Jahmali Waite (born 24 December 1998) is a professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who plays as a

goalkeeper In many team sports that involve scoring goal (sport), goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie, or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or i ...

for

El Paso Locomotive El Paso Locomotive FC is an American professional soccer team based in El Paso, Texas. Founded in 2018, the team made its debut in the USL Championship in 2019. History First season In February 2018, the United Soccer League announced that El P ...

in 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 ...

. Born in the United States, he represents

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

at international level.

Club career

Youth career

Waite played as part of the

Philadelphia Union The Philadelphia Union are an American professional soccer club based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. Founded on February 28, 2008, the Union began ...

academy, also appearing on the bench for the club's

side during their 2017 season. He was persuaded to move to the club by fellow Jamaican

Andre Blake Andre Jason Blake (born 21 November 1990) is a Jamaican professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Major League Soccer club Philadelphia Union and the Jamaica national team, which he captains. Early career After playing with Sporti ...

College and amateur career

In 2017, Waite attended

Fairleigh Dickinson University Fairleigh Dickinson University () is a private university with its main campuses in New Jersey, located in Madison / Florham Park and in Teaneck / Hackensack. Founded in 1942, Fairleigh Dickinson University offers more than 100 degree prog ...

to play

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 ...

. In three seasons with the Knights, Waite made 40 appearances. He was named to the Northeast Conference All-Rookie team as a freshman in 2017 and a First Team All-NEC selection in 2018. In his final year with the Knights, he was named the NEC Tournament MVP and helped guide Fairleigh Dickinson to the 2019 NCAA Tournament. 2020 saw Waite transfer to the

University of Connecticut The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university system with its main campus in Storrs, Connecticut, United States. It was founded in 1881 as the Storrs Agricultural School, named after two benefactors. In 1893, ...

, where he made a further 23 appearances. During his time at college, Waite also played 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 ...

. He made eight regular season appearances and one playoff appearance for

Reading United AC Reading United AC is an American soccer team based in Reading, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1995, the team plays in USL League Two, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid. The club plays its home games at Alvernia University. The club's col ...

during their 2019 season. In 2021, Waite appeared for Ocean City Nor'easters, playing nine times in the league and twice in the playoffs. Following college, Waite went undrafted 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 ...

, but joined

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 Chicago Fire for their preseason training camp. However, he did not sign for the club.

Professional career

Pittsburgh Riverhounds

On 25 March 2022, Waite signed his first professional contract, joining

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 ...

. He made his debut for the club in the

Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, commonly known as the U.S. Open Cup (USOC), is a knockout cup competition in men's soccer in the United States. It is the country's oldest ongoing national soccer competition. The competition was first held duri ...

on 5 April 2022. In 2023, Jahmali Waite picked up a clean sheet against

New England Revolution The New England Revolution are an American professional association football, soccer club based in the Greater Boston area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conference. It is on ...

, leading the side to a 1–0 win. Following this, Jahmali Waite was man of the match against the

Columbus Crew The Columbus Crew are an American professional soccer club based in Columbus, Ohio. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conference. The team began play in 1996 as one of the 10 cha ...

, saving three shots and conceding zero in the 1-0 that allowed the Hounds to make it to Quarterfinals of the

U.S. Open Cup The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, commonly known as the U.S. Open Cup (USOC), is a knockout cup competition in men's soccer in the United States. It is the country's oldest ongoing national soccer competition. The competition was first held duri ...

for the first time since 2001. Jahmali Waite was man of the match 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 ...

in the 1–0 win, saving the only shot on goal.

El Paso Locomotive

On 4 January 2024, Waite signed with

for their 2024 USL Championship season.

International career

Waite has represented Jamaica at under-17 level. Waite made his senior international debut on November 10 versus Cameroon. Waite made multiple appearances in friendlies for the Jamaica national team, and earned a call up to Jamaica's

2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup The 2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup was the 17th edition of the CONCACAF Gold Cup, the biennial international men's association football, soccer championship of the North, Central American and Caribbean region organized by CONCACAF. Canada and the United ...

squad. He started the 2023 Gold Cup game against

Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Kitts and Nevis, officially the Federation of Saint Christopher (St Kitts) and Nevis, is an island country consisting of the two islands of Saint Kitts and Nevis, both located in the West Indies, in the Leeward Islands chain of the Less ...

, making two saves in the 5–0 win before coming off in the 82nd minute.

Career statistics

International

References

External links

*
JAHMALI WAITE
Pittsburgh Riverhounds Profile {{DEFAULTSORT:Waite, Jahmali 1998 births Living people Soccer players from Philadelphia American sportspeople of Jamaican descent American men's soccer players Jamaican men's footballers Men's association football goalkeepers Fairleigh Dickinson Knights men's soccer players Philadelphia Union II players Reading United AC players UConn Huskies men's soccer players Ocean City Nor'easters players Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC players El Paso Locomotive FC players USL Championship players USL League Two players Jamaica men's youth international footballers Jamaica men's international footballers 2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 2024 Copa América players 2025 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 21st-century Jamaican sportsmen Naturalised citizens of Jamaica