Connor Brandt (born September 15, 1992) is an American

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. He most notably played for

New York City FC New York City Football Club (often referred to as NYCFC) is an American professional Association football, soccer club based in New York City. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern C ...

Career

College and amateur

Born in

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, Brandt attended

Great Oak High School Great Oak High School is a public high school that lies at the base of Wolf Valley in Temecula, California, USA, in the Temecula Valley Unified School District. In 2009 and 2010, Great Oak High School was listed in Newsweek's annual top 1000 h ...

Temecula Temecula (; , ; Luiseño: ''Temeekunga'') is a city in southwestern Riverside County, California, United States. The city had a population of 110,003 as of the 2020 census and was incorporated on December 1, 1989. The city is a tourist and ...

, where he lettered for their soccer program twice, captaining the varsity team and scoring 20 goals in his two varsity seasons. Leaving for college, Brandt first studied at

California State University, Dominguez Hills California State University, Dominguez Hills (CSUDH, CSU Dominguez Hills, or Cal State Dominguez Hills) is a public university in Carson, California. It was founded in 1960 and is part of the California State University (CSU) system. In 2020, ...

, scoring four goals for the

Toros TOROS artillery rocket system (; , lit. "Gunner (artillery), Gunner") is a Turkish rocket artillery multiple rocket launcher system that has been developed in both 230 and 260 mm calibre. The system was developed by TÜBİTAK Defense Industr ...

, plus earning himself a CCAA Player of the Week award. Transferring to the

University of San Diego The University of San Diego (USD) is a Private university, private Catholic Church, Catholic research university in San Diego, California, United States. Chartered in 1949 as the independent San Diego College for Women and San Diego University ...

, where he studied

Sociology Sociology is the scientific study of human society that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. The term sociol ...

, Brandt worked his way to a host of Player of the Week awards at various levels in his second year. By his third season, he was earning national college soccer Team of the Week awards, as well as a place on the first team for the All- WCC select and earning himself a Star of the Month award for the

San Diego Hall of Champions The San Diego Hall of Champions was an American multi-sport museum in San Diego, California, until its closure in June 2017. It housed the Breitbard Hall of Fame, San Diego's sports hall of fame, which is now located at Petco Park. Breitbard Hal ...

. In his final season, Brandt retained his place in the All-WCC first team and made the

NSCAA The United Soccer Coaches (formerly known as the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA)) is an organization of American soccer coaches founded in 1941. It is the largest soccer coaches organization in the world, with more than ...

first team in addition, adding to his burgeoning award selection with WCC Player of the Year gong plus a second Star of the Month award and selection twice as WCC Player of the Week.

Professional

On January 15, 2015, Brandt was selected 23rd overall by

in the

2015 MLS SuperDraft The 2015 MLS SuperDraft was the sixteenth SuperDraft conducted by Major League Soccer. The SuperDraft is held each year in conjunction with the annual National Soccer Coaches Association of America convention. The 2015 convention was held Janua ...

. Brandt was loaned to New York City's

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 ...

affiliate

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 ...

in April 2015, making his professional debut on April 12, 2015, as a 60th-minute substitute during a 3–0 win over

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 ...

. Brandt was waived by

on February 8, 2017.

References

External links

*
University of San Diego bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brandt, Connor 1992 births Living people American men's soccer players Men's association football midfielders Cal State Dominguez Hills Toros men's soccer players FC Tucson players Major League Soccer players New York City FC draft picks New York City FC players Sportspeople from Temecula, California Soccer players from Riverside County, California San Diego Toreros men's soccer players Soccer players from San Diego Wilmington Hammerheads FC players USL Championship players USL League Two players 21st-century American sportsmen