Michael Knapp (born January 30, 2000) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a

midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

Club career

Born in

Bloomfield, New Jersey Bloomfield is a township in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, the township's population was 53,105. It surrounds the Bloomfield Green Historic District. History The initial patent for the land that w ...

, Knapp played prep soccer at Bloomfield High School and began his career with the

Cedar Stars Academy Cedar Stars Rush are an American soccer club competing in the USL League Two. They are owned by Cedar Stars Academy which has numerous branches in the Tri-State area with the two primary locations being in Bergen County, NJ (Boys U8–U19/Girls ...

before joining the youth academy at the

New York Red Bulls The New York Red Bulls are an American professional soccer club based in the New York metropolitan area. The Red Bulls compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The club was established in October 1994 and be ...

in 2017. On July 15, 2018, Knapp played in one match for the

New York Red Bulls U-23 The New York Red Bulls U-23 is an American soccer team based in Harrison, New Jersey. Founded in 2009, the team plays in USL League Two, a national amateur league at the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid. It is part of the official Dev ...

in the Premier Development League against the

Ocean City Nor'easters Ocean City Nor'easters is an American soccer team based in Ocean City, New Jersey. Founded in 1996, the team currently plays in USL League Two, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid. The team plays their home games at Carey Stadium wh ...

, coming on as a late substitute during the 1–2 defeat. In the fall of 2018, Knapp began attending

Montclair State University Montclair State University (MSU) is a public research university in Montclair, New Jersey, with parts of the campus extending into Little Falls. As of fall 2018, Montclair State was, by enrollment, the second largest public university in New ...

and playing

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 K ...

for the Montclair Red Hawks. He made his collegiate debut on August 31, 2018 against

SUNY Oneonta The State University of New York College at Oneonta, also known as SUNY Oneonta, is a public college in Oneonta, New York. It is part of the State University of New York (SUNY) system. History SUNY Oneonta was established in 1889 as the Oneon ...

. He ended his first season starting in all 17 matches for the Red Hawks and earning the

New Jersey Athletic Conference The New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC), formerly the New Jersey State Athletic Conference, is a college athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA's Division III. All of its full members are public universities in New Jersey. Affiliate membe ...

Rookie of the Year award. During Knapp's sophomore season, he scored his first Red Hawks goal on August 31, 2019 against the St. Joseph's-Brooklyn Bears and scored a goal each in two conference matches against the William Paterson Pioneers and

TCNJ Lions The TCNJ Lions are the athletic teams representing The College of New Jersey (TCNJ). They are a member of the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) and compete within Division III of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Overvie ...

. He played in 18 matches that season, scoring the 3 goals, and earned the NJAC Midfielder of the Year award.

New York Red Bulls II

On November 13, 2020, Knapp signed with

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 syst ...

club Morris Elite, however, on April 23, 2021, it was announced that Knapp had signed with

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, p ...

side

New York Red Bulls II New York Red Bulls II is an American professional soccer team based in Montclair, New Jersey. They are the reserve team of the New York Red Bulls and play in MLS Next Pro, the third tier in the American soccer pyramid. History Red Bull New Yor ...

, the reserve side of the

. He made his professional debut for the club on April 30 against

Hartford Athletic Hartford Athletic is an American professional soccer team based in Hartford, Connecticut. The club was founded in 2018 and started play in the USL Championship in 2019. It is the only pro soccer team in Connecticut. History On June 8, 2021, Ha ...

, starting in a 2–3 defeat.

Austin FC

On January 11, 2022, Knapp was drafted by

MLS 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 ...

side

Austin FC Austin FC is an American professional soccer club based in Austin, Texas. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. Founded in 2018, the club began play in the 2021 season. Their home stadium is Q2 ...

Rio Grande Valley FC Toros

Knapp joined Rio Grande Valley FC of

on January 26, 2023.

Career statistics

Honors

Individual *2018 NJAC Rookie of the Year *2019 NJAC Midfielder of the Year

References

External links

Profile
at

{{DEFAULTSORT:Knapp, Michael 2000 births Living people Men's association football midfielders Bloomfield High School (New Jersey) alumni Sportspeople from Bloomfield, New Jersey Soccer players from Essex County, New Jersey New York Red Bulls U-23 players FC Motown players Morris Elite SC players New York Red Bulls II players Rio Grande Valley FC Toros players National Premier Soccer League players USL League Two players USL Championship players American men's soccer players Austin FC draft picks