Diego Gutierrez (born January 5, 1999) is an American professional

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 as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People *Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Smal ...

for

USL Championship The USL Championship (USLC) is a men's professional association football, soccer league in the second tier of the United States soccer league system#Men's leagues, United States league system. It is organized by the United Soccer League (USL) a ...

club

Monterey Bay FC Monterey Bay Football Club is an American professional soccer team based in Monterey County, California. The club was established on February 21, 2021, and is a member of the USL Championship, the second tier of the American soccer league syst ...

Early life

Gutierrez grew up in

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the List of cities in Nebraska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is located in the Midwestern United States along the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's List of United S ...

. In his youth, he played in the local Latino Sunday league in Omaha. He also played youth soccer with Elite Academy. Gutierrez played high school soccer at

Ralston High School Ralston High School (RHS) is located in Ralston, a suburb of Omaha, Nebraska, United States. The school, a part of Ralston Public Schools, opened in 1954 as a building for grades 7–12, located at 82nd and Lakeview Drive. It relocated to its cu ...

, finishing his time there as the state's all-time leading goal scorer with 112 goals as well as tallying 43 assists. He was a four-time All-State selection and also earned All-Nebraska First Team honors.

College career

In 2017, Gutierrez began attending the

University of Nebraska Omaha The University of Nebraska Omaha (UNO) is a public research university in Omaha, Nebraska, United States. Founded in 1908 by faculty from the Omaha Presbyterian Theological Seminary as a private non-sectarian college, the university was origin ...

, where he played for the men's soccer team. On October 14, 2017, he scored his first collegiate goal, in a match against the

Michigan Wolverines The Michigan Wolverines comprise 29 varsity sports teams at the University of Michigan. These teams compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA's NCAA Division I, Division I and in the Big Ten Conference in all sports except wo ...

. At the end of his freshman season, he was named to the

Summit League The Summit League, or The Summit, is an NCAA Division I intercollegiate athletic conference with its membership mostly located in the Midwestern United States, from Minnesota in the east, to the Dakotas, Nebraska and Colorado to the West, and Mis ...

All-Newcomer Team and the All-Tournament Team. In his sophomore season, he scored braces in two matches against the

Purdue Fort Wayne Mastodons The Purdue Fort Wayne Mastodons, formerly known as the IPFW Mastodons and Fort Wayne Mastodons, are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Purdue University Fort Wayne (PFW). The school's athletic program includes 16 varsity sports ...

on September 29 and the

Western Illinois Leathernecks The Western Illinois Leathernecks are the teams and athletes that represent Western Illinois University, located in Macomb, Illinois, in NCAA Division I sports. The school is a member of the Ohio Valley Conference. Its football team is a member ...

on October 13, earning Summit League Offensive Player of the Week for both performances. At the end of the season, he was named to the All-Summit League First Team. In his junior season, he helped them reach the Summit League final, where they were defeated by the

Denver Pioneers The Denver Pioneers are the sports teams of the University of Denver (DU). They play in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I, and have amassed 35 NCAA titles as of 2024, which is in the top 15 among all schools (24 in S ...

. In 2020, Gutierrez transferred to

Creighton University Creighton University () is a private research university in Omaha, Nebraska, United States. Founded by the Society of Jesus in 1878, the university is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. In 2015 the university enrolled 8,393 graduate ...

for his senior year to play for the men's soccer team, The 2020 season was delayed to the spring of 2021 due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, and he was drafted in the

2021 MLS SuperDraft The 2021 MLS SuperDraft was the 22nd edition of the SuperDraft conducted by Major League Soccer. The SuperDraft is held every January prior to the start of the MLS season. The 2020 SuperDraft was the first held exclusively via conference call a ...

in January 2021 before appearing in a match for Creighton. However, rather than to turn professional, he opted to complete his collegiate eligibility with Creighton first. He scored his first goals for Creighton on March 6, 2021, netting a brace against the

Xavier Musketeers The Xavier Musketeers are the 19 teams representing Xavier University in intercollegiate athletics, including men's and women's basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, swimming, tennis, indoor track and field, and outdoor track and field. The Mus ...

