Kalen Ryden (born April 12, 1991) is an American

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 currently plays for

New Mexico United New Mexico United is an American professional soccer team based in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Founded in 2018, the team currently plays in the USL Championship, the second division of American soccer. History Former teams The state of New Mexic ...

in the

USL Championship The USL Championship (USLC) is a professional men's soccer league in the United States that began its inaugural season in 2011. The USL is sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation (U.S. Soccer) as a Division II league since 2017, pl ...

Career

College and Amateur

Ryden began his college career at

Oral Roberts University Oral Roberts University (ORU) is a private evangelical university in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Founded in 1963, the university is named after its founder, evangelist Oral Roberts. Sitting on a campus, ORU offers over 70 undergraduate degree programs ...

where he played from 2009 to 2010. In his two seasons with the Golden Eagles, he made 35 appearances and tallied three goals and two assists. After the 2010 season, he left the Golden Eagles soccer program due to injury. However, he remained a student at Oral Roberts during the school year. In 2012, Ryden transferred to

Midwestern State University Midwestern State University (MSU Texas) is a public liberal arts university in Wichita Falls, Texas. In 2020 it had 5,141 undergraduate students. It is the state's only public institution focused on the liberal arts. History Founded in 1922 as ...

and redshirted his first season there due to transfer rules. During his time with the Mustangs, he made 28 appearances and tallied one goal and two assists. Ryden also played in the

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

for

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 ...

, Midland-Odessa Sockers and

Austin Aztex The Austin Aztex were a soccer team based in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 2011 as a member of the Premier Development League, the team played the 2015 season in the United Soccer League, the second tier of the United States soccer pyr ...

Professional

On January 20, 2015, Ryden was selected in the fourth round (69th overall) of the

2015 MLS SuperDraft The 2015 MLS SuperDraft was the sixteenth SuperDraft conducted by Major League Soccer. The SuperDraft is held each year in conjunction with the annual National Soccer Coaches Association of America convention. The 2015 convention was held Januar ...

Columbus Crew SC The Columbus Crew, formerly known as Columbus Crew SC, is an Soccer in the United States, American professional soccer club based in Columbus, Ohio. The Crew competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference ( ...

. He signed a professional contract with the club on March 2. On March 26, Ryden re-joined the Aztex, who moved up to the

USL The USL Championship (USLC) is a professional men's soccer league in the United States that began its inaugural season in 2011. The USL is sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation (U.S. Soccer) as a Division II league since 2017, p ...

. Columbus sent him on loan to the club as part of the affiliation agreement. He made his professional debut three days later in a 2–0 victory over

Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC is a professional soccer team based in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Founded in 2014, the team is a member of the USL Championship, the second tier of the United States soccer league system, American soccer pyramid. T ...

. On August 6, Ryden was waived by Crew SC. Ryden signed with USL side

Oklahoma City Energy Oklahoma City Energy Football Club is an American professional soccer club based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The club is a member of the USL Championship, the second division of the American soccer league system. History Oklahoma City businessma ...

on August 27, 2015. On January 20, 2017, Ryden signed with NASL side

Jacksonville Armada Jacksonville Armada FC is an American professional soccer team based in Jacksonville, Florida. They most recently played in the National Premier Soccer League (NPSL), the fourth tier of the American soccer pyramid, during the 2018 season while ...

. After two seasons in the

with

Real Monarchs Real Monarchs is a professional soccer club playing in the MLS Next Pro, a third division league of American soccer. The team is owned by, and operates as the reserve team of, the Major League Soccer club Real Salt Lake. While the senior club is ...

, Ryden moved to USL side

ahead of their 2020 season.

Career statistics

References

External links

*
Midwestern State Mustangs bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ryden, Kalen 1991 births Living people American men's soccer players Men's association football defenders Austin Aztex players Columbus Crew draft picks Columbus Crew players Des Moines Menace players Jacksonville Armada FC players West Texas FC players Midwestern State Mustangs men's soccer players New Mexico United players North American Soccer League (2011–2017) players OKC Energy FC players Soccer players from Oklahoma Sportspeople from Norman, Oklahoma USL Championship players USL League Two players