Joshua Bauer (born July 22, 1998) is an American professional

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

player who plays as a

center-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

for

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...

club

Nashville SC Nashville Soccer Club is a Major League Soccer team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The team began play in the league in 2020 as a continuation of the USL club of the same name and plays its home matches at Geodis Park. It is principally owned ...

Career

Youth, college & amateur

Bauer played youth soccer with GPS New Hampshire Classics Elite, helping them to a pair of state titles in 2014 and 2015. He then went on 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 ...

at 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 ...

between 2017 and 2019. Whilst with the Wildcats, Bauer made 60 appearances, scoring 10 goals and tallying 10 assists. He was named a United Soccer Coaches First Team All-American in his senior season and was a 2019 MAC Hermann Trophy Semifinalist. He also won accolades such as America East Defender of the Year, ECAC Defender of the Year in 2018 and 2019, and is only the second player ever to be named the America East Tournament Most Outstanding Player twice. He was also a 2018 United Soccer Coaches Second Team All-American and a United Soccer Coaches First Team Scholar Athlete in 2019. Whilst at college, Bauer also played in the

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 ...

with spells at Seacoast United Phantoms, Boston Bolts and

Seattle Sounders FC U-23 Sound FC is an American soccer team based in Tacoma, Washington. Founded in 2006, the team most recently played in USL League Two, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid. History 2006–2009: Playoffs The Tacoma team was introduced int ...

Professional

On August 19, 2020, Bauer signed his first professional contract with USL Championship side Birmingham Legion. He made his professional debut on August 29, 2020, appearing as an 84th-minute substitute during a 4–1 win over Charlotte Independence. He was out of contract following the 2020 season to be able to participate in the 2021 MLS SuperDraft. On January 21, 2021, Bauer was selected 31st overall in the

2021 MLS SuperDraft The 2021 MLS SuperDraft was the 22nd edition of the SuperDraft conducted by Major League Soccer. The SuperDraft is held every January prior to the start of the MLS season. The 2020 SuperDraft was the first held exclusively via conference call and ...

by Atlanta United. He officially signed a first team contract on April 15, 2021. Following the 2021 season, Bauer's contract option was declined by Atlanta. On December 17, 2021 he was selected in Stage One of the

2021 MLS Re-Entry Draft The 2021 MLS Re-Entry Draft took place on December 17, 2021 (Stage 1) and December 23, 2021 (Stage 2). All 28 Major League Soccer clubs were eligible to participate. The priority order for the MLS Re-Entry Draft was reverse order of playoff finis ...

. Bauer joined

Sacramento Republic Sacramento Republic FC is an American professional soccer team based in Sacramento, California, that plays in the Western Conference of the USL Championship, the second level in US soccer. Co-founded by Warren Smith and Joe Wagoner in 2012, th ...

on a short-term loan on July 29, 2022.

References

External links

Josh Bauer – 2019 – Men's Soccer
UNH bio
Josh Bauer
Birmingham Legion bio {{DEFAULTSORT:Bauer, Josh 1998 births All-American college men's soccer players American men's soccer players Men's association football defenders Atlanta United FC draft picks Atlanta United FC players Atlanta United 2 players Birmingham Legion FC players Boston Bolts (USL) players Living people Nashville SC players New Hampshire Wildcats men's soccer players People from Bedford, New Hampshire Sacramento Republic FC players Seacoast United Phantoms players Seattle Sounders FC U-23 players Soccer players from New Hampshire USL Championship players USL League Two players MLS Next Pro players