Anthony Charles Markanich Jr. (born December 26, 1999) is a 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 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

Minnesota United Minnesota United Football Club, often shortened to MNUFC, is an American professional soccer club based in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. Th ...

Career

Youth

Markanich attended

Bradley-Bourbonnais Community High School Bradley-Bourbonnais Community High School is a comprehensive public four-year high school located in Bradley, Illinois. It is the only school in District 307. As of 2020 the school has an enrollment of 2,026 students. Bradley Bourbonnais offers a ...

, where he scored 40 goals and had 14 assists as a senior in 2017, helping the Boilermakers to a third-place finish in the Illinois 3A State Tournament while earning all-state honors. Markanich also played club soccer for Chicago Fire between 2015 and 2016, making 24 appearances. He later played with Olympiacos Chicago, who won the US Club Soccer 2018 U19 Super Group National Championship.

College and amateur

Markanich attended

Northern Illinois University Northern Illinois University (NIU) is a public research university in DeKalb, Illinois, United States. It was founded as "Northern Illinois State Normal School" in 1895 by Illinois Governor John P. Altgeld, initially to provide the state with c ...

to play

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 ...

. In four seasons with the

Huskies Husky is a general term for a type of dog used in the polar regions, primarily and specifically for work as sled dogs. It refers to a traditional northern type, notable for its cold-weather tolerance and overall hardiness. Modern racing huskies ...

, Markanich made 67 appearances, scoring 17 goals and tallying 24 assists. He was a three-time first-team all-

Mid-American Conference The Mid-American Conference (MAC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference with a membership base in the Great Lakes region (North America), Great Lakes region that stretches from Western New York to Illinois. Its members co ...

(MAC) honoree and a four-time All-MAC honoree. His 24 career assists are tied for second all-time in program history while his 58 total points were ninth best in NIU history. While at college, Markanich played with

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 ...

side Green Bay Voyageurs between 2019 and 2021, without the 2020 season been cancelled 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 ...

. In total, he made twelve appearances, scoring three goals and tallying three assists.

Professional

On January 11, 2022, Markanich was drafted 26th overall 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 ...

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 ...

. He signed a one-year deal with the Rapids on March 3, 2022. He made his first-team debut on May 22, 2022, starting in a 1–0 win over

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 ...

. On August 1, 2023, Markanich was traded to

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 exchange for $75,000 in 2023 General Allocation Money and St. Louis' 2024 1st round

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 ...

pick with an additional $75,000 in 2024 if conditional incentives are reached. Markanich was traded to

on August 15, 2024 in exchange for $50,000 in 2024 General Allocation Money, with another $100,000 in General Allocation Money depending on meeting certain performance related requirements. Markanich scored his first goal for Minnesota on May 4th, 2025 away at

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 ...

in a 3-0 away victory for the loons. He followed this up with another goal at home against

Inter Miami 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. ...

on May 10th, with a 4-1 win at home for Minnesota.

International career

Philippines

In March 2024, Markanich was reportedly one of the players being recruited by head coach

Tom Saintfiet Tom Saintfiet (born 29 March 1973) is a Belgian football coach and former player. He is the current head coach of the Mali national team. He managed the Gambian national team from 2018 to 2024, earning a place in the top five list of best coa ...

and team manager Freddy Gonzalez to play for the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

Personal life

Markanich has a twin brother,

Nick Markanich Nicholas Markanich (born December 26, 1999) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a forward for club CD Castellón. Early life Markanich was born on December 26, 1999. He grew up in Bourbonnais, Illinois and attended Bradl ...

, who also plays professional soccer, most recently playing with Spanish

Segunda División The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Segunda División, commonly known as Segunda División or La Liga 2, and officially known as LaLiga HyperMotion for sponsorship reasons, is the men's second professional association football division of the Spa ...

side

CD Castellón Club Deportivo Castellón, S.A.D. is a professional List of football clubs in Spain, Spanish football team based in Castellón de la Plana, in the Valencian Community. Founded on 20 July 1922, it currently plays in , holding home games at ''Nou E ...

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 ...

References

External links

Anthony Markanich
MLS profile
Anthony Markanich
at NIU Huskies {{DEFAULTSORT:Markanich, Anthony Living people 1999 births American men's soccer players Men's association football defenders Northern Illinois Huskies men's soccer players Colorado Rapids players Colorado Rapids draft picks Colorado Rapids 2 players Major League Soccer players MLS Next Pro players Soccer players from Illinois USL League Two players American sportspeople of Filipino descent St. Louis City SC players Minnesota United FC players 21st-century American sportsmen