Mark-Anthony Kaye (born 2 December 1994) is a Canadian 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

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

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

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

and the Canada national team.

Early life

Born in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

to Jamaican parents, Kaye first began playing soccer with Wexford SC in

Scarborough Scarborough or Scarboro may refer to: People * Scarborough (surname) * Earl of Scarbrough Places Australia * Scarborough, Western Australia, suburb of Perth * Scarborough, New South Wales, suburb of Wollongong * Scarborough, Queensland, sub ...

. He later played with Ajax SC, winning a provincial title in 2009, and Glen Shields SC and Bryst FA. He attended

Elementary school A primary school (in Ireland, India, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, South Africa, and Singapore), elementary school, or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ...

at John Ross Robinson Public School and

High School A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

Lawrence Park Collegiate Institute Lawrence Park Collegiate Institute is a semestered, public high school institution with over 1,267 students enrolled. The school is located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It teaches grades 9 through 12 and is operated and governed by the Toronto D ...

where he would play soccer, where he was twice named team MVP, as well as participating in cross country, and

track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...

University career

Kaye played two years of university soccer at

York University York University (), also known as YorkU or simply YU), is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's third-largest university, and it has approximately 53,500 students, 7,000 faculty and staff, ...

between 2012 and 2013. During his university career he played in 29 matches and scored 18 goals. He was named OUA rookie of the year after his

first year A freshman, fresher, first year, or colloquially frosh, is a person in the first year at an educational institution, usually a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary educational in ...

season and selected to the CIS all-Canadian second-team and the OUA first-team as a

second year The second (symbol: s) is a unit of time derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes, and finally to 60 seconds each (24 × 60 × 60 = 86400). The current and formal definition in the International System of ...

. York would win the OUA championship during his final season.

Club career

Early career

Kaye left York and joined

TFC Academy Toronto FC Academy, also known as TFC Academy, is the Youth system, youth academy and development system of Canadian Major League Soccer club Toronto FC, which competes in MLS Next. The academy has divisions from U14 to U19 and includes over 110 ...

, the academy side of

Toronto FC Toronto Football Club is a Canadian professional Association football, soccer club based in Toronto. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conference. The team plays its home matc ...

in 2013. In 2014, he played in

League1 Ontario League1 Ontario (L1ON) is a semi-professional men's soccer league in Ontario, Canada. The league is sanctioned by the Canadian Soccer Association and the Ontario Soccer Association. League1 Ontario consists of three tiers – League1 Premier ...

with the senior academy team appearing in nine matches and scoring one goal. Kaye joined the

Wilmington Hammerheads Wilmington Hammerheads FC was a semi-professional American soccer team based in Wilmington, North Carolina. Founded in 1996, the team last competed in the Premier Development League, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid in 2017. Histor ...

of the

USL Pro The USL Championship (USLC) is a men's professional soccer league in the second tier of the United States league system. It is organized by the United Soccer League (USL) as its premier league for men above USL League One. Operating under a f ...

loan In finance, a loan is the tender of money by one party to another with an agreement to pay it back. The recipient, or borrower, incurs a debt and is usually required to pay interest for the use of the money. The document evidencing the deb ...

from TFC Academy in August 2014 as part of an affiliation between the two clubs. He made his professional debut on August 23, 2014, in a league match against

Orange County Blues FC Orange County Soccer Club is an American soccer team based in the Orange County, California city of Irvine. Founded in 2010 as the Los Angeles Blues, the team currently plays in the Western Conference of the USL Championship, the second tier ...

. The next day, Kaye tallied his first professional goal and assist as Wilmington drew 3–3 with

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 ...

. In total, Kaye appeared in 7 matches and tallied 2 goals and 2 assists during his loan with the Hammerheads.

Toronto FC II

2015 season

On March 12, 2015, Kaye and seven other players were signed by

USL USL may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Underground Sound of Lisbon, a Portuguese dance music project * Urban Strawberry Lunch, a band from Liverpool Companies * United Spirits Limited, India * Former United States Lines shipping company C ...

side

Toronto FC II Toronto FC II is a Canadian professional soccer team based in Toronto, Ontario, that competes 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 we ...

ahead of their inaugural season. He made his debut against the

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 ...

on March 21 and would appear in 22 matches without a goal.

Louisville City

2016 season

On January 13, 2016, Kaye would sign with

side

Louisville City FC Louisville City Football Club is an American professional soccer club based in Louisville, Kentucky. The team plays in the USL Championship, which is currently the second tier of the American soccer pyramid. The club was founded in 2014 after O ...

and he would make his season debut in the opening match on March 26 against Charlotte. He would go on to play in 24 of Louisville's 28 regular season matches scoring one goal with three assists. He also played in two of Louisville's three

USL Cup The USL Cup is an annual soccer competition in men's domestic American soccer. The USL Cup is currently known as the USL Jägermeister Cup after its title sponsor, Jägermeister. The competition is open to all clubs in USL Championship and US ...

matches going goalless. He did, however, score in the

penalty shootout The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pe ...

in the Eastern Conference Finals match against

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 ...

. A match New York would go on to win.

