Sean Akira Davis (born February 8, 1993) is an 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 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 ...

for

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 ...

club

Nashville SC Nashville Soccer Club is a Major League Soccer team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The team began play in the league in 2020 as a continuation of the USL club of the same name and plays its home matches at Geodis Park. It is principally owned ...

Early life

Born in Long Branch,

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

, Davis grew up in Holmdel Township with his parents Lynn Yamada Davis, who would later become a

celebrity chef A celebrity chef is a kitchen chef who has become a celebrity. Today, chefs often become celebrities by presenting cookery advice and demonstrations, usually through the media of television and radio, or in printed publications. While television ...

TikTok TikTok, known in China as Douyin (), is a short-form video hosting service owned by the Chinese company ByteDance. It hosts user-submitted videos, which can range in duration from 15 seconds to 10 minutes. TikTok is an international version ...

and

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

, and Keith Davis.

Youth

Davis was a member of several youth clubs growing up, including the Holmdel Bulldogs, the NJSA 04 Academy, the Match Fit Academy, and 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 ...

academics program.

Early career

College

Davis was a two-time captain at

Duke University Duke University is a private research university in Durham, North Carolina. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco and electric power industrialist James ...

, where he made a total of 65 appearances for the Blue Devils. He led the

Atlantic Coast Conference The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate athletic conference located in the eastern United States. Headquartered in Greensboro, North Carolina, the ACC's fifteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Associa ...

in assists his senior year. Davis was a three-time All-ACC selection, a three-time member of the All-ACC Academic Team, the 2014 ACC Midfielder of the Year, a CoSIDA Academic All-America First Team selection, and a Lowe's Senior Class First Team honoree. He also played in the

Premier Development League USL League Two (USL2), formerly the Premier Development League (PDL), is a semi-professional developmental association football, soccer league sponsored by United Soccer Leagues in the United States and Canada, forming part of the United Stat ...

for

Carolina Dynamo North Carolina Fusion U-23, formerly known as Carolina Dynamo, is an American soccer team based in Greensboro, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 1993, the team plays in USL League Two, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid. The ...

in 2013. During the 2014 summer season, Davis played 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

National Premier Soccer League The National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) is an American men's association football, soccer league. The NPSL is a semi-professional league, comprising some teams that have paid players and some that are entirely amateur. The league is officially ...

. He helped the team capture the 2014 NPSL title appearing as a starter in the league final, where he registered the game winning assist.

Club career

New York Red Bulls

On December 11, 2014, Davis signed a homegrown contract with the

, making him the ninth homegrown signing in club history.

2015

On April 4, 2015, he made his professional debut for

USL 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 ...

affiliate club

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 Yo ...

, helping the team secure its first ever victory with a 4–1 win over

Toronto FC II Toronto FC II is a Canadian professional soccer team based in Toronto, Ontario, who play in MLS Next Pro, a third tier league of the United States soccer league system. It is the reserve team and minor league affiliate of Toronto FC as well as i ...

. Davis assisted the first ever goal scored for the New York Red Bulls II, with a wonderful cross to

Anatole Abang Anatole Bertrand Abang (born 6 July 1996) is a Cameroonian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Al Bataeh Club. Early life Abang was born in Yaoundé, and started his career with local side AS Fortuna de Yaounde. His rights wer ...

. On April 17, 2015, Davis made his MLS debut in a 2–0 victory over the

San Jose Earthquakes The San Jose Earthquakes are an American professional soccer team based in San Jose, California. The Earthquakes compete as a member club of the Western Conference of Major League Soccer (MLS). Originally as the San Jose Clash, the franchise ...

, coming on as a substitute in the 86th minute for

Sacha Kljestan Sacha Bryan Kljestan (; born September 9, 1985) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a midfielder for Major League Soccer club LA Galaxy. Youth and college Kljestan was raised in Huntington Beach, California, and played for th ...

. Shortly after his debut, Davis received his first start on May 2, 2015, in a 2–1 loss to the

New England Revolution The New England Revolution is an American professional soccer club based in the Greater Boston area that competes in Major League Soccer (MLS), in the Eastern Conference of the league. It is one of the ten charter clubs of MLS, having compet ...

. Davis scored his first professional goal against the

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 ...

in the

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 ...

. He received Man of the Match honors for his efforts. On July 23, 2015, Davis led New York to a 4–2 victory over Premier League Champions

Chelsea F.C. Chelsea Football Club is an English professional football club based in Fulham, West London. Founded in 1905, they play their home games at Stamford Bridge. The club competes in the Premier League, the top division of English football. Th ...

in a

2015 International Champions Cup The 2015 International Champions Cup (or ICC) was a series of friendly association football tournaments. It was the first tournament played separately in Australia, China and the United States. The Australian edition of the tournament featured ...

match, scoring two goals in the victory. On July 28, 2015, Davis started and played 45 minutes in the 2015 Chipotle Homegrown Game at

Dick's Sporting Goods Park Dick's Sporting Goods Park, also known as DSG Park, is a soccer-specific stadium located in Commerce City, Colorado that is home to the Colorado Rapids men's professional soccer team. The stadium seats up to 18,061 people for soccer matches, bu ...

