Joel Bunting (born December 2, 1997) 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

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

Youth

Bunting graduated from

Bishop England High School Bishop England High School is a diocesan Roman Catholic four-year high school in Charleston, South Carolina, United States. It was located on Calhoun Street in downtown Charleston until it moved to a newly constructed 40-acre campus located on Dan ...

. During his time in high school, he was named All-State three times during his prep career and also received three

Golden Boot Awards The Golden Boot Awards were an American acknowledgement of achievement honoring actors, actresses, and crew members who made significant contributions to the genre of Westerns in television and film. The award was sponsored and presented by th ...

. Bunting also played club soccer for Daniel Island Soccer Academy, where he scored 26 goals and tallied 24 assists between 2014 and 2015.

College and amateur

Bunting 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 ...

at the

University of South Carolina Upstate The University of South Carolina Upstate (USC Upstate) is a public university in Valley Falls, South Carolina, United States. It has a Spartanburg postal address. Founded in 1967 and formerly known as University of South Carolina Spartanburg, ...

between 2016 and 2019. During his time with the Spartans, Bunting made 54 appearances across four seasons, tallying eight goals and three assists. He was named to the ASUN All-Freshman Team in 2016. In 2018, Bunting also played with NPSL side Greenville FC, making five appearances. 2020 saw Bunting appear with local

UPSL The United Premier Soccer League (UPSL) is an American for-profit soccer league that was founded in Santa Ana in Southern California, with teams in regionalized conferences throughout the United States, and recently Canada and Mexico. The leagu ...

side Charleston United during their 2020 Spring season.

Professional

Following a successful trial stint with the club, Bunting signed with

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 ...

side

Charleston Battery The Charleston Battery are an American professional association football, soccer club based in Charleston, South Carolina, and member of the USL Championship. Founded in 1993, the Battery are the oldest continuously operating professional socc ...

on May 21, 2021. He made his debut for the club on June 8, 2021, appearing as a 56th-minute substitute during a 1–0 win over

Loudoun United Loudoun United FC is an American professional soccer team based in Leesburg, Virginia. The team was founded in 2018 as the reserve team of D.C. United and made its debut in the USL Championship in 2019. After ownership changes, it ceased being t ...

. He scored his first professional goal on June 18, 2021, netting the winning goal in a 2–1 win over the

Miami FC Miami FC is an American professional association football, soccer team based in Miami, Florida that competes in the USL Championship, the second tier of the American soccer pyramid. The club began play in the North American Soccer League (201 ...

. Bunting was released by Charleston following the 2021 season, but re-signed with the club on a short-term deal on September 22, 2022. Following the 2022 season, Bunting was again released by Charleston.

References

External links

USC Upstate bioCharleston Battery bio
* 1997 births American men's soccer players Men's association football forwards Charleston Battery players Savannah Clovers FC players Living people National Independent Soccer Association players National Premier Soccer League players People from Mount Pleasant, South Carolina Sportspeople from Charleston County, South Carolina Soccer players from South Carolina USC Upstate Spartans men's soccer players USL Championship players 21st-century American sportsmen {{US-footy-forward-1990s-stub