Olakunle "Kay" Banjo (born December 3, 1992) 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

Maryland Bobcats FC Maryland Bobcats FC, formerly World Class Premier Elite (WCPE), are an American soccer team and academy based in Montgomery County, Maryland, which was founded in 2016. The organization's professional team competes within the National Independent ...

Career

Youth and college

Banjo played four years of college soccer, three year at Towson University, before moving to University of Maryland, Baltimore County in 2014. Banjo finished his degree at Towson after the university's soccer program was dissolved and enrolled at UMBC as a graduate student. In 2013, Banjo scored two goals for the Screaming Eagles of the Maryland International Soccer League as the team defeated the Maryland Bays 4–2 in the Rowland Cup final, Maryland's qualifying tournament for the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. The victory put the club within two wins of the tournament proper. The team defeated the

Aegean Hawks Aegean Hawks FC is an American amateur soccer team based in Arlington, Virginia, United States. Founded in 1996, the team plays in Region I of the United States Adult Soccer Association, a network of amateur leagues at the fifth tier of the Ameri ...

1–0 in the next round to put them within one win of the tournament. However, the Screaming Eagles were determined to have fielded multiple players who were not cleared by the USSF and the victory was given to the Hawks prior to the semi-final match.

Professional

On January 15, 2015, Banjo was selected 38th overall in 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 ...

by Vancouver Whitecaps FC. However, he was not signed by the club. Banjo signed his first professional contract on November 23, 2016, joining United Soccer League side Pittsburgh Riverhounds ahead of their 2017 season. He made his first professional career start on April 13, 2017, against Saint Louis FC. He scored his first career goal in the fifth minute of the match, an eventual 1–2 defeat. On February 1, 2021, Banjo became the first professional signing by

, having previously played for the club at the amateur level in the United Premier Soccer League.

Personal

Banjo is a dual citizen of the United States and Nigeria.

References

External links

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NISA player profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Banjo, Kay 1992 births Living people American soccer players of Nigerian descent American people of Yoruba descent American men's soccer players Men's association football forwards Sportspeople from Upper Marlboro, Maryland Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC players Maryland Bobcats FC players Soccer players from Maryland Towson Tigers men's soccer players UMBC Retrievers men's soccer players USL Championship players United Premier Soccer League players National Independent Soccer Association players Vancouver Whitecaps FC draft picks Yoruba sportspeople 21st-century American sportsmen