. The team was coached by

Landon Donovan Landon Timothy Donovan (born March 4, 1982) is an American former professional soccer player. Donovan is also the co-founder and vice-president of soccer operations for USL Championship side San Diego Loyal SC, and serves as strategic advisor fo ...

. Davis' contributions off the bench during the 2015 season helped lead New York to their second

Supporters' Shield The Supporters' Shield is an annual award given to the Major League Soccer team with the best regular season record, as determined by the MLS points system. The Supporters' Shield has been annually awarded at the MLS Supporters' Summit since 19 ...

in two years.

2016

On August 12, 2016, Davis scored his first MLS goal in a 2–2 draw against the

LA Galaxy LA Galaxy, also known as the Los Angeles Galaxy, are an American professional soccer club based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Galaxy competes in Major League Soccer (MLS), as a member of the Western Conference. The club began pl ...

. A week later, on August 13, Davis scored his second goal of the season and assisted on two others in a 3–1 victory over Montreal Impact. Davis was later named to the MLS Team of the Week for his performance. In the league's annual ''24 Under 24'' series, Davis was ranked as the 22nd best player under the age of 24 in the league; drawing praise from pundits about his intelligence and ability to read the game. Davis played every minute of the group stage as the New York Red Bulls qualified for the

CONCACAF Champions League The CONCACAF Champions League, known officially as the Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League for sponsorship reasons, is an annual continental club football competition organized by CONCACAF. The tournament is contested by clubs from North Ameri ...

quarter finals for the first time in club history.

2017

On July 19, 2017, Davis opened the scoring for New York in a 5–1 victory over

. On August 12, Davis recorded a goal and an assist in a 3–1 victory over

Orlando City SC Orlando City SC is an American professional soccer club in Orlando, Florida, that competes as a member of the Eastern Conference in Major League Soccer (MLS). Orlando City SC began play in 2015 as the 21st franchise in MLS, succeeding the USL ...

. In 2017, Davis appeared in a career high 30 MLS matches, including 23 starts.

2018

On March 1, 2018, Davis scored the second goal of the match for New York in a 2–0 victory over Olimpia in the CONCACAF Champions League. With the victory New York advanced to the Champions League Quarterfinals for the first time in club history. On March 6, 2018, Davis started and played 90 minutes for New York in a 2–0 victory over

Club Tijuana Club Tijuana Xoloitzcuintles de Caliente, commonly known as Tijuana, or simply as '' Xolos'', is a Mexican professional football club based in Tijuana. The club's badge is the founder's (Jorge Hank) hairless xoloitzcuintle, Hermoso. Founded ...

in the CONCACAF Champions League Quarter Finals. The

made history that night, becoming the first

side to defeat a

Liga MX The Liga MX, officially known as the Liga BBVA MX for sponsorship reasons, is the top professional football division in Mexico, holding 2 tournaments per year. The league is considered the strongest in North America, and among the strongest in a ...

team away in the knockout round of CONCACAF Champions League.

2019

On February 27, 2019, Davis scored his first goal of the season in 3–0 victory over

Atlético Pantoja Club Atlético Pantoja is a professional football team based in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Founded in 1999, the team is currently playing in the Liga Dominicana de Fútbol, the top division of Dominican football. History Club Atlétic ...

in the

2019 CONCACAF Champions League The 2019 CONCACAF Champions League (officially the 2019 Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League) was the 11th edition of the CONCACAF Champions League under its current name, and overall the 54th edition of the premier football club competition orga ...

2020

On February 27, 2020, Davis was named captain of the club, the first homegrown player to do so. On August 20, Davis recorded his 100th MLS regular season start in a 1–0 win against NYCFC. He became the club's first homegrown player to ever reach this milestone.

2021

On October 2, 2021, Davis made his 200th appearance for the New York Red Bulls. He was only the third player in club history to reach this milestone, and the first ever homegrown player. By season's end, he also became the first midfielder in franchise history to play every minute of an

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 ...

regular season. Davis led the team to their second straight playoff since becoming captain in the season prior.

Nashville SC

On January 4, 2022, Davis signed with Nashville SC on a three-year deal as a free agent.

International career

Davis was a member of the U.S. under-17 residency program from 2008 to 2009.

Career statistics

Honors

New York Red Bulls *

MLS Supporters' Shield The Supporters' Shield is an annual award given to the Major League Soccer team with the best regular season record, as determined by the MLS points system. The Supporters' Shield has been annually awarded at the MLS Supporters' Summit since 1 ...

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

New York Red Bulls II *

USL Cup The USL Championship Final is the post-season championship match of the USL Championship, the second tier of professional men's soccer in the United States. The winner is crowned champion in the same manner as in other North American sports lea ...

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

References

External links

*
Duke University bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Davis, Sean 1993 births Living people American men's soccer players Duke Blue Devils men's soccer players North Carolina Fusion U23 players New York Red Bulls U-23 players New York Red Bulls players New York Red Bulls II players Men's association football midfielders Holmdel High School alumni Homegrown Players (MLS) USL League Two players Major League Soccer players United States men's youth international soccer players People from Holmdel Township, New Jersey Sportspeople from Long Branch, New Jersey Soccer players from Monmouth County, New Jersey USL Championship players American sportspeople of Japanese descent Nashville SC players