Dylan Nealis (born July 30, 1998) 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

right-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categories: centre-backs, full-backs, sweepers ...

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

New York Red Bulls The New York Red Bulls are an American professional association football, soccer club based in the New York metropolitan area. The Red Bulls compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conferenc ...

Career

Youth and Collegiate

Nealis began his career with local club Massapequa SC. He also played for

Massapequa High School Massapequa High School is a public high school located in Massapequa, in Nassau County, on Long Island, in New York, United States. The Main Campus serves students in grades 10 through 12, while the separate Ames Campus serves 9th-grade student ...

. As a sophomore in 2013, Nealis scored the winning goals in both the semi-final and final of the 2013 NYSPHSAA Class AA tournament where he was also named MVP. As a junior in 2014, Nealis' Massapequa team finished undefeated in the regular season. Their playoff run ended with a 2–0 loss to the Syosset Braves in the Nassau County Class AA tournament. In 2016, Nealis began his collegiate soccer career with the

Georgetown Hoyas The Georgetown Hoyas are the collegiate athletics teams that officially represent Georgetown University, located at Washington, D.C. The Georgetown's athletics department fields 24 men's and women's varsity level teams and competes at the Natio ...

. In 2019, Nealis captained the Georgetown University team that won their first NCAA national championship. Nealis was named the Defensive Most Outstanding Player of the national tournament, becoming the first Hoya to win the honor. During the 2019 season, Nealis was also named a finalist for the MAC

Hermann Trophy The Hermann Trophy is awarded annually by the Missouri Athletic Club to the United States's top men's and women's college soccer players. History In 1967, Bob Hermann, the president of the National Professional Soccer League (NPSL) and th ...

, an annual award to the top college soccer player in the nation. During his college years, Nealis also played for

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

Long Island Rough Riders The Long Island Rough Riders are an American soccer team based in South Huntington, New York, United States. Founded in 1994, the team plays in USL League Two, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid. The team plays its home games at Mit ...

Professional

On January 9, 2020, Nealis was selected by

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 ...

as the third overall pick in the

2020 MLS SuperDraft The 2020 MLS SuperDraft was the 21st edition of the SuperDraft conducted by Major League Soccer. The 2020 SuperDraft was the first SuperDraft held exclusively via conference call and web streaming. The first two rounds of the 2020 SuperDraft we ...

. Nealis made his professional debut on September 23, 2020, appearing as a starter in a 1–4 loss to

. He ended his first season appearing in 20 matches for Inter Miami. On April 11, 2021, Nealis was traded to

Nashville SC Nashville Soccer Club is an American professional soccer club based in Nashville, Tennessee. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The team spent two seasons in the USL Championship before joining ...

in exchange for $175,000 in general allocation money and an additional $50,000 if he was to meet certain performance-based metrics. On April 24, 2021, Nealis made his debut with Nashville, appearing an injury-time substitute in a 2–2 draw with

CF Montréal Club de Foot Montréal () is a Canadian professional Association football, soccer club based in Montreal. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conference. Founded in 1992 as the Mo ...

. On July 17, 2021, he started his first match for the club, recording an assist in a 5–1 victory over

Chicago Fire FC Chicago Fire Football Club is an American professional association football, soccer club based in Chicago. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conference. The Fire play their hom ...

. On December 16, 2021, Nealis was traded to

in exchange for $175,000 in general allocation money and an additional $75,000 if he was to meet certain performance-based metrics. On February 26, 2022, Nealis made his debut for New York, appearing as a starter in a 3–1 victory over

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 ...

in the opening match of the season. On May 25, 2022, Nealis scored his first goal as a professional in a 3–1 victory for New York over

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 ...

as his team advanced to the quarterfinals of the 2022 U.S. Open Cup. In November 2023, Nealis signed a new contract with Red Bulls to remain through the 2024 season.

Personal life

Nealis has three older brothers who all played soccer. His oldest brother,

Jimmy Jimmy may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Jimmy'' (2008 film), a 2008 Hindi thriller directed by Raj N. Sippy * ''Jimmy'' (1979 film), a 1979 Indian Malayalam film directed by Melattoor Ravi Varma * ''Jimmy'' (2013 f ...

, also 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 ...

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private Jesuit research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic higher education, Ca ...

and played professionally for the

New York Cosmos New York Cosmos may refer to * New York Cosmos (1970–1985), a team in the North American Soccer League (then the top-tier soccer league in the United States and Canada) * New York Cosmos (2010), a team playing since 2020 in the National Indepen ...

. Nealis' older brother,

Sean Sean, also spelled Seán or Séan in Hiberno-English, is a male given name of Irish origin. It comes from the Irish versions of the Biblical Hebrew name '' Yohanan'' (), Seán ( anglicized as '' Shaun/ Shawn/ Shon'') and Séan (Ulster variant; a ...

played collegiate soccer for

Hofstra University Hofstra University is a Private university, private research university in Hempstead, New York, United States. It originated in 1935 as an extension of New York University and became an independent college in 1939. Comprising ten schools, includ ...

and is currently a defender for the

. His brother, Connor, played for

Binghamton University The State University of New York at Binghamton (Binghamton University or SUNY Binghamton) is a public university, public research university in Binghamton metropolitan area, Greater Binghamton, New York, United States. It is one of the four uni ...

Career statistics

Club

Honors

Individual

* Big East Conference Men's Soccer Defender of the Year: 2018, 2019 * NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Tournament Most Outstanding Defensive Player: 2019 * MAC Hermann Trophy Finalist: 2019

Team

* NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Tournament: 2019 * Big East Conference Men's Soccer Tournament: 2017, 2018, 2019

References

External links

Dylan Nealis
at Georgetown Athletics
Dylan Nealis
at

Dylan Nealis
at

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 ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nealis, Dylan 1998 births Living people All-American college men's soccer players American men's soccer players Men's association football midfielders Georgetown Hoyas men's soccer players Inter Miami CF players Inter Miami CF draft picks Long Island Rough Riders players Major League Soccer players Nashville SC players New York Red Bulls players Sportspeople from Massapequa, New York Soccer players from Nassau County, New York USL League Two players 21st-century American sportsmen