Michael Nanchoff (born September 23, 1988) is an American retired soccer player who is currently an assistant coach for the

Akron Zips men's soccer The Akron Zips men's soccer team is an intercollegiate varsity sports team of the University of Akron. The team is a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Mid-American Conference through the 2022 season, after which ...

team.

Career

College and Amateur

Before college, Nanchoff played for

Walsh Jesuit High School Walsh Jesuit High School is a private, Catholic, co-educational college preparatory high school located in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, approximately 30 miles south of Cleveland. Walsh Jesuit is reputed to be one of Ohio's leading college preparatory s ...

in Ohio where he won an OHSAA State Championship in 2006. He then spent four years at the

University of Akron The University of Akron is a public research university in Akron, Ohio. It is part of the University System of Ohio. As a STEM-focused institution, it focuses on industries such as polymers, advanced materials, and engineering. It is classifie ...

playing in three after redshirting the 2008 season. He skipped his final year of

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

eligibility to sign a lucrative

Generation Adidas Generation Adidas is a joint venture between Major League Soccer and U.S. Soccer aimed at raising the level of young professional soccer talent in the United States. The program, sponsored by Adidas, offers professional-ready players in the U. ...

contract after being named one of the top collegiate players by several sources. Nanchoff also played for the

Cleveland Internationals Cleveland Internationals was an American soccer team based in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. Founded in 2004, the team played in the USL Premier Development League (PDL), the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, in the Great Lakes Division ...

in the

USL Premier Development League 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 ...

Professional

Nanchoff was drafted in the first round (8th overall) in the

2011 MLS SuperDraft The 2011 MLS SuperDraft was the twelfth annual SuperDraft presented by Major League Soccer. It was held on January 13, 2011 in Baltimore, Maryland, during the 2011 NSCAA Convention at the Baltimore Convention Center. The 2011 SuperDraft consiste ...

, thereby helping

Akron Akron () is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Summit County. It is located on the western edge of the Glaciated Allegheny Plateau, about south of downtown Cleveland. As of the 2020 Census, the city ...

set a record for the most players drafted in the first round and the most players drafted overall from one school in an MLS SuperDraft. After missing the first several months of the season with an injury, he made his professional debut on June 4, 2011, as a late substitute in a 2–0 loss to

Real Salt Lake Real Salt Lake, often shortened to RSL, is an American professional soccer franchise based in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area. The club competes as a member club of Major League Soccer (MLS) in the Western Conference. RSL began play in 2 ...

. Nanchoff was not retained by the Whitecaps following the 2012 season. On February 13, 2013, his rights were traded to Portland Timbers in exchange for a fourth-round

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 Janua ...

pick. on July 9, 2013 Nanchoff was loaned to Swedish club Jönköpings Södra until November 27, 2013. After splitting 2015 between the Portland Timbers first team and

Portland Timbers 2 Portland Timbers 2 is an American professional soccer team based in Portland, Oregon. The team, often referred to as "T2", serves as the reserve squad for the Portland Timbers of Major League Soccer (MLS). The team was a member of the USL Champio ...

, Nanchoff signed a one-year contract with an option for 2017 with the

Tampa Bay Rowdies The Tampa Bay Rowdies are an American professional soccer team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The club was founded in 2008 and first took the pitch in 2010. Since 2017, the Rowdies have been members of the USL Championship in the second tie ...

on January 8, 2016. Nanchoff announced his retirement from professional soccer on February 28, 2019. Nanchoff joined the coaching staff at the

the same day.

Personal

Both his father,

George Nanchoff George Nanchoff (born 1954 in Resen, Yugoslavia ( SR Macedonia)) is a retired Yugoslavian-American soccer player. He spent three seasons in the North American Soccer League and seven seasons in the Major Indoor Soccer League. He also earned t ...

, and his uncle, Louis Nanchoff, played for

and later in the NASL. Both collected ten

caps Caps are flat headgear. Caps or CAPS may also refer to: Science and technology Computing * CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters * Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Ja ...

and scored a goal for the US national team.

Honors

;University of Akron *

NCAA Men's Division I Soccer Championship The NCAA Division I men's soccer tournament, sometimes known as the College Cup, is an American intercollegiate soccer tournament conducted by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), and determines the Division I men's national champi ...

(1): 2010 ;Portland Timbers *

MLS Cup The MLS Cup is the annual championship game of Major League Soccer (MLS) and the culmination of the MLS Cup Playoffs. The game is held in November and pits the winner of the Eastern Conference Final against the winner of the Western Conferen ...

: 2015 * Western Conference (playoffs): 2015 * Western Conference (regular season): 2013

References

External links

*
Portland Timbers bio

Akron Zips bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nanchoff, Michael 1988 births Living people American soccer players American expatriate soccer players Soccer players from Ohio Sportspeople from Cuyahoga County, Ohio Akron Zips men's soccer players Cleveland Internationals players Vancouver Whitecaps FC players Vancouver Whitecaps FC U-23 players Portland Timbers players Jönköpings Södra IF players Portland Timbers 2 players Tampa Bay Rowdies players USL League Two players Major League Soccer players Superettan players USL Championship players North American Soccer League players American people of Macedonian descent Expatriate soccer players in Canada Expatriate footballers in Sweden Vancouver Whitecaps FC draft picks People from North Royalton, Ohio Association football wingers Akron Zips men's soccer coaches American soccer coaches