Benjamin Bender (born March 7, 2001) 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

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

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 ...

. He was the first overall selection in the 2022 MLS SuperDraft.

Career

Youth and college

Prior to playing

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 ...

, Bender played youth soccer, from the age of 6 through 15 for Coach Barry Stitz and Fewster FC. The one-team, independent Fewster FC Club won 4 Maryland State Cups, 2 USYSA Regional Championships and played for the U15 USYSA National Championships in 201
2015 USYSA U15 National Championships page
After USYSA changed their age categories (to birth year), Bender then played academy soccer, one season for the

academy and four years for Baltimore Armour. Concurrently, Bender played high school soccer for

Calvert Hall College High School Calvert Hall College High School (also known as "Calvert Hall" or "CHC") is a Catholic college preparatory high school for boys, located in Towson, Maryland, United States. The school was established in 1845 by the Institute of the Brothers of th ...

Towson, Maryland Towson () is an unincorporated community and a census-designated place in Baltimore County, Maryland, United States. The population was 59,533 in the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Baltimore County and the second-most populous unincorpo ...

. With Calvert Hall, Bender served as the team's captain, being named an Allstate All-American his junior year, and earning honors from TopDrawerSoccer.com, All-

Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association The Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association (M.I.A.A.) is a boys' sports conference for private high schools generally located in the Baltimore metropolitan area but extending to various other regions, including the state's mostly rural Ea ...

honors, and was named a ''

Baltimore Sun ''The Baltimore Sun'' is the largest general-circulation daily newspaper based in the U.S. state of Maryland and provides coverage of local, regional, national, and international news. Founded in 1837, the newspaper was owned by Tribune Publish ...

'' All-Metro selection. Ahead of the

2020 NCAA Division I men's soccer season The 2020 NCAA Division I men's soccer season was the 62nd season of NCAA championship men's College soccer in the United States, college soccer. The season was originally slated to begin on August 28, 2020, and conclude on November 15, 2020. The ...

, Bender signed a

National Letter of Intent The National Letter of Intent (NLI) is a document used to indicate a student athlete's commitment to participating in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) colleges and universities in the United States. The NCAA Eligibility Center manag ...

to play collegiately for the

University of Maryland, College Park The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1856, UMD i ...

. 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 ...

and its impact on sporting events, Bender did not make his Maryland debut until February 19, 2021, starting in a 2–3 loss to Penn State. On March 27, 2021, Bender scored his first collegiate goal against

Northwestern University Northwestern University (NU) is a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851 to serve the historic Northwest Territory, it is the oldest University charter, chartered university in ...

. Bender would finish the 2020 season appearing in all 11 matches for the Terrapins, scoring twice.

Professional

Following his freshman season with Maryland, he 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

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 ...

, an expected top five draft pick, Bender was selected first overall in the 2022 MLS SuperDraft by

Charlotte FC Charlotte Football Club is an American professional soccer club based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The team is owned by David Tepper, who was awarded the e ...

. Bender became the third ever player from the University of Maryland to be selected first overall in the MLS SuperDraft, and the first since Maurice Edu was selected first overall in 2007. On September 6, 2024, Bender was loaned out to

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 ...

side

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 ...

until the end of the season. During this move, Charlotte also excersised a contract extension keeping Bender at the North Carolina club until the end of the 2025 season. On April 25, 2025, Bender was waived by Charlotte. On May 9, 2025, Bender signed with

for the remainder of the 2025 season.

Career statistics

Club

Honors

Individual * NPSL Young Player of the Year:

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

References

External links

Maryland Terrapins profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bender, Ben 2001 births Living people American men's soccer players Men's association football midfielders Charlotte FC draft picks Charlotte FC players Christos FC players First overall MLS draft picks Major League Soccer players Maryland Terrapins men's soccer players National Premier Soccer League players Soccer players from Baltimore All-American college men's soccer players MLS Next Pro players Crown Legacy FC players 21st-century American sportsmen Tampa Bay Rowdies players USL Championship players Philadelphia Union players