Aidan Charles O'Connor (born October 7, 2001) is an American

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

player who plays for

Canadian Premier League The Canadian Premier League (CPL or CanPL; ) is a professional Association football, soccer league in Canada and the highest level of the Canadian soccer league system. The league comprises eight teams, from five of provinces and territories of ...

club

Vancouver FC Vancouver Football Club is a Canadian professional Association football, soccer club that competes in the Canadian Premier League, the top tier of the Canadian soccer league system. The club is based in Langley, British Columbia (district muni ...

, on loan from

MLS Next Pro MLS Next Pro (MLSNP) is a men's professional association football, soccer league in the United States and Canada that is affiliated with Major League Soccer (MLS). It launched in 2022 with 21 teams and now comprises 27 reserve sides of MLS clu ...

club

New York Red Bulls II New York Red Bulls II is an American professional Association football, 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. Hi ...

Early life

Born in

Grand Rapids, Michigan Grand Rapids is the largest city and county seat of Kent County, Michigan, United States. With a population of 198,917 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and estimated at 200,117 in 2024, Grand Rapids is the List of municipalities ...

, O'Connor played youth soccer with the West Michigan Fire. O'Connor attended Forest Hills Northern High School, where he played for the boys soccer team, winning the state title in 2019 and named an All-American in 2018 and 2019. In 2019, he earned Michigan's Mr. Soccer honors, and was named the Michigan Gatorade Player of the Year in both 2018-19 and 2019-20 seasons.

College career

In 2020, O'Connor began attending

Western Michigan University Western Michigan University (Western Michigan, Western or WMU) is a Public university, public research university in Kalamazoo, Michigan, United States. It was initially established as Western State Normal School in 1903 by Governor Aaron T. B ...

, where he played for the men's soccer team. On August 26, 2021, he scored his first collegiate goal in a match against the

Virginia Cavaliers The Virginia Cavaliers, also known as Wahoos or Hoos, are the athletic teams representing the University of Virginia, located in Charlottesville. The Cavaliers compete at the NCAA Division I level ( FBS for football), in the Atlantic Coast C ...

. At the end of the 2021 season, he was named to the

MAC Mac or MAC may refer to: Common meanings * Mac (computer), a line of personal computers made by Apple Inc. * Mackintosh, a raincoat made of rubberized cloth * Mac, a prefix to surnames derived from Gaelic languages * McIntosh (apple), a Canadi ...

All-Academic Team. In 2022, he transferred to the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson and contains his The Lawn, Academical Village, a World H ...

to play for the men's soccer team for his junior season. On September 13, 2022, he scored his first goal for Virginia in a victory over the

La Salle Explorers The La Salle Explorers are the varsity sports teams from La Salle University in Philadelphia. The Explorers compete in NCAA Division I as members of the Atlantic 10 Conference. The men's and women's basketball teams also participate in the Phi ...

. After the 2022 season, he was named to the Virginia All-State Second Team and the All-ACC Academic Team. On October 31, 2023, he was named the ACC Defensive Player of the Week. At the end of the 2023 season, he was named to the Academic All-District Team and the ACC All-Academic Team.

Club career

At the 2024 MLS SuperDraft, O'Connor was selected in the first round (12th overall) by the

New York Red Bulls The New York Red Bulls are an American professional association football, 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 (MLS), Eastern Conferenc ...

. In January 2024, he signed a one-year contract with the club with options for 2025, 2026, and 2027. O'Connor was sent on loan to

side

during the 2024 season. On March 17, 2024, O'Connor made his professional debut, appearing as a starter in a 2-0 victory for

over

Columbus Crew 2 Columbus Crew 2 is a professional soccer team based in Columbus, Ohio that competes in the MLS Next Pro league, the third division of American soccer. The team is owned by, and operates as the reserve team of the Major League Soccer club Colum ...

. On June 1, 2024, O'Connor made his first team and

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional Association football, soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanc ...

debut, in a 1-0 victory over

Orlando City SC Orlando City Soccer Club is an American professional soccer club based in Orlando, Florida. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. Owned by Zygi, Leonard, and Mark Wilf, it is the sister club of ...

. In January 2025, he signed a one-year contract with

. At the end of April 2025, he was loaned to

club

Career statistics

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:OConnor, Aidan Living people 2001 births Men's association football defenders Soccer players from Michigan Western Michigan Broncos men's soccer players Virginia Cavaliers men's soccer players New York Red Bulls draft picks New York Red Bulls players New York Red Bulls II players MLS Next Pro players Major League Soccer players 21st-century American sportsmen Sportspeople from Grand Rapids, Michigan Vancouver FC players