Aedan Stanley (born December 13, 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 defender for

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 ...

in the

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 ...

. Born in Columbia,

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

, Stanley began his career with St. Louis Scott Gallagher before starting his professional career with

United Soccer League The United Soccer League (USL) is an organizer of various professional and amateur soccer leagues in the United States league system. It currently organizes its Championship, League One, and League Two for men, its Super League and W Leag ...

side

Saint Louis FC Saint Louis FC was an American professional soccer team based in St. Louis, Missouri. The team was founded in May 2014, and competed in the USL Championship. The team played their matches at West Community Stadium, a venue inside the World Wide ...

in 2016. In 2018, Stanley began attending

Duke University Duke University is a Private university, private research university in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity, North Carolina, Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1 ...

and 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 the

Duke Blue Devils The Duke Blue Devils are the college athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Duke University, located in Durham, North Carolina. Duke's athletics department features 27 varsity teams that all compete at the N ...

. After two seasons with Duke, Stanley joined

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 ...

, playing one season with them before joining

Sporting Kansas City II 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 Rock Chalk Park at the University of Kansas in Lawrence, Kansas, as well as Swope ...

. Shortly after signing, Stanley 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 ...

by expansion club

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 ...

Early career

Saint Louis FC

Born in Columbia,

, Stanley was part of the academy at St. Louis Scott Gallagher. On May 21, 2016, Stanley signed a USL amateur contract with

side

, which allowed him to play professionally while maintaining

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

eligibility. On June 16, he was called into the club's reserve side, Saint Louis FC U23, playing 25 minutes in the 3–2 defeat against Mississippi Brilla. Stanley made his

debut for Saint Louis FC on September 24, 2016, in a 2–2 draw against

OKC Energy Oklahoma City Energy Football Club, or simply Energy FC, is an American professional soccer club based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The club is a member of the USL Championship, the second division of the American soccer league system. Although ...

. He came on as a 64th-minute substitute for Schillo Tshuma.

Duke Blue Devils (college)

In August 2018, Stanley began attending

Durham Durham most commonly refers to: *Durham, England, a cathedral city in north east England **County Durham, a ceremonial county which includes Durham *Durham, North Carolina, a city in North Carolina, United States Durham may also refer to: Places ...

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

and joined their

side, the

. He made his collegiate debut on August 24 against the

FIU Panthers The FIU Panthers are the athletic teams representing Florida International University, an American public university located in Miami, Florida. The Panthers currently compete in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I athlet ...

, starting in the 3–1 victory. During his first season with Duke, Stanley lead the team in starts, starting in 20 matches, while earning All-ACC Freshman honors. In his second season for the Blue Devils, Stanley started and played in 17 matches, recording three assists.

Club career

Portland Timbers 2 (2020)

On March 5, 2020, Stanley joined

club

, the reserve affiliate 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 ...

side

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 ...

. He made his Timbers 2 debut on March 7 against Phoenix Rising, starting in the 6–1 away defeat. He started in all 16 matches for the Portland Timbers 2, substituted zero times, and he recorded two assists.

Austin FC (2021)

On January 15, 2021, Stanley signed with

. However, a few days later, on January 21, Stanley was drafted with the 21st pick in the

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 ...

. On April 16, 2021, Sporting Kansas City agreed to mutually terminate Stanley's contract with their reserve affiliate. That same day, Stanley signed a professional contract with Austin FC. Stanley made his debut for Austin FC on May 15 in a 2–0 away defeat 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 ...

, coming on as a 70th-minute substitute for

Žan Kolmanič Žan Kolmanič (born 3 March 2000) is a Slovenian professional footballer who plays as a left-back for Major League Soccer club Austin. Career In March 2021, Kolmanič joined Major League Soccer expansion club Austin on a season-long loan from ...

. Following the 2021 season, Stanley's contract option was declined by Austin.

Miami FC (2022–2023)

On January 4, 2022, Stanley returned to the USL and signed with

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 ...

. Stanley made his debut for Miami on April 9 in a 1–0 win at the

Tampa Bay Rowdies The Tampa Bay Rowdies are an American professional soccer team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The club was founded in 2008 and first took the pitch in 2010. Since 2017, the Rowdies have been members of the USL Championship in the second tie ...

in the USL Championship. Stanley played a total of 33 games for Miami in his first season, including the team's two

Lamar Hunt 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 and Miami's 3-1 conference quarterfinal loss to the Tampa Bay Rowdies in the 2022 USL Championship playoffs. Stanley returned for Miami in the 2023 season, playing a total of 36 matches. Stanley played all 120 minutes of the club'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 ...

loss in penalties to

Inter Miami CF Club Internacional de Fútbol Miami (), commonly referred to as Inter Miami, is an American professional soccer club based in the Miami metropolitan area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (M ...

on April 26, 2023. Stanley's final game for Miami FC came on October 14, 2023, in a 1–0 defeat to

Sacramento Republic FC Sacramento Republic FC is an American professional soccer team based in Sacramento, California, that competes in the Western Conference of the USL Championship, the second level in US soccer. Co-founded by Warren Smith and Joe Wagoner in 2012, t ...

Indy Eleven (2024–present)

On December 4, 2023,

announced the signing of Stanley from Miami FC ahead of the upcoming

2024 USL Championship season The 2024 USL Championship season was the 14th season of the USL Championship and the seventh season under Division II sanctioning. The 2024 season had 24 teams participating in two conferences during the regular season. Conference realignment mov ...

. Stanley made his debut for Indy Eleven in their season opening 2–1 defeat at

Oakland Roots Oakland Roots Sports Club is an American professional soccer club based in Oakland, California. The club competes in the USL Championship (USLC) as a member of the Western Conference. Founded in 2018 by Edreece Arghandiwal and Benno Nagel, the c ...

on March 9. Stanley assisted Douglas Martinez for the team's winning goal in a 2–1 away victory over

Memphis 901 FC Memphis 901 FC was an American professional soccer team based in Memphis, Tennessee. Founded in 2018, the team made its debut in the USL Championship in 2019. On November 13, 2024, it was announced that the team would be folding after they wer ...

on March 16. Stanley was named the USL Championship Player of the Week on May 14 for his two-assist performance in the team's 3–1 away victory over his former club Miami FC in Week 10 of the USL Championship season. Stanley ended the 2024 season with three USL Championship Team of the Week recognitions and one Player of the Week honor. He led the club in assists with 7 total assists. On November 20, 2024, Indy Eleven announced that Stanley would return for the 2025 season.

International career

Stanley's first experience of international football came in June 2015, when he was called into the United States under-16 team for the Open Nordic Cup. He was then called into the United States under-18's in August 2016 for the Vaclav Jezek Tournament. He made his debut against

Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...

on August 16, starting in the 3–1 victory.

Career statistics

References

External links

Profile
at

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stanley, Aedan 1999 births Living people People from Columbia, Illinois Sportspeople from Greater St. Louis American men's soccer players Men's association football defenders Duke Blue Devils men's soccer players Saint Louis FC players Portland Timbers 2 players Sporting Kansas City II players Austin FC players Miami FC players Austin FC draft picks USL League Two players USL Championship players Major League Soccer players Soccer players from Illinois United States men's youth international soccer players Indy Eleven players 21st-century American sportsmen