Kelyn Jaynes Rowe (born December 2, 1991) is an American former professional and current semi-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 ...

Early life

Rowe grew up in

Federal Way, Washington Federal Way is a city in King County, Washington, United States and part of the Seattle metropolitan area. One of the most recently incorporated cities in the county, its population was 101,030 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Feder ...

. He attended

Federal Way High School Federal Way High School is a public high school located in Federal Way, Washington. It was originally built in 1938. A new campus opened in the fall of 2016. Academics * Advanced Placement courses: Calculus, Statistics, and Photography. * Pre-AP ...

, becoming an immediate star on the school's varsity soccer team while just a freshman. By his senior year, Rowe had been named a

Parade A parade is a procession of people, usually organized along a street, often in costume, and often accompanied by marching bands, floats, or sometimes large balloons. Parades are held for a wide range of reasons, but are usually some variety ...

and

ESPN RISE ''ESPN HS'' was a high school sports magazine published monthly during the school year in 25 markets around the United States. Founded as ''SchoolSports'' magazine in 1997, the publication changed its name to ''RISE'' in 2006 and was purchased ...

All-American, as well as being awarded the 2010 Class 4A Player of the Year by multiple publications. While in high school, Rowe played club soccer for

Crossfire Redmond Crossfire Redmond, previously the Seattle Wolves and Washington Crossfire, is an American soccer organization based in Seattle, Washington, United States. Founded in 2009, the team plays in the National Premier Soccer League, the fourth tier of t ...

youth system In sporting terminology, a youth system (or youth academy) is a youth investment program within a particular team or league, which develops and nurtures young talent in farm teams, with the vision of using them in the first team if they show en ...

, where he was named in the U-16 West All-Conference First Team in 2007 and 2008. As a senior, Rowe was ranked fifth in Top Drawer Soccer's class of 2010 recruit list.

Career

College and amateur

Rowe appeared as an

attacking midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

for the

UCLA Bruins The UCLA Bruins are the athletic teams that represent the University of California, Los Angeles. The Bruin men's and women's teams participate in NCAA Division I as part of the Big Ten Conference and the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF ...

, and was a standout player during his freshman year in 2010, ranking second in the

Pac-10 Conference The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate athletic conference in the Western United States. It participates at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level for all sports, and its football teams compete in the Football Bowl ...

in assists with ten and winning the Pac-10 Freshman of the Year award. Rowe started 21 games for the Bruins in his freshman year in 2010, scoring seven goals and adding ten assists. As well as winning the Pac-10 Freshman of the Year award, Rowe was also selected to the All-Pac-10 First-team and Third-team All-American, while leading the Bruins to the Louisville, Kentucky Regional Game in the 2010 NCAA Men's Division I Soccer Tournament. Rowe took the spring quarter off at

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

to train and play with the U.S. U-20 national team full-time. In 2011, Rowe spent the summer on trial with the German

Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany and the highest level of the German football league system. The Bundesliga comprises 18 teams ...

club

1. FC Köln 1. Fußball-Club Köln 01/07 e. V., better known as simply 1. FC Köln () or FC Cologne in English language, English, is a German professional association football, football club based in Cologne in North Rhine-Westphalia. It was formed in 1948 ...

before returning to

for his sophomore season. During Rowe's sophomore campaign he scored six goals and tallied 10 assists during UCLA's run to the semifinals of the NCAA College Cup.

Professional

Rowe was drafted 3rd overall in the

2012 MLS SuperDraft The 2012 MLS SuperDraft was the thirteenth annual SuperDraft presented by Major League Soccer. It was held on January 12, 2012 at 12:00 p.m. (ET). The draft was reduced from three rounds to two with the 19 MLS clubs selecting a total of 38 ...

, by the New England Revolution. He was listed in January 2012 by ESPN as one of the top 10 American players under 21. He is known for his ball skills and passing ability. He scored his first goal in the 2012 campaign for the New England Revolution in a surprising win over defending MLS Champions the Los Angeles Galaxy 3–1 on the road. Rowe won

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 ...

Player of the Week honors for his two-goal performance in a 5–1 win over 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 ...

in Week 25 of the 2013 Season. In June 2018, The Revolution were approached by an unnamed

Israeli Premier League The Israeli Premier League (, Ligat HaAl, ) is a professional association football league in Israel and the highest level of the Israeli football league system. The league is contested by 14 clubs, and operates on a system of promotion and rele ...

club regarding a potential transfer for Rowe, however no deal was made as terms could not be agreed upon by the teams. On December 18, 2018, Rowe was traded to

Colorado Rapids The Colorado Rapids are an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Denver metropolitan area. The Rapids compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. Founded in ...

in exchange for

Edgar Castillo Edgar Eduardo Castillo Carrillo (born October 8, 1986) is an American former professional soccer player who played as a left-back. Castillo is noted for being one of five players to earn a senior cap for both sides of the United States-Mexico ...

