Isaiah Johnston (born December 16, 2001) is a Canadian 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

HFX Wanderers Halifax Wanderers FC, also written as HFX Wanderers FC, is a Canadian professional soccer club in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The club competes in the Canadian Premier League (CPL) at the top of the Canadian soccer league system, and play their home ...

Early life

Johnston was born in

Mississauga Mississauga is a Canadian city in the province of Ontario. Situated on the north-western shore of Lake Ontario in the Regional Municipality of Peel, it borders Toronto (Etobicoke) to the east, Brampton to the north, Milton to the northwest, ...

, before moving to Georgetown, when he was one year old. There, he began playing soccer at age six with Georgetown SC. At age thirteen, he and his family moved to Milton, where he played for Milton YSC. In 2017, he was named to the U18 Team Ontario for the

2017 Canada Summer Games The 2017 Canada Summer Games, officially known as the XXVI Canada Games, were held in Winnipeg, Manitoba from July 28 to August 13, 2017. Venues * Axworthy Health and Recplex - Winnipeg (basketball, wrestling) *Bell MTS Place - Winnipeg (Opening ...

University career

In October 2018, he committed to attend

Cape Breton University Cape Breton University (CBU) is a public university located in Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada. It is the only post-secondary degree-granting institution within the Cape Breton Regional Municipality and on Cape Breton Island. The university is enabl ...

to play for the Cape Breton Capers for the fall of 2019. During 2019, he was named Player of the Game twice — on September 15 in a 5–0 win over the

Mount Allison Mounties The Mount Allison Mounties are the varsity athletic teams that represent Mount Allison University in Sackville, New Brunswick, Canada. The Mounties sports teams play their matches at Alumni Field which seats 2,500. Athletics and recreations Th ...

and on September 22 in a 6–0 win over the

Acadia Axemen The Acadia Axemen and Axewomen are the men's and women's athletic teams that represent Acadia University in Wolfville, Nova Scotia, Canada. The on-campus sports facilities used by Axemen teams include Raymond Field for various field sports and ...

. In his rookie season, he won a bronze medal at the national championships and he was named the AUS Rookie of the Year and was named to the All-Rookie Team. After one season, he departed Cape Breton, opting to turn professional instead.

Club career

From 2017 to 2019, Johnston played for

League1 Ontario League1 Ontario (L1ON) is a semi-professional men's soccer league in Ontario, Canada. The league is sanctioned by the Canadian Soccer Association and the Ontario Soccer Association. League1 Ontario consists of three tiers – League1 Premier ...

side

Woodbridge Strikers Woodbridge Strikers Soccer Club is a Canadian semi-professional soccer club based in Woodbridge, Ontario. The club was founded in 1976 as a youth soccer club and added its semi-professional club in League1 Ontario in 2014. The team plays home g ...

. In 2019, he was invited to pre-season with

York9 FC York United Football Club (formerly known as York9 FC) is a Canadian professional soccer club based in Toronto, Ontario. The club competes in the Canadian Premier League and plays its home games at York University's York Lions Stadium. Histor ...

of the

Canadian Premier League The Canadian Premier League (CPL or CanPL; ) is a professional Association football, soccer league in Canada and the highest level of the Canadian soccer league system. The league comprises eight teams, from five of provinces and territories of ...

and was then invited to continue with their pre-season camp later in the Dominican Republic. At the

2019 CPL–U Sports Draft The 2019 CPL–U Sports Draft was the second annual CPL–U Sports Draft. It was held on November 11, 2019 in Montreal, Quebec. Seven Canadian Premier League (CPL) teams selected 14 eligible U Sports athletes in total. Format Each CPL team wil ...

, Johnston was selected 10th overall by

(later renamed York United). In July 2020, he signed his first professional contract with York. 2021 was a breakout season for Johnston, as he became a regular starter, and was ranked the 27th best player in the Canadian Premier League at the end of the season. Johnston scored his first goal for York on July 24, 2021 against

FC Edmonton FC Edmonton was a Canadian professional Association football, soccer club based in Edmonton, Alberta. The club was founded in 2010 and competed in the North American Soccer League (2011–2017), North American Soccer League (NASL) from 2011 t ...