2017 season

Kaye would miss the first two matches of the 2017 season while on international duty and would make his season debut on April 8 against

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, a city in the United States * Richmond, London, a town in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town ...

. He would on to play in 19 of Louisville's 32 regular season matches scoring four goals. He also played in both of Louisville's

U.S. Open Cup The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, commonly known as the U.S. Open Cup (USOC), is a knockout cup competition in men's soccer in the United States. It is the country's oldest ongoing national soccer competition. The competition was first held duri ...

matches; scoring once against the Tartan Devils. In the USL Cup playoffs Kaye would start all four matches as he and Louisville would go on to win the USL Cup Final against

Swope Park Swope Park is a city park in Kansas City, Missouri. At , it is the 51st-largest municipal park in the United States, and the largest park in Kansas City. It is named in honor of Colonel Thomas H. Swope, a philanthropist who donated the land to ...

Los Angeles FC

After two seasons in Louisville, Kaye would be transferred to

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 ...

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 ...

for their inaugural season. He would make his LAFC debut against

Seattle Sounders FC Seattle Sounders FC is an American professional association football, soccer club based in Seattle. The Sounders compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The club was established on ...

during the 2018 season opener. On July 26, 2018, Kaye suffered a fractured foot in the

El Tráfico El Tráfico, also known as the Los Angeles Derby, is a soccer rivalry between the two Major League Soccer (MLS) clubs based in the Greater Los Angeles area, the LA Galaxy and Los Angeles FC. The rivalry is one of two crosstown derbies in M ...

rivalry game against the

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 ...

, with coach

Bob Bradley Robert Frank Bradley (born March 3, 1958) is an American association football, soccer coach, who most recently managed Norwegian football team Stabæk Fotball, Stabæk fron 2023 - 2024. A native of New Jersey and graduate of Princeton Universi ...

saying he'd need surgery, with LAFC setting no timetable for his return; ''

NBC Sports NBC Sports is an American programming division for NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, that is responsible for sports broadcasts on their broadcast network NBC, the Cable television, cable channels NBC owns, and on Peacock (streaming service) ...

'' reported that the injury would sideline the player for "4–6 months".

Colorado Rapids

On July 27, 2021, Kaye was traded, alongside a first-round pick in the

2022 MLS SuperDraft The 2022 MLS SuperDraft was the 23rd edition of the SuperDraft conducted by Major League Soccer. The SuperDraft is held every January prior to the start of the MLS season and has been conducted via conference calls since 2020. Previously, the S ...

to the

Colorado Rapids The Colorado Rapids are an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Denver metropolitan area. The Rapids compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. Founded in ...

in exchange for $1 million in General Allocation Money and a 2022 international roster slot. He made his debut for the Rapids on August 7 against

Sporting Kansas City Sporting Kansas City is an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Kansas City metropolitan area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The ad ...

. On August 21 Kaye scored his first goal for the Rapids, netting the game-winner in a 2–1 comeback win over

Rocky Mountain Cup The Rocky Mountain Cup is a soccer trophy contested between Real Salt Lake and the Colorado Rapids. The cup is awarded by the Committee of 10, a group of bi-partisan fans who run the competition, to the team with the most points in games played ...

rivals

Real Salt Lake Real Salt Lake (RSL) is an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. Fou ...

. At the end of the season Colorado announced they had exercised Kaye's contract option, keeping him at the club through the 2022 season. Before the start of the 2022 season Colorado would announce Kaye would sign a 4-year contract extension, through the end of the 2025 season, with an option for 2026.

Toronto FC

In July 2022,

announced they had traded Ralph Priso, General Allocation Money, a first round pick in the 2023

MLS SuperDraft The MLS SuperDraft is an annual Draft (sports), college draft for teams of Major League Soccer in the United States and Canada in which MLS clubs take turns selecting from a pool of eligible amateur players. These drafted players usually come f ...

and an international roster slot for Kaye. The move returned Kaye to Toronto after six years away and also reunited him with his coach at LAFC, Bob Bradley. He made his debut on July 13, starting against the Chicago Fire and going 63 minutes in a 2–0 defeat. Kaye scored his first goal for Toronto FC in their first match of the 2023 season, netting Toronto's second goal in an eventual 3–2 defeat to

D.C. United D.C. United is an American professional soccer club based in Washington, D.C. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. Domestically, the club has won four MLS Cups (league championships), four Supp ...

on February 25, 2023.

New England Revolution

On July 13, 2023, Kaye was traded to the

New England Revolution The New England Revolution are an American professional association football, soccer club based in the Greater Boston area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conference. It is on ...

in return for

Latif Blessing Latif Atta Blessing (born 30 December 1996) is a Ghanaian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder or forward. Early life Blessing was born in Nankese, a small village in the Suhum-Kraboa-Coaltar District of southeast Ghana. Club ca ...

and a 2023 international roster slot. He scored his first goal for the club on February 29, 2024, in the Revolution's 3–0 win over C.A. Independiente de La Chorrera in the

CONCACAF Champions Cup The CONCACAF Champions Cup, formerly known as CONCACAF Champions League (2008–2023), is an international association football competition organized by CONCACAF as its top continental tournament for clubs from North America, Central America, a ...

