James Murphy (born September 17, 1997) 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 as a

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

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

Indy Eleven Indy Eleven is an American professional association football, soccer team based in Indianapolis, Indiana. Founded in 2013, the team made its debut in the North American Soccer League (2011–2017), North American Soccer League (NASL) in 2014, b ...

. Murphy grew up in

Scotch Plains, New Jersey Scotch Plains is a Township (New Jersey), township in Union County, New Jersey, Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The township is located on a ridge in North Jersey, northern-central Jersey, central New Jersey, within the Raritan R ...

and attended

Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School (or SPFHS) is a comprehensive regional four-year public high school in Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, which serves students in ninth through twelfth grades from the Township of Scotch Plains a ...

, where he was named as the 2013–14 Gatorade New Jersey Boys Soccer Player of the Year.

Club career

United States

Murphy came through the ranks at the Players Development Academy in his home state of

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

. He played for the United States under-20 team during the 2015 Stevan Vilotic Tournament and 2015 Four Nations Tournament. Also in 2015, Murphy went on trial with the

Philadelphia Union The Philadelphia Union are an American professional soccer club based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. Founded on February 28, 2008, the Union began ...

MLS Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional 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 sanctioned by the United ...

but ended up not signing with the club.

Sheffield Wednesday

Murphy signed a professional contract for

Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an off ...

in June 2016. In August 2016 he made his first team debut for the club, coming on as a substitute as Wednesday lost to

Cambridge United Cambridge United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Cambridge, England. They currently compete in EFL League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. Nicknamed the U’s, the club h ...

in the first round of the

Football League Cup The English Football League Cup, often referred to as the League Cup and currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout competition in men's domestic football in England. Orga ...

Los Angeles FC

Murphy joined MLS side

Los Angeles FC Los Angeles Football Club (LAFC) is an American professional association football, soccer club based in Los Angeles. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. It was establi ...

on March 2, 2018, ahead of their inaugural season. On May 22, 2018, he made his LAFC debut in a friendly against

Borussia Dortmund Ballspielverein Borussia 09 e. V. Dortmund, often known simply as Borussia Dortmund () or by its initialism BVB (), or just Dortmund by International fans, is a German professional sports club based in Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is ...

Las Vegas Lights FC

Murphy joined USL side

Las Vegas Lights FC Las Vegas Lights FC is an American professional soccer team based in Las Vegas, Nevada, that plays in the USL Championship. The team made its debut in 2018 and plays its home games at Cashman Field. The team employs neon imagery in its crest a ...

on June 22, 2018, on a short-term loan. He had his first assist in his debut with the club on June 24, 2018, against

Swope Park Rangers Sporting Kansas City II is a MLS Next Pro club affiliated with Sporting Kansas City of Major League Soccer. For the 2022 season they will play their home games at Kansas Jayhawks, Rock Chalk Park at the University of Kansas in Lawrence, Kansas, ...

Arbroath

After a trial spell, Murphy signed with

Scottish Championship The Scottish Championship known as the William Hill (bookmaker), William Hill Championship for sponsorship reasons, is the second tier of the Scottish Professional Football League, the league competition for men's professional association footb ...

club

Arbroath Arbroath () or Aberbrothock ( ) is a former royal burgh and the largest town in the Subdivisions of Scotland, council area of Angus, Scotland, Angus, Scotland, with a population of 23,902. It lies on the North Sea coast, some east-northeast of ...

in July 2019.

Rio Grande Valley FC

In July 2020, returned to the United States, joining

side

Rio Grande Valley FC Rio Grande Valley FC, also known as RGVFC or Rio Grande Valley FC Toros, was an American professional soccer team based in Edinburg, Texas operated by Lone Star, LLC. They joined the USL Championship in the 2016 season. The team served as a hy ...

Monterey Bay FC

Murphy signed with

expansion side

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 ...

on February 8, 2022. Murphy was included in the starting 11 for Monterey Bay's inaugural match, a 4–2 loss to

Phoenix Rising FC Phoenix Rising Football Club is an American professional soccer team based in Phoenix, Arizona. Founded in 2014 as Arizona United Soccer Club, the team is a member of the USL Championship. They won the league championship in 2023, defeating the ...

. Murphy's contract option was declined following the

2023 USL Championship season The 2023 USL Championship season was the 13th season of the USL Championship and the seventh season under Division II sanctioning. The 2023 season had 24 teams participating in two conferences during the regular season. San Antonio FC were the de ...

Detroit City FC

Murphy signed a two-year contract with

Detroit City Detroit ( , ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 census, making it the 26th-most populous city ...

on January 25, 2024. Detroit declined his contract option following their 2024 season.

Indy Eleven

Murphy joined

on January 29, 2025 ahead of their 2025 season. He made his debut for the club on March 15, 2025, in a 1–3 victory over

Miami FC Miami FC is an American professional association football, soccer team based in Miami, Florida that competes in the USL Championship, the second tier of the American soccer pyramid. The club began play in the North American Soccer League (201 ...

in the USL Championship.

Personal life

Murphy has an older sister, Casey, and two younger brothers, John and Owen. Both brothers also play soccer, with John Murphy being a player for

Forward Madison FC Forward Madison FC is an American professional soccer team based in Madison, Wisconsin. The team was founded in 2018, and played its inaugural season in 2019. The team competes in USL League One, the third division of the United States soccer l ...

, and Owen being of the Montclair University soccer team.

Career statistics

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Murphy, James 1997 births Living people Sportspeople from Scotch Plains, New Jersey Soccer players from Union County, New Jersey American men's soccer players Men's association football midfielders Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School alumni Sheffield Wednesday F.C. players Los Angeles FC players Las Vegas Lights FC players Arbroath F.C. players Rio Grande Valley FC Toros players Monterey Bay FC players Detroit City FC players Indy Eleven players USL Championship players Scottish Professional Football League players United States men's under-20 international soccer players American expatriate men's soccer players American expatriate sportspeople in England American expatriate sportspeople in Scotland Expatriate men's footballers in England Expatriate men's footballers in Scotland 21st-century American sportsmen