United States that had its inaugural season in 2019. The Division III league is operated by United Soccer League, the same group that operates the Division II USL Championshi ...

Career

Early career & college

Thomas played with non-league side Farnham Town from 2015, until receiving a scholarship to play

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 Kingd ...

in the United States in the summer of 2016. In 2016, he arrived at

Young Harris College Young Harris College is a private Methodist-affiliated liberal arts college in Young Harris, Georgia, United States. History Origins The school was founded in 1886 by Artemas Lester, a circuit-riding Methodist minister who wanted to pr ...

, going on to make 50 appearances for the Mountain Lions over three seasons. He finished with eleven assists to his name and was named All-Peach Belt Conference second team in 2018. In 2019, Thomas transferred to the

University of New Hampshire The University of New Hampshire (UNH) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Durham, New Hampshire. It was founded and incorporated in 1866 as a land grant college in Hanover in connection with Dartmouth College, mo ...

. He played one final season of college soccer with the Wildcats, making 17 appearances. During his 2017 season, Thomas also appeared in the

USL PDL 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 syste ...

with

Peachtree City MOBA Peachtree City MOBA is an American soccer team based in Peachtree City, Georgia. Founded as a soccer academy in 2013, the team plays in USL League Two, the fourth tier of the United States soccer league system. History The MOBA Soccer Academy, ow ...

. Following college, Thomas remained in the PDL, now named USL League Two, with spells at

Des Moines Menace Des Moines Menace is an American soccer team based in Des Moines, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1994, the team plays in USL League Two, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid. The Menace have had sustained success in USL League Two duri ...

between 2019 and 2021. In 2021, he helped lead the club to winning the title. 2022 saw Thomas remain in USL League Two with new side One Knoxville ahead of their planned expansion to the

in 2023. He made ten appearances for the club in 2022.

Professional

On 27 January 2023, Thomas was signed to One Knox's USL League One roster. He made his professional debut on 18 March 2023, starting in a 2–1 win over

Lexington SC Lexington Sporting Club is an American professional soccer team based in Lexington, Kentucky. Founded in 2021, the team will play its inaugural season in 2023. The team will compete in USL League One, in the third division of the United States ...

Honors

Club

Des Moines Menace *

USL League Two 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 syste ...

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...

References

External links

* 1997 births Living people Men's association football defenders Des Moines Menace players English expatriate men's footballers English expatriate sportspeople in the United States English men's footballers Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States New Hampshire Wildcats men's soccer players One Knoxville SC players Peachtree City MOBA players USL League One players USL League Two players Young Harris Mountain Lions men's soccer players Sportspeople from Woking Footballers from Surrey {{England-footy-defender-1990s-stub