San Jose Earthquakes

Kaye, along with teammates

Dave Romney David James Romney (born June 12, 1993) is an American professional association football, soccer player who plays as a Defender (association football), defender for Major League Soccer club San Jose Earthquakes. Career Born and raised in Irvine ...

and

Ian Harkes Ian Andrew Harkes (born March 30, 1995) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a midfielder for Major League Soccer club San Jose Earthquakes. He previously played for Dundee United F.C. in The Scottish Championship and The Scotti ...

, were traded to the San Jose Earthquakes on December 2, 2024, for "around" $500,000 General allocation money and an international roster spot, reuniting Kaye with his former Revolution manager

Bruce Arena Bruce Arena (born September 21, 1951) is an American soccer coach who currently serves as the head coach and sporting director of the San Jose Earthquakes. He is a member of the National Soccer Hall of Fame and the NJCAA Lacrosse Hall of Fame. ...

International career

Youth

In May 2016, Kaye was called to Canada's U23 national team for a pair of friendlies against

Guyana Guyana, officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern coast of South America, part of the historic British West Indies. entry "Guyana" Georgetown, Guyana, Georgetown is the capital of Guyana and is also the co ...

and

Grenada Grenada is an island country of the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean Sea. The southernmost of the Windward Islands, Grenada is directly south of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and about north of Trinidad and Tobago, Trinidad and the So ...

. He saw action in both matches. In March 2017 Kaye was called up again to the U23 side for the Aspire Tournament which also featured the hosts

Qatar Qatar, officially the State of Qatar, is a country in West Asia. It occupies the Geography of Qatar, Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it shares Qatar–Saudi Arabia border, its sole land b ...

and

Uzbekistan , image_flag = Flag of Uzbekistan.svg , image_coat = Emblem of Uzbekistan.svg , symbol_type = Emblem of Uzbekistan, Emblem , national_anthem = "State Anthem of Uzbekistan, State Anthem of the Republ ...

Senior

Kaye made his debut for the senior team against

Curaçao Curaçao, officially the Country of Curaçao, is a constituent island country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located in the southern Caribbean Sea (specifically the Dutch Caribbean region), about north of Venezuela. Curaçao includ ...

in a friendly on June 13, 2017. On June 27, he was named to Canada's squad for the

2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup The 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup was the 14th edition of the CONCACAF Gold Cup, the biennial international men's soccer championship of the North, Central American and Caribbean region organized by CONCACAF, and 24th CONCACAF regional championship ove ...

. He was named to the squad for the

2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup The 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup was the 15th edition of the CONCACAF Gold Cup, the biennial international men's association football, soccer championship of the North, Central American, and Caribbean region organized by CONCACAF. The tournament was p ...

on May 20, 2019. Kaye scored his first goals for Canada on March 29, 2021, netting a brace in a 11–0 victory over the

Cayman Islands The Cayman Islands () is a self-governing British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory, and the largest by population. The territory comprises the three islands of Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac and Little Cayman, which are located so ...

. In July 2021 Kaye would join Canada for his third Gold Cup tournament, being named to the squad for the 2021 edition of the competition. In November 2022, Kaye was called up to Canada's squad for the

2022 FIFA World Cup The 2022 FIFA World Cup was the 22nd FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for national football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Qatar from 20 November to 18 December 2022, after the country was awarded the hosting ri ...

Style of play

During his time at Louisville, Kaye played as an "

attacking midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

and winger", however following his ascension into MLS, he assumed a "

box-to-box In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

central midfield In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

role, one that he's thriving in"; he also performed this role on international duty with Canada. LAFC coach Bob Bradley said of Kaye: "He brings a little bit more range, a little bit more ability to get around the ball, a little bit of an ability to close down, win some balls in air, get into the box in both sides. All those things make him a little bit different".

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list Canada's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Kaye goal''.

Honours

Toronto FC III *

League Champions:

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

* L1O/ PLSQ Inter-Provincial Cup Champions:

Louisville City *

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

Los Angeles FC *

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 199 ...

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

Individual *

MLS All-Star The Major League Soccer All-Star Game is an annual Association football, soccer game held by Major League Soccer featuring selected players from the league against an international club or selected players from another league. MLS initially ado ...

References

External links

* * *
League 1 Ontario profileYork Lions profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kaye, Mark-Anthony 1994 births Living people Canadian men's soccer players Canadian expatriate men's soccer players York Lions men's soccer players Toronto FC players Wilmington Hammerheads FC players Toronto FC II players Louisville City FC players Los Angeles FC players Colorado Rapids players Soccer players from Toronto Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States League1 Ontario players USL Championship players Major League Soccer players Black Canadian men's soccer players Canada men's under-23 international soccer players Canada men's international soccer players 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 2021 CONCACAF Gold Cup players Men's association football midfielders 2022 FIFA World Cup players Canadian sportspeople of Jamaican descent New England Revolution players Toronto FC Academy players 21st-century Canadian sportsmen San Jose Earthquakes players