, then was immediately traded to

Sporting Kansas City Sporting Kansas City is an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Kansas City metropolitan area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The ad ...

in exchange for Diego Rubio, $200,000 of General Allocation Money and $100,000 of Targeted Allocation Money. Rowe was further traded to

Real Salt Lake Real Salt Lake (RSL) is an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. Fou ...

on August 7, 2019. During the 2019 season, he was occasionally sent to play for Real Salt Lake's

USL USL may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Underground Sound of Lisbon, a Portuguese dance music project * Urban Strawberry Lunch, a band from Liverpool Companies * United Spirits Limited, India * Former United States Lines shipping company C ...

affiliate club,

Real Monarchs Real Monarchs is a professional soccer club playing in the MLS Next Pro, a third division league of American soccer. The team is an affiliate of the Major League Soccer (MLS) club Real Salt Lake. Real Monarchs are based in the Real Salt Lake ...

, for whom he made two appearances. The Monarchs would go on to win the

USL Cup The USL Cup is an annual soccer competition in men's domestic American soccer. The USL Cup is currently known as the USL Jägermeister Cup after its title sponsor, Jägermeister. The competition is open to all clubs in USL Championship and US ...

that season. Rowe was signed as a free agent by the New England Revolution on December 4, 2019. Rowe was traded to the Seattle Sounders on January 12, 2021. He scored his first goal for the club on July 7 against the

Houston Dynamo Houston Dynamo Football Club is an American professional soccer club based in Houston. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. Established on December 15, 2005, the club was founded after their fo ...

. He was released by the Sounders at the conclusion of the 2023 season. Rowe announced his retirement from professional soccer on February 2, 2024, via social media posts; he stated that he wanted to "end on a high note" and look after his health. On March 16, 2025,

Ballard FC Ballard FC is an American soccer club based in Seattle, Washington, competing in the Northwest Division of USL League Two. They began play in the 2022 season and won their first league championship in 2023. The team plays their home matches a ...

announced that Kelyn Rowe would be joining the club for their run in the 2025 U.S. Open Cup. Rowe later confirmed that he was only joining the team for one match. Ballard FC lost their first match to Spokane Velocity FC, with Rowe starting and being substituted off in the 79th minute.

International

Rowe played for the U.S. U-18 national team, and the U.S. U-20 national team, starting in all three games, scoring three goals and assisting on one in the

2011 CONCACAF U-20 Championship The 2011 CONCACAF Under-20 Championship was expanded to 12 teams beginning in 2011. The tournament determined the four CONCACAF teams that participated at the 2011 FIFA U-20 World Cup to be held in Colombia. In addition, the top three finishers f ...

tournament, while wearing the number 10 jersey. Rowe was added to the December U-23 Men's National Team training camp roster in 2012. Rowe was named to the senior national team squad for the

2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup The 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup was the 14th edition of the CONCACAF Gold Cup, the biennial international men's soccer championship of the North, Central American and Caribbean region organized by CONCACAF, and 24th CONCACAF regional championship ove ...

. He made his debut in a friendly match against

Ghana Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to t ...

on July 1, 2017, and scored his first goal in a group stage match against

Nicaragua Nicaragua, officially the Republic of Nicaragua, is the geographically largest Sovereign state, country in Central America, comprising . With a population of 7,142,529 as of 2024, it is the third-most populous country in Central America aft ...

on July 15, 2017.

Career statistics

International goals

:''Scores and results list the United States's goal tally first.'' , - , 1. , , July 15, 2017, ,

FirstEnergy Stadium Huntington Bank Field is a stadium in Cleveland, Ohio. It is the home field of the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League (NFL), and serves as a venue for other events such as college and high school football, soccer, hockey, and con ...

Cleveland Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–U.S. maritime border and approximately west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania st ...

, United States, , , , align=center, 2–0, , align=center, 3–0, ,

Honors

Seattle Sounders FC *

CONCACAF Champions League The CONCACAF Champions Cup, formerly known as CONCACAF Champions League (2008–2023), is an international association football competition organized by CONCACAF as its top continental tournament for clubs from North America, Central America, ...

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

United States *

CONCACAF Gold Cup The CONCACAF Gold Cup () is an association football competition organized by CONCACAF as its top continental tournament for men's senior national teams from North America, Central America and the Caribbean. The tournament is held every two ...

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 ...

Individual * Pac-12 Conference Player of the Year: 2011 * Pac-12 Conference Freshman Player of the Year: 2010 *

Pac-12 Conference The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the Western United States. It participates at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I level for all sports, and its Co ...

First-team: 2010, 2011 * NSCAA Far West Region First-team: 2010 *

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

Third-team: 2010

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rowe, Kelyn 1991 births Living people Sportspeople from Federal Way, Washington Soccer players from King County, Washington American men's soccer players Men's association football midfielders UCLA Bruins men's soccer players USL League Two players Major League Soccer players USL Championship players Crossfire Redmond players New England Revolution players Sporting Kansas City players Sporting Kansas City II players Real Salt Lake players Real Monarchs players Seattle Sounders FC players New England Revolution draft picks United States men's youth international soccer players United States men's under-20 international soccer players United States men's international soccer players 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup players CONCACAF Gold Cup–winning players CONCACAF Champions Cup–winning players 21st-century American sportsmen Ballard FC players