Ryan Tinsley (born October 1, 1971) is a retired 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 ...

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 ...

who played professionally in the

Continental Indoor Soccer League The Continental Indoor Soccer League (CISL) was a professional indoor soccer league that played from 1993 to 1997. History In the summer of 1989 Dr Jerry Buss, the owner of the Los Angeles Lakers and California Sports, told his executive Vice Pre ...

and

Major League Soccer 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 ...

Youth

Tinsley graduated from

El Toro High School El Toro High School is a public high school in Lake Forest, California, United States. It is one of five high schools in the Saddleback Valley Unified School District (SVUSD) and serves Lake Forest and its district of Portola Hills and a small po ...

in 1989. He began his college career at

Irvine Valley College Irvine Valley College (also known as IVC or Irvine Valley) is a public community college in Irvine, California. It is part of the California Community Colleges System. The college inherited its name from the Irvine family and the Irvine Compa ...

where he was a 1990 All-Orange Empire Conference player. In July 1991, he transferred to

UC Irvine UC may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''University Challenge'', a popular British quiz programme airing on BBC Two ** '' University Challenge (New Zealand)'', the New Zealand version of the British programme * Universal Century, one of the ti ...

where he played one season. In 1992, he transferred to

Fresno State California State University, Fresno (Fresno State) is a public university in Fresno, California. It is one of 23 campuses in the California State University system. The university had a fall 2020 enrollment of 25,341 students. It offers bachelo ...

where he finished his college soccer career.

Professional

In 1994, Tinsley played for the amateur Orange County Precise in the Pacific Soccer League. On July 24, 1994, he signed with the

San Diego Sockers San Diego Sockers may refer to: *San Diego Sockers (1978–1996), a soccer team in the North American Soccer League *San Diego Sockers (2001–2004), a soccer team in the World Indoor Soccer League and second Major Indoor Soccer League *San Diego S ...

of the

. In 1995, he played for the amateur Newport Beach Riptide of the Pacific Soccer League, winning the league title in April. In June 1995, the Sockers transferred Tinsley to

FC Saarbrücken FC may refer to: Businesses, organisations, and schools * Fergusson College, a science and arts college in Pune, India * Finncomm Airlines (IATA code) * FranklinCovey company, NYSE stock symbol FC * Frontier Corps, a paramilitary force in Pakis ...

He spent the 1995–1996 season in Germany. On July 12, 1996, the Sockers selected Tinsley with the first pick in the 1996 CISL Supplemental Draft. On February 2, 1997, the

Kansas City Wizards Sporting Kansas City, often shortened to Sporting KC, is an American men's professional soccer club based in the Kansas City metropolitan area. The administrative offices are located in Downtown Kansas City, Missouri, and the team clubhouse and ...

selected Tinsley in the first round (seventh overall) of the

1997 MLS Supplemental Draft The 1997 Major League Soccer Supplemental Draft was held in Fort Lauderdale, Florida on February 2, 1997. Round 1 Round 1 trades Round 2 Round 2 trades Round 3 Round 3 trades References {{DEFAULTSORT:1997 Mls Supplemental Draft ...

. He played two seasons in Kansas City where he was in the top four players both seasons as far as games and minutes played. He injured his knee during the 1999 pre-season and did not play a game before the Wizards traded him to the Chicago Fire in exchange for Jesse Van Saun and a first-round pick in the

2000 MLS SuperDraft The 2000 Major League Soccer SuperDraft was held on February 6, 2000 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and consisted of six rounds. One of the most successful draft picks was goalkeeper Nick Rimando, a third round pick, who went on to hold the record ...

. He played three games for the Fire, then was traded to the San Jose Clash on June 30, 1999 in exchange for the fourth selection in the

, which Chicago used to draft future U.S. national team captain

Carlos Bocanegra Carlos Manuel Bocanegra (born May 25, 1979) is an American sports executive and former professional soccer player. A two-time MLS Defender of the Year, Bocanegra also played professionally in England, Scotland, France, and Spain. He earned over 1 ...

."TRANSACTIONS" ''Times, The (Trenton, New Jersey)'' Wednesday, June 30, 1999 He finished the 1999 season in San Jose, then became a regular during the 2000 season before retiring in October 2000.

References

External links

San Jose Earthquakes player profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tinsley, Ryan 1971 births Living people American men's soccer players Chicago Fire FC players Continental Indoor Soccer League players Fresno State Bulldogs men's soccer players Sporting Kansas City players Major League Soccer players San Diego Sockers (1978–1996) indoor players San Jose Earthquakes players UC Irvine Anteaters men's soccer players Sporting Kansas City draft picks Men's association football midfielders Soccer players from Orange County, California Sportspeople from Lake Forest, California American expatriate soccer players in Germany 1. FC Saarbrücken players