John Vincent Nelson (born July 11, 1998) 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 defender for

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 ...

club

LA Galaxy The Los Angeles Galaxy are an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Greater Los Angeles area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The Gal ...

Career

Youth & College

John grew up in

Medina, Ohio Medina ( ) is a city in Medina County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. The population was 26,094 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It lies about south of Cleveland and west of Akron, Ohio, Akron within the Cleveland met ...

. In 2010, he joined Internationals SC, as a member of the

U.S. Soccer Development Academy The U.S. Soccer Development Academy (DA) was an American soccer league. Formed in 2007, the league featured youth academies and youth clubs from various organizations, including Major League Soccer and the United Soccer League. The DA's mission ...

, in which he was a member of until 2017. While a graduate of Medina High School, Nelson did not play for the school's boys' soccer team. Upon graduating high school, Nelson attended the

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC, UNC–Chapel Hill, or simply Carolina) is a public university, public research university in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States. Chartered in 1789, the university first began enrolli ...

, where he played

college soccer College soccer, called college football in some countries, is played by teams composed of soccer players who are enrolled in colleges and universities. While it is most widespread in the United States, it is also prominent in Japan, South Kore ...

for two years between 2017 and 2018, making 41 appearances, scoring 1 goal and tallying 3 assists. While in college, Nelson played in the PDL with

North Carolina FC U23 North Carolina FC U23 is an American soccer team based in Cary, North Carolina. It was founded in 2002 as the Raleigh Elite, and the current affiliate of North Carolina FC, a third division club in the United Soccer League. The team plays in ...

and Tobacco Road FC. Nelson opted to leave college early and signed a

Generation Adidas Generation Adidas is a joint venture between Major League Soccer and U.S. Soccer aimed at raising the level of young professional soccer talent in the United States. The program, sponsored by Adidas, offers professional-ready players in the U.S ...

contract with

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 ...

ahead of the

2019 MLS SuperDraft The 2019 MLS SuperDraft was the twentieth SuperDraft conducted by Major League Soccer. The SuperDraft is typically held in conjunction with the annual January United Soccer Coaches convention, which in 2019 was held in Chicago, Illinois. The fi ...

Professional career

On January 11, 2019, Nelson was drafted 10th overall in the

, by

FC Dallas FC Dallas is an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The franchise be ...

. Following the 2021 season, Nelson's contract option was declined by Dallas. Nelson officially signed with

FC Cincinnati Football Club Cincinnati is an American professional soccer club based in Cincinnati. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The team was first announced on August 12, 2015 as a United Soccer Leag ...

on January 6, 2022, after having his rights acquired by Cincinnati in Stage 2 of the

2021 MLS Re-Entry Draft The 2021 MLS Re-Entry Draft took place on December 17, 2021 (Stage 1) and December 23, 2021 (Stage 2). All 28 Major League Soccer clubs were eligible to participate. The priority order for the MLS Re-Entry Draft was reverse order of playoff fini ...

in December 2021. Nelson was selected by

St. Louis City SC St. Louis City Soccer Club (stylized as St. Louis CITY SC) is an American professional association football, soccer club based in St. Louis. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Con ...

in the 2022 MLS Expansion draft for the club’s inaugural season in 2023. Nelson left the club in November 2023 at the end of his contract. Nelson signed with

on December 21, 2023 to a two year contract with a club option for the 2026 season.

Career statistics

Club

Honors

St. Louis City SC * Western Conference (regular season):

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

LA Galaxy *

MLS Cup MLS Cup is the annual championship game of Major League Soccer (MLS) and the culmination of the MLS Playoffs. The game is held in November or December and pits the winner of the Eastern Conference Final against the winner of the Western Confere ...

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

References

External links

* * * 1998 births Living people American men's soccer players Men's association football defenders FC Cincinnati players FC Dallas draft picks FC Dallas players LA Galaxy players Major League Soccer players North Carolina FC U23 players North Carolina Tar Heels men's soccer players North Texas SC players Sportspeople from Medina, Ohio Soccer players from Ohio St. Louis City SC players Tobacco Road FC players USL League Two players 21st-century American sportsmen {{US-footy-defender-1990s-stub