Jackson Wälti (born December 7, 1999) 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

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 the

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

Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC is an American professional association football, soccer team based in Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1998 and beginning play in 1999, the club plays in the Eastern Conference (USL), Eastern Conferenc ...

Career

College

Prior to joining the Panthers, Wälti played for

Montverde Academy Montverde Academy is a private college preparatory school in Montverde, Florida, United States, located in the Greater Orlando area. The school is widely known for its athletic programs, particularly soccer and basketball. History The school ...

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

. Starting in 2018, Wälti played for

Pittsburgh Panthers The Pittsburgh Panthers, commonly also referred to as the Pitt Panthers, are the athletic teams representing the University of Pittsburgh, although the term is colloquially used to refer to other aspects of the university such as alumni, facul ...

, playing all 19 games of the season and scoring one goal against

NC State Wolfpack The NC State Wolfpack is the nickname of the athletic teams representing North Carolina State University. The Wolfpack competes at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I (NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subd ...

. Wälti played 20 games in 2019, also scoring against

Duke University Duke University is a Private university, private research university in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity, North Carolina, Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1 ...

. Wälti played every minute of every game in te 2020–21 season, joining teammate Nico Campuzano as the only two players to do that. Wälti scored 1 and assisted 3 that season. In the 2021 season, Wälti scored 1 goal for Pitt in the NCAA men's soccer tournament second round against

Northern Illinois Northern Illinois is a region generally covering the northern third of the U.S. state of Illinois. The region is by far the most populous of Illinois, with nearly 9.7 million residents as of 2010. Economics Northern Illinois is dominated by ...

. Additionally, Wälti played every game of that season. In 2022, Wälti helped Pittsburgh defeat NC State by scoring his second goal of the season. On December 21, 2022, Wälti was selected 56th overall in the

2023 MLS SuperDraft The 2023 MLS SuperDraft was the 24th edition of the SuperDraft conducted by Major League Soccer. It was held on December 21, 2022, becoming the first SuperDraft to be held in December, but retained the 2023 branding. The draft was conducted via ...

Austin FC Austin FC is an American professional soccer club based in Austin, Texas. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. Founded in 2018, the club began play in the 2021 season. Their home stadium is Q ...

Professional

Next Pro Teams

After the 2022 season with the Panthers, Wälti signed with MLS Next Pro side

Austin FC II Austin FC II is an American professional soccer team that is located in Austin, Texas. It is the reserve team of Austin FC and participates in MLS Next Pro. History On August 4, 2022, Austin FC was named as one of seven MLS clubs that would f ...

. However, Wälti would only play 12 games in the first half of the MLS Next Pro season before being transferred to

Colorado Rapids 2 Colorado Rapids 2 is a professional soccer club based in Denver, Colorado area that competes in the MLS Next Pro league, the third division of American soccer. The team is owned by, and operates as the reserve team of, Major League Soccer clu ...

in the same league. Wälti got his first MLS Next Pro assist in the 6–2 victory over

Whitecaps FC 2 Whitecaps FC 2 is a professional association football, soccer team based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada that serves as the reserve team of the Vancouver Whitecaps FC of Major League Soccer. History Prior to the MLS Next Pro iteratio ...

. At the end of the 2023 season, Wälti's option for 2024 was not picked up.

Pittsburgh Riverhounds

In January 2024, Wälti signed with

club,

Pittsburgh Riverhounds Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC is an American professional soccer team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1998 and beginning play in 1999, the club plays in the Eastern Conference of the USL Championship, the second tier of the American ...

after his 8 appearances with Colorado in the 2023 season. Wälti played his former club, Pittsburgh Panthers, in a preseason game with the Riverhounds, which they won 2–0. Wälti made his official debut in the 1–0 loss away to

New Mexico United New Mexico United is an American professional soccer team based in Albuquerque Albuquerque ( ; ), also known as ABQ, Burque, the Duke City, and in the past 'the Q', is the List of municipalities in New Mexico, most populous city in the U. ...

, which Wälti started. Wälti scored his first professional goal in the 2–2 draw with the

Colorado Springs Switchbacks Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC is a professional soccer team based in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Founded in 2014, the team is a member of the Western Conference in the USL Championship, the second tier of the American soccer pyramid. The fra ...

. He scored once again 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 ...

, though it would eventually result in a 2–1 loss.

Personal life

Born in

St. Augustine, Florida St. Augustine ( ; ) is a city in and the county seat of St. Johns County, Florida, United States. Located 40 miles (64 km) south of downtown Jacksonville, the city is on the Atlantic coast of northeastern Florida. Founded in 1565 by Spani ...

, Wälti spent time living in

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

and

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

, before settling down in

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

. Wälti is of Swiss descent through his father and holds dual American and Swiss citizenship.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Walti, Jackson 1999 births Living people Sportspeople from St. Augustine, Florida American men's soccer players American people of Swiss descent Men's association football midfielders Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC players Pittsburgh Panthers men's soccer players Austin FC II players Colorado Rapids 2 players Soccer players from Florida Austin FC draft picks 21st-century American sportsmen