Jalen Antonio Ellis-Watson (born March 23, 2000) is a Canadian professional

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

player who plays for Simcoe County Rovers FC in League1 Ontario.

Early life

Watson played youth soccer with Erin Mills SC. In August 2017, Watson joined the

Vancouver Whitecaps Academy Whitecaps FC Academy is a Canadian soccer team, the academy of professional team Vancouver Whitecaps FC Vancouver Whitecaps Football Club is a Canadian professional soccer team based in Vancouver. They compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as ...

, where he played for two years.

College career

In 2019, Watson began attending

Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsylvan ...

, where he played for the men's soccer team. On August 30, 2019, he made his collegiate debut against the

Stanford Cardinal The Stanford Cardinal are the athletic teams that represent Stanford University. As of June, 2022, Stanford's program has won 131 NCAA team championships. Stanford has won at least one NCAA team championship each academic year for 46 consecutive ...

. On October 15, 2019, he scored his first collegiate goal against the Pittsburgh Panthers. After his freshman season, he was named to the

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...

All-Freshman Team. In his sophomore and junior seasons, he earned Academic All-Big Ten honours. In his senior season, he was named to the Big Ten All-Tournament team. Over his four years at Penn State, Watson scored one goal and added three assists in 59 appearances.

Club career

At 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 will retain the 2023 branding. The draft was conducted ...

, Watson was selected in the second round (32nd overall) by

Toronto FC Toronto Football Club (commonly known as Toronto FC or TFC) is a Canadian professional soccer club based in Toronto. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home matches at BMO ...

. After attending pre-season with the club, Waston signed a professional contract with the second team,

Toronto FC II Toronto FC II is a Canadian professional soccer team based in Toronto, Ontario, who play in MLS Next Pro, a third tier league of the United States soccer league system. It is the reserve team and minor league affiliate of Toronto FC as well as i ...

, in MLS Next Pro. He made his debut on April 14 against

New York City FC II New York City FC II is an American professional soccer team based in New York City. It is the reserve team and minor league affiliate of New York City FC, and plays in MLS Next Pro, the third tier of the United States soccer league system. His ...

. In August 2023, he was loaned to

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, 201 ...

in the Canadian Premier League. In 2024, he signed with the

Simcoe County Rovers Simcoe County Rovers Football Club is a Canadian semi-professional soccer club based in Barrie, Ontario, that plays in the League1 Ontario men's and women's divisions. History The club was founded in 2021, by former Canadian national team pl ...

in League1 Ontario.

Career statistics

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Watson, Jalen 2000 births Living people Men's association football defenders Canadian men's soccer players Soccer players from Mississauga Toronto FC draft picks Toronto FC II players Whitecaps FC Academy players Penn State Nittany Lions men's soccer players MLS Next Pro players Pacific FC players Simcoe County Rovers FC players League1 Ontario players