. In 2021, he was nominated for the CPL Assist of the Year. In November 2021, he signed an extension with the club. On July 15, 2022, he recorded two assists in a match against

Pacific FC Pacific Football Club is a Canadian professional soccer club based in Greater Victoria, British Columbia. The club competes in the Canadian Premier League, playing home matches at Starlight Stadium located in Langford. History On May 5, 20 ...

. In December 2022, Johnston transferred to

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

Huntsville City FC Huntsville City FC is an American professional soccer team based in Huntsville, Alabama. It is the reserve team of Nashville SC and plays in MLS Next Pro, the third tier of American soccer. The team plays its games at Joe Davis Stadium, a forme ...

, the reserve side of

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 ...

, for the 2023 season, becoming the team's first ever signing. He made his debut on March 26 against

Crown Legacy FC Crown Legacy FC is an American soccer team that is located in Matthews, North Carolina. It is the reserve team of Charlotte FC and participates in MLS Next Pro. History On March 31, 2022, Charlotte FC announced it would field an MLS Next Pro ...

. He scored his first goal on May 12 against

Chicago Fire FC II Chicago Fire FC II is an American professional soccer team that is located in Bridgeview, Illinois. It is the reserve team of Chicago Fire FC and participates in MLS Next Pro. History On December 6, 2021, the Chicago Fire FC were named as one ...

. On July 9, 2023, he scored a brace in a 6-2 victory over

Orlando City B Orlando City B (or OCB for short) is an American soccer club that began play in 2016 and currently plays in MLS Next Pro. Owned by Orlando City SC and based at the Orlando City training facility in Kissimmee, the club plays its home games at ...

. In late June 2024, Johnston joined

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 ...

club

Loudoun United FC Loudoun United FC is an American professional soccer team based in Leesburg, Virginia. The team was founded in 2018 as the reserve team of D.C. United and made its debut in the USL Championship in 2019. After ownership changes, it ceased being ...

on a transfer, signing a two-year contract with options for 2026 and 2027. He made his debut on June 29, in a substitute appearance, against the

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 ...

. On January 15, 2025, Johnston was sold to

side

for an undisclosed fee, signing a two-year contract with an option for 2027.

International career

In 2016, Johnston made his debut in the Canadian youth program at age 14 at an identification camp for the Canada U15 team. In May 2016, he was named to the Canada U15 Select squad for the Canada Soccer U-15 Showcase, facing the

Toronto FC Academy Toronto FC Academy, also known as TFC Academy, is the Youth system, youth academy and development system of Canadian Major League Soccer club Toronto FC, which competes in MLS Next. The academy has divisions from U14 to U19 and includes over 110 ...

Montreal Impact Academy Montreal is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest in Canada, and the ninth-largest in North America. It was founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", and is now named after Mount Royal, the triple-pea ...

, and

Vancouver Whitecaps Academy Whitecaps FC Academy ( sponsor name Whitecaps FC BMO Academy) is the youth system of the professional soccer club Vancouver Whitecaps, based in Vancouver, British Columbia. It fields a men's and women's team in the semi-professional League1 ...

teams.

Career statistics

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Johnston, Isaiah 2001 births Living people Men's association football midfielders Canadian men's soccer players Soccer players from Mississauga CBU Capers men's soccer players Black Canadian men's soccer players Canadian expatriate men's soccer players Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States Canadian expatriate sportspeople in the United States York United FC draft picks York United FC players Woodbridge Strikers players Huntsville City FC players Loudoun United FC players HFX Wanderers FC players League1 Ontario players Canadian Premier League players MLS Next Pro players USL Championship players 21st-century Canadian sportsmen University and college men's soccer players in Canada