. In April 2021, he was named the

Big East Conference The Big East Conference (stylized as BIG EAST) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference that competes in National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA NCAA Division I, Division I in 10 men's sports and 12 women's sports. H ...

Offensive Player of the Week. At the end of the season, he was named the Big East Offensive Player of the Year, and was named to the All-Big East First Team and the All-East Region Second Team. He then returned for a fifth collegiate season in the fall of 2021 and was named the Big East Preseason Co-Offensive Player of the Year and selected to the All-Big East Preseason Team. He earned another two Big East Offensive Player of the Week honors that season and helped Creighton reach the NCAA Tournament. At the end of the season, for the second consecutive season, he was named the Big East Offensive Player of the Year and selected to the All-Big East First Team, after leading the conference in both goals (10) and assists (7). He was also named to the All-East Region First Team, All-American Second Team, and the

TopDrawerSoccer TopDrawerSoccer.com (TDS) is an American soccer website that is dedicated to youth soccer in the United States. Specifically, the website focuses on Academy soccer, high school soccer, and college soccer in the United States. The website was la ...

Postseason Best XI Second Team.

Club career

At the

, Gutierrez was selected in the third round (70th overall) by the

Portland Timbers The Portland Timbers are an American professional Association football, soccer club based in Portland, Oregon. The Timbers compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The Timbers have p ...

. However, he remained at his university for another year, before pursuing his professional career. In the summer of 2021, he played with

Chicago FC United Chicago FC United, commonly called FC United, is an American soccer club in the Chicago metropolitan area. FC United fields youth teams for boys and girls, and a semi-professional team in USL League Two, the fourth-tier of American soccer. Yout ...

USL League Two USL League Two (USL2), formerly the Premier Development League (PDL), is a semi-professional soccer league sponsored by United Soccer Leagues in the United States, forming part of the United States soccer league system. The league will featu ...

. Gutierrez then joined the Timbers for their 2022 preseason, appearing in all their of the team's exhibition matches. In February 2022, he signed a one-year contract with the club, with option years from 2023 to 2025. He made his professional debut in

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 ...

on March 12, 2022, appearing as an 87th–minute substitute during a 1–0 win over

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 Q ...

. He also spent some time with the club's second team,

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 Champ ...

, in

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 ...

. In April 2022, he underwent foot surgery, causing him to miss the next five months of the season. On September 19, 2022, while playing for the second team, he scored a brace in a 2–0 victory over the

Tacoma Defiance The Tacoma Defiance, formerly Seattle Sounders FC 2, are an American professional soccer team based in the Puget Sound region in Tukwila, Washington, United States. The team competes in MLS Next Pro, a league in the third tier of the United Sta ...

, and on August 9, 2023, he scored a hat trick in a 6–1 victory over

LA Galaxy II Ventura County FC is an American professional soccer team based in the Greater Los Angeles area town of Thousand Oaks in Ventura County, California, United States that plays in MLS Next Pro, the third tier of the United States soccer league sy ...

. After the 2023 season, the club declined his option for the 2024 season. Gutierrez signed with

Charleston Battery The Charleston Battery are an American professional association football, soccer club based in Charleston, South Carolina, and member of the USL Championship. Founded in 1993, the Battery are the oldest continuously operating professional socc ...

of the

on January 17, 2024. He moved to fellow Championship side Monterey Bay F.C. after a transfer on August 22, 2024.

Personal life

Gutierrez is of

Mexican Mexican may refer to: Mexico and its culture *Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America ** People *** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants *** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...

descent and holds dual American and Mexican citizenship.

Career statistics

References

External links

*
Personal Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gutierrez, Diego 1999 births Living people Soccer players from Omaha, Nebraska American men's soccer players American sportspeople of Mexican descent Men's association football forwards Creighton Bluejays men's soccer players Major League Soccer players MLS Next Pro players Omaha Mavericks men's soccer players Portland Timbers draft picks Portland Timbers players Portland Timbers 2 players Chicago FC United players Charleston Battery players USL League Two players Monterey Bay FC players 21st-century American sportsmen