Esai Easley (born May 9, 2000) 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.

Career

Youth

Easley born in

Kailua-Kona, Hawaii Kailua-Kona is an Unincorporated area#United States, unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Hawaii County, Hawaii, Hawaii County, Hawaii, United States. It is most commonly referred to simply as Kona (a name it shares wit ...

played club soccer for local side Kona Crush, before heading to Europe in 2013 for trials with

Manchester City Manchester City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Manchester, England, that competes in the Premier League, the English football league system, top flight of Football in England, English footbal ...

, and again in 2014 for trials with

Chievo Chievo (4,500 inhabitants) is a frazione of Verona located to the west of the city, around from the historic city centre, on the shores of the river Adige. It is best known for its football team, A.C. ChievoVerona. History The name came from t ...

and

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Stratford, London, Stratford, East London, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English f ...

. In 2015, Easley joined the

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 ...

academy, and then Californian side De Anza Force for their 2017–18 season.

College & amateur

In 2018, Easley committed 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 ...

Grand Canyon University Grand Canyon University (GCU) is a Private university, private For-profit higher education in the United States, for-profit Christian university in Phoenix, Arizona. The university offers degrees in over 200 areas of study and is administrativel ...

. In four seasons with the 'Lopes, Easley made 43 appearances, scoring two goals and tallying four assists. In 2019, he was named an All-WAC Honorable mention, First team All-WAC in the 2020–2021 season, and WAC Defensive Player of the Year, All-WAC First Team, and was selected to the United Soccer Coaches All-Far West Region Second Team in his senior year in 2021. While at college, Easley also appeared in the

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 ...

with

Portland Timbers U23s Capital FC is an American soccer team based in Salem, Oregon, United States. Although founded in 2008 as part of the development system for the Portland Timbers USSF D2 organization, beginning in 2011 they were part of the development system fo ...

in 2021, making seven regular season appearances.

Professional

On January 11, 2022, Easley was selected 22nd 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 ...

Sporting Kansas City Sporting Kansas City is an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Kansas City metropolitan area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The ad ...

. He signed with the club's

MLS Next Pro MLS Next Pro (MLSNP) is a men's professional association football, soccer league in the United States and Canada that is affiliated with Major League Soccer (MLS). It launched in 2022 with 21 teams and now comprises 27 reserve sides of MLS clu ...

side

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 ...

on March 11, 2022.

References

External links

Esai Easley
MLS profile
Esai Easley - Men's Soccer
Esai Easley at GCU Antelopes {{DEFAULTSORT:Easley, Esai Living people 2000 births American men's soccer players Men's association football defenders Grand Canyon Antelopes men's soccer players Major League Soccer players MLS Next Pro players Capital FC players Soccer players from Hawaii Sporting Kansas City draft picks Sporting Kansas City II players USL League Two players People from Kailua-Kona, Hawaii Sportspeople from Hawaii County, Hawaii De Anza Force players 21st-century American sportsmen