Jimmy Christopher Banks Jr. (born August 24, 1989) is an American former 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 played as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People *Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Smal ...

Career

College and amateur

Banks attended Riverside High School, where he was a four-time All-Conference, played in the Region II Olympic Development Program, and played club soccer for FC Milwaukee, before going on to play four years of

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 ...

at the University of Wisconsin Green Bay. At Green Bay he was the Horizon League all-newcomer team as a freshman in 2007, was the 2009 Horizon League Player of the Year, and was a 2010 All-League First Team and All-Great Lakes Second Team selection. JC was inducted into the University of Wisconsin Green Bay's Hall of Fame in 2018. During his college years Banks also played for the

Madison 56ers Madison 56ers is an American soccer team based in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. Founded in 2005, the team plays in the United Premier Soccer League. Prior to the 2009 season the team was known as the Princeton 56ers. Since their inception ...

in the

National Premier Soccer League The National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) is an American men's association football, soccer league. The league is officially affiliated to the United States Adult Soccer Association (USASA) and has automatic qualification for the U.S. Open Cup. ...

and

Chicago Fire Premier Chicago Fire U-23 was an American soccer team based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 2001, the team last played in the PDL, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid. They last played in 2016, choosing to leave the PDL. ...

in the

USL Premier Development League 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 ...

Professional

Banks was drafted in the first round (8th overall) of the 2011 MLS Supplemental Draft by

Toronto FC Toronto Football Club is a Canadian professional Association football, soccer club based in Toronto. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conference. The team plays its home matc ...

, but was not offered a contract with the MLS team. After trialing with several clubs in Europe, including Swedish side

BK Häcken Bollklubben Häcken, more commonly known as BK Häcken or simply Häcken (), is a Swedish professional association football, football club based in Gothenburg (Hisingen). It currently plays in Allsvenskan, the top tier of Swedish football. Forme ...

, Banks signed with

USL Professional Division 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

Rochester Rhinos Rochester Rhinos, formerly known as the Rochester Raging Rhinos, was an American soccer team based in Rochester, New York, United States. The club won the 1999 U.S. Open Cup, marking the only time a non-MLS team has won the U.S. Open Cup sinc ...

. He made his professional debut on April 15, 2011, in Rochester's season opening game against the

Richmond Kickers Richmond Kickers is an American professional soccer club based in Richmond, Virginia. The Kickers compete as a member of USL League One (USL1). The club was established in 1993, and began play that same year as a United States Interregional S ...

, and scored his first professional goal on April 23 in a 3–2 win over the

Dayton Dutch Lions The Dayton Dutch Lions are an American soccer team based in Dayton, Ohio, United States. Founded in 2009, the team plays in USL League Two, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid. From 2011 to 2014, the team played in the USL Professiona ...

. He was selected as the Rhinos' rookie of the year following his first professional season. Rochester re-signed Banks for the 2012 season on October 25, 2011. He was voted the Rhinos'

MVP MVP most commonly refers to: * Most valuable player, an award, typically for the best performing player in a sport or competition * Minimum viable product, a concept for feature estimating used in business and engineering MVP may also refer to: ...

after the 2012 season, tallying 5 goals and a league leading 8 assists. He again received this honor in 2014 after totaling 3 assists and a career high 9 goals. He was also named Offensive Player of the Year in 2012 & 2014, USL PRO Assists Champion & PRO First XI in 2012, and USL All League Second Team in 2014. On December 11, 2014,

Minnesota United FC Minnesota United Football Club, often shortened to MNUFC, is an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the W ...

announced that they had signed Banks. He made his league debut for the club on April 25, 2015, coming on as an 85th-minute substitute for

Jonny Steele Jonathan Steele (born 7 February 1986) is a Northern Irish professional footballer. He has also received three caps for the Northern Ireland national team. Early life Steele was raised in a Catholic family along with three brothers in the pr ...

in a 2–2 home draw with the

San Antonio Scorpions The San Antonio Scorpions were an American professional soccer team based in San Antonio, Texas. Founded in 2010, the team made its debut in the North American Soccer League in 2012. The Scorpions played at Toyota Field, a soccer specific stadi ...

. He scored his first league goal for the club on June 6, 2015, in a 1–1 away draw with the

Carolina RailHawks North Carolina FC is an American professional soccer team in Cary, North Carolina, a suburb of Raleigh, and member of the USL Championship. Founded in 2006, the team previously was named the Carolina Railhawks. On December 6, 2016, the RailH ...

. His goal, scored in the 48th minute, made the score 1–0 to Minnesota United. On January 25, 2017,

Jacksonville Armada FC Jacksonville Armada FC is an American professional soccer team based in Jacksonville, Florida. They were founded in 2013 as an expansion franchise in the North American Soccer League (NASL), the second tier of American soccer, and played unt ...

announced that they had signed Banks. He made his league debut for the club on April 2, 2017, in a 1–0 home victory over

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 ...

. Banks made an immediate impact with his new club, scoring the winning goal in the 77th minute. In December 2018, Banks joined

USL League One USL League One (USL1) is a professional men's association football, soccer league in the United States that had its inaugural season in 2019 USL League One season, 2019. The United States soccer league system, Division III league is operated ...

club

Forward Madison FC Forward Madison FC is an American professional soccer team based in Madison, Wisconsin. The team was founded in 2018, and played its inaugural season in 2019. The team competes in USL League One, the third division of the United States soccer l ...

ahead of their inaugural season. He made his league debut for the club on April 6, 2019, in a 1–0 away defeat to

Chattanooga Red Wolves SC Chattanooga Red Wolves SC is an American professional soccer club based in Chattanooga, Tennessee. They are a founding member of USL League One in the third division of American men's soccer. The club was announced as a member of USL League One ...

. Banks announced his retirement from playing professional soccer on February 5, 2021.

Personal

J. C.'s father, Jimmy Banks, played soccer for

Milwaukee Wave The Milwaukee Wave are an American professional indoor soccer team based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, that competes in the Major Arena Soccer League (MASL). Founded in 1984, they have been the oldest continuously operating professional indoor footbal ...

and with the

United States men's national soccer team The United States men's national soccer team (USMNT), officially recognized as USA by FIFA, represents the United States in men's international Association football, soccer. The team is governed by the United States Soccer Federation, which is ...

at the

1987 Pan American Games The 1987 Pan American Games, officially known as the X Pan American Games, was a major international multi-sport event held in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States, on August 7–23, 1987. Over 4,300 athletes from 38 countries in the Americas ...

and in qualification for, and in, the

1990 FIFA World Cup The 1990 FIFA World Cup was the 14th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial Association football, football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was held from 8 June to 8 July 1990 in Italy, the second country to host the event for a second ...

References

External links

Green Bay profile

J.C. Banks
at

North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League (NASL) was the top-level major professional soccer league in the United States and Canada that operated from 1968 to 1984. It is considered the first soccer league to be successful on a national scale in the ...

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Banks, J. C. 1989 births Living people American men's soccer players Soccer players from Milwaukee County, Wisconsin Soccer players from Milwaukee Men's association football forwards Green Bay Phoenix men's soccer players Chicago Fire U-23 players Toronto FC draft picks Rochester Rhinos players Minnesota United FC (2010–2016) players Jacksonville Armada FC players Forward Madison FC players North American Soccer League (2011–2017) players USL Championship players USL League One players USL League Two players National Premier Soccer League players