Kellen Gulley (born April 6, 1994) is a former 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 played for the Chicago Fire and

Atlanta Silverbacks The Atlanta Silverbacks FC were an American professional soccer club based in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 1998 as Atlanta Ruckus, the club played in many leagues over the years before folding after the 2015 season. The team played its home game ...

Youth career

Gulley was part of Chicago Fire's youth system from 2009 to 2012. In his three years with Mississippi Fire Juniors, he played in three consecutive SUM/Generation adidas Cups and also trained with the club's first team, PDL and Super-20 sides during the 2010 season. Gulley was also a member of U.S. Soccer's residency program during his time in Mississippi. Gulley also spent time with the Chicago Fire U18 during their 2011-12 campaign where he made 23 appearances and tallied six goals.

Club career

Chicago Fire

On August 11, 2011, it was announced that Gulley signed a homegrown contract with Chicago Fire. Making him the second homegrown signing in club history. He wasn't eligible to make an MLS appearance the club until 2012. He did make a few appearances for the reserve squad in 2011 and 2012 and also made an appearance for the first team on September 14, 2011 in an international friendly match against Mexican powerhouse

Chivas de Guadalajara Club Deportivo Guadalajara (); often simply known as Guadalajara () and their nickname ''Chivas'' (), is a Mexican professional football club based in Zapopan, Jalisco. Guadalajara is one of the ten founding members of the Mexican First Divisi ...

. He has not made an official first team appearance for the club.

Atlanta Silverbacks

On April 1, 2013, Gulley was sent on a season long loan to

North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League may refer to: *North American Soccer League (1968–1984), a former Division I league *North American Soccer League (2011–2017) The North American Soccer League (NASL) was a professional men's soccer league b ...

club

after training with them for a month. He made his professional debut for the club on May 21 in a 3-2 victory over

Georgia Revolution Georgia Revolution FC is an American soccer club based in McDonough, Georgia, United States. The team competes in the Southeast Conference of the National Premier Soccer League (NPSL), the fourth tier of the United States soccer league system. T ...

in the second round of the

Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, commonly known as the U.S. Open Cup (USOC), is a Single-elimination tournament, knockout cup competition in men's Soccer in the United States, soccer in the United States of America. It is the oldest ongoing nati ...

. His league debut came three days later in a 1-0 victory over

San Antonio Scorpions The San Antonio Scorpions were an American professional soccer team based in San Antonio, Texas. Founded in 2010, the team made its debut in the North American Soccer League in 2012. The Scorpions played at Toyota Field, a soccer specific stadiu ...

Return to Chicago Fire

On January 14, 2014 Chicago Fire announced Gulley was re-signed by the club. However, on February 20, 2014 Gulley was waived by Chicago Fire.

Return to Atlanta

On July 7, 2014 the

officially signed Gulley. He had spent the entire previous season with the Silverbacks on loan from the Chicago Fire. Ironically enough, the Silverbacks next match was a

U.S. Open Cup The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, commonly known as the U.S. Open Cup (USOC), is a Single-elimination tournament, knockout cup competition in men's Soccer in the United States, soccer in the United States of America. It is the oldest ongoing nati ...

Quarterfinal match against the Fire, in Atlanta.

Return home

On April 15, 2015 the

Mississippi Brilla Mississippi Brilla is an amateur American soccer club based in Clinton, Mississippi, United States. Founded in 2006, the team plays in USL League Two. The team's colors are sky blue, navy and white. Brilla is associated with Brilla Soccer Minis ...

announced the signing of Gulley along with his brother James Gulley. He played has first match for Brilla in an exhibition in a 1-0 win against the Birmingham Hammers on May 16, 2015.

International

Gulley was part of the U.S. Soccer residency program for three years. During his time with the residency program, he capped eight times for the United States U17 national team and scored four goals from 2009 to 2010.

Personal

Referee assault incident

On December 6, 2008, while playing high school soccer for Clinton High School, Gulley's brother was sent off for inappropriate behavior. At the conclusion of the match, Gulley's father, Jim Gulley, came onto the field and assaulted the referee.

2016 drug arrests

In January 2016, Gulley was arrested in Clinton, Mississippi for a shooting incident that occurred at his Clinton, Mississippi home. The January shooting stemmed from a "drug deal gone bad" where Gulley was believed to have opened fire, hitting a subject who was attempting to rob Gulley for illegal drugs, according to the Clinton Police Department. On August 1, 2016, The Clinton Police Department released information that Kellen has been arrested for possession of illegal narcotics with intent to distribute while in possession of a firearm. According to the press release from the police department "Gulley is believed to be a significant dealer of marijuana, powder cocaine, and codeine syrup in Clinton and other portions of the Jackson metro area." On November 3, 2017, Gulley was sentenced to four years in prison for possession of Marijuana with intent to sell.

2019 arrest

In 2019, Gulley was arrested in Madison, Mississippi for cocaine possession and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. On December 16, 2019, Gulley was sentenced to 10 years in prison. As of February 2021, Gulley is housed in the Issaquena County Correctional Facility in Mayersville, Mississippi.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gulley, Kellen 1994 births Living people American men's soccer players Chicago Fire FC players Atlanta Silverbacks FC players Men's association football forwards Soccer players from Mississippi North American Soccer League (2011–2017) players United States men's youth international soccer players Homegrown Players (MLS)