Jason Hernandez (born August 26, 1983) is 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 is the general manager of

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

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 ...

. He previously played for the Puerto Rico national team as a defender. Hernandez played prep soccer at

Paramus Catholic High School Paramus Catholic High School is a co-educational Roman Catholic high school located in Paramus in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The school, founded in 1965, under Archbishop Thomas A. Boland, and Superintendent of Schools, Mon ...

College

Hernandez played

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 ...

Seton Hall University Seton Hall University (SHU) is a Private university, private Catholic Church, Catholic research university in South Orange, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1856 by then-Bishop James Roosevelt Bayley and named after his aunt, Saint Elizab ...

from 2001 to 2004, and captained the team in his final two seasons. He was also named Second Team ALL-BIG EAST in 2004.

Club career

MetroStars

Hernandez was selected by the MetroStars with the sixth pick in the first round of the 2005 MLS Supplemental Draft and signed a

developmental contract In Major League Soccer, in addition to the senior roster, each team can carry a developmental roster of a certain number of young players whose contracts do not count against the salary cap. The allowable size of developmental rosters has varied t ...

with the team for the 2005 season. After not playing a minute in the club's first 29 league games, he made his debut against

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

on October 5, 2005. He started the last three games of the regular season, as well as both games in the playoffs.

Chivas USA

Hernandez was traded to

Chivas USA Chivas USA (pronounced ''CHEE-vahs'') was an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Greater Los Angeles area. The club competed in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conf ...

in a trade that allowed the MetroStars to move up to the first selection of the

2006 MLS SuperDraft The 2006 MLS SuperDraft, held in Philadelphia on January 20, 2006, was the seventh incarnation of the annual Major League Soccer MLS SuperDraft, SuperDraft. The first selection originally belonged to Chivas USA, but they traded it to the MetroSt ...

and select Marvell Wynne. In his initial campaign with Chivas, Hernandez went on to appear in 29 league matches, including 24 starts. During the 2007 season Hernandez saw his role reduced as he appeared in 21 league matches, starting only nine. He started three of the club's four playoff matches during his two-year stint at the Los Angeles-based club.

San Jose Earthquakes

Hernandez was picked up by the

San Jose Earthquakes The San Jose Earthquakes are an American professional association football, soccer club based in San Jose, California. The Earthquakes compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. Origin ...

in the 2007 MLS Expansion Draft. He made his debut on April 3, 2008, starting against

LA Galaxy The Los Angeles Galaxy are an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Greater Los Angeles area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The Gal ...

. Hernandez would play for the club through the

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

season, and would captain the team multiple times. His 160 games started and 13,859 minutes played placed him third all time in both categories for the club.

New York City

Hernandez was selected by

New York City FC New York City Football Club (often referred to as NYCFC) is an American professional Association football, soccer club based in New York City. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern C ...

as the 6th pick in the 2014 MLS Expansion Draft. He would start in their first ever

MLS Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional 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 sanctioned by the United ...

game, a 1–1 draw with

Orlando City SC Orlando City Soccer Club is an American professional soccer club based in Orlando, Florida. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. Owned by Zygi, Leonard, and Mark Wilf, it is the sister club of ...

on March 8, 2015. After the signing of Italian legend

Andrea Pirlo Andrea Pirlo (; born 19 May 1979) is an Italian association football, football manager (association football), manager and former professional player. Considered one of the greatest Midfielder (association football)#Deep-lying playmaker, mi ...

in July 2015, Hernandez changed his number from 21 to 2 to honor his boyhood idol,

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...

legendary shortstop

Derek Jeter Derek Sanderson Jeter ( ; born June 26, 1974), nicknamed "the Captain", is an American former professional baseball shortstop, businessman, and baseball executive. As a player, Jeter spent his entire 20-year Major League Baseball (MLB) caree ...

. He was not retained following the 2016 season.

Toronto FC

Hernandez was signed by

in March 2017. He made his Toronto FC debut and his first start of the season on May 6, 2017, playing the full 90 minutes in a 1–0 win against the

Seattle Sounders FC Seattle Sounders FC is an American professional association football, soccer club based in Seattle. The Sounders compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The club was established on ...

. Hernandez was re-signed by Toronto FC on April 13, 2018,. He was released at the end of the 2018 season following the expiration of his contract. Hernandez announced his retirement from professional football on April 2, 2019, and that he would be joining Toronto's front office as Manager of Player Engagement. Hernandez was named General Manager of Toronto FC on June 27, 2023.

International career

Hernandez was born in the United States to parents of Puerto Rican descent. In January 2009, he was called for a training camp with the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, but he did not appear in a match for the team. Eligible for

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

through his parents, he made his international debut with the team in March 2016 during a Caribbean Cup qualifier against

Guyana Guyana, officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern coast of South America, part of the historic British West Indies. entry "Guyana" Georgetown, Guyana, Georgetown is the capital of Guyana and is also the co ...

Management career

After retiring as a professional player in April 2019, he became

's Manager of Player Engagement. He later became the team's Assistant General Manager, Player Personnel and Engagement Strategy in 2021, before being promoted to General Manager in June 2023.

Career statistics

Club

International

Honors

Club

San Jose Earthquakes

Supporters' Shield The Supporters' Shield is an annual award given to the Major League Soccer team with the best regular season record, as determined by the MLS points system. The Supporters' Shield has been annually awarded at the MLS Supporters' Summit since 199 ...

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

Toronto FC

MLS Cup MLS Cup is the annual championship game of Major League Soccer (MLS) and the culmination of the MLS Playoffs. The game is held in November or December and pits the winner of the Eastern Conference Final against the winner of the Western Confere ...

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

* Eastern Conference Winners (Playoffs):

Canadian Championship The Canadian Championship () is an annual soccer tournament contested by Canadian professional teams. The winner is awarded the Voyageurs Cup and a berth in the CONCACAF Champions Cup. It is contested by Major League Soccer sides Toronto FC, Va ...

* Trillium Cup: 2017

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hernandez, Jason 1983 births Living people American sportspeople of Puerto Rican descent American men's soccer players Men's association football defenders Chivas USA players New York City FC players New York Red Bulls draft picks New York Red Bulls players Major League Soccer players Paramus Catholic High School alumni Sportspeople from Englewood, New Jersey Soccer players from Bergen County, New Jersey Puerto Rican men's footballers Puerto Rico men's international footballers San Jose Earthquakes players Seton Hall Pirates men's soccer players Soccer players from New York (state) Toronto FC players Toronto FC II players USL Championship players