Nicholas Markanich (born December 26, 1999) 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 for club
CD Castellón
Club Deportivo Castellón, S.A.D. is a professional List of football clubs in Spain, Spanish football team based in Castellón de la Plana, in the Valencian Community. Founded on 20 July 1922, it currently plays in , holding home games at ''Nou E ...
.
Early life
Markanich was born on December 26, 1999. He grew up in
Bourbonnais, Illinois
Bourbonnais ( ) is a village in Kankakee County, Illinois, United States. The population was 18,164 at the 2020 census.
History
The village is named for François Jace Bourbonnais ''père'', a fur trapper, hunter and agent of the American Fur C ...
and attended
Bradley-Bourbonnais Community High School.
He played as part of the
Chicago Fire for a period.
In 2018, he matriculated to
Northern Illinois University
Northern Illinois University (NIU) is a public research university in DeKalb, Illinois, United States. It was founded as "Northern Illinois State Normal School" in 1895 by Illinois Governor John P. Altgeld, initially to provide the state with c ...
, where he played for the
Huskies soccer team. Over his four years at NIU, he started in 68 of his 69 appearances and scored 39 goals.
While at college, Markanich played with
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 ...
side
Green Bay Voyageurs between 2019 and 2021, without the 2020 season been cancelled due to the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
. He made a total of 15 appearances, scoring five goals and tallying three assists.
Career
FC Cincinnati
Markanich was selected by
FC Cincinnati
Football Club Cincinnati is an American professional soccer club based in Cincinnati. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The team was first announced on August 12, 2015 as a United Soccer Leag ...
in the
2022 MLS SuperDraft. He was chosen as the 2nd pick in the 2nd round of the draft, or the 30th overall pick. He was signed to a contract for the 2022 season (with options through the 2025 season) on February 21, 2022.
He started in FC Cincinnati's first match of the season on February 26. Markanich was released by Cincinnati following their 2022 season.
Charleston Battery
On February 16, 2023, Markanich 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 ...
following a successful trial.
Markanich was among the USL Championship's top attackers in 2023. He was a five-time Team of the Week selection, the Week 15 Player of the Week and a Player of the Month nominee in June. Nick tallied 13 goals and four assists in 36 matches across all competitions, finding the back of the net in the regular season, playoffs and
Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.
Among Nick's most memorable goals included match-winners in the Open Cup Third Round against
Charlotte Independence
Charlotte Independence is an American soccer team based in Charlotte, North Carolina, that plays in the USL League One, the third tier of the American soccer pyramid.
The Independence currently play their home games at American Legion Memoria ...
and in the regular season finale against
Birmingham Legion FC
Birmingham Legion FC is an American professional soccer club based in Birmingham, Alabama, that competes in the USL Championship, the second division of American soccer. The team was established in August 2013 and played under the name Birming ...
, and his first-time strike in the
USL Championship Final
The USL Championship final is the post-season championship match of the USL Championship, the second tier of professional men's soccer in the United States. The winner is crowned champion in the same manner as in other North American sports le ...
. He additionally scored braces on the road against
Hartford Athletic
Hartford Athletic is an American professional association football, soccer team based in Hartford, Connecticut. The club was founded in 2018 and started play in the USL Championship in 2019. It is the only pro soccer team in Connecticut (thoug ...
and at home against
Loudoun United. Markanich scored twice during the
2023 USL Championship Playoffs, including in the league final.
Markanich got off to a fast start and was the Championship's top scorer after the first months of play, scoring 11 goals in nine matches. This included a four-goal performance on April 27 against
Las Vegas Lights FC
Las Vegas Lights FC is an American professional soccer team based in Las Vegas, Nevada, that plays in the USL Championship. The team made its debut in 2018 and plays its home games at Cashman Field.
The team employs neon imagery in its crest a ...
, in which he scored a hat trick in the first half, the first of his professional career. His four goals and one assist performance was only the second on record in the USL Championship era, and the first Battery player with a four-goal game in Championship.
At the end of April, he was the top goalscorer of all the American domestic leagues, two goals ahead of
Lionel Messi
Lionel Andrés "Leo" Messi (; born 24 June 1987) is an Argentine professional Association football, footballer who plays as a forward (association football), forward for and Captain (association football), captains both Major League Soccer ...
's nine with
Inter Miami CF
Club Internacional de Fútbol Miami (), commonly referred to as Inter Miami, is an American professional soccer club based in the Miami metropolitan area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (M ...
. Markanich was a nine-time Team of the Week selection and four-time Player of the Week (Week 6, 8, 18 and 25) winner through late-August. After scoring 15 goals in 18 games, Markanich became the fifth-fastest to reach 15 goals in a season in USL Championship history. Markanich scored his second hat trick of the season on August 24 against
Orange County SC
Orange County Soccer Club is an American soccer team based in the Orange County, California city of Irvine. Founded in 2010 as the Los Angeles Blues, the team currently plays in the Western Conference of the USL Championship, the second tier ...
, bringing his total to 24 goals and one shy of the league's single-season record.
Markanich and teammate
MD Myers formed a formidable striker partnership for the Battery, earning them the nickname "
M&M Boys", as they led the USLC in combined goals and goal contributions (goals + assists) through late August.
On September 7, Markanich scored his 25th goal of the year to tie the Championship's single-season record.
On September 21, Markanich broke the USL Championship single-season scoring record with his 26th and 27th goals of the season on the same night against the Tampa Bay Rowdies. Markanich also tied the Battery's all-time single-season scoring record by matching
Paul Conway's mark of 27 scored in 2001 (all competitions).
Markanich broke Conway's record in the next game, converting from the penalty spot on October 5 against Detroit City FC.
Markanich was crowned winner of the USL Championship Golden Boot with 28 goals scored in the regular season. Markanich also ended the year as the top goalscorer across all domestic leagues in the United States, ahead of the likes of
Christian Benteke
Christian Benteke Liolo (born 3 December 1990) is a Belgian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Major League Soccer club D.C. United.
Benteke began his career at Standard Liège, playing a part in their 2008–09 Belgian Firs ...
,
Lionel Messi
Lionel Andrés "Leo" Messi (; born 24 June 1987) is an Argentine professional Association football, footballer who plays as a forward (association football), forward for and Captain (association football), captains both Major League Soccer ...
and
Luis Suarez
Luis is a given name. It is the Spanish form of the originally Germanic name or . Other Iberian Romance languages have comparable forms: (with an accent mark on the i) in Portuguese and Galician, in Aragonese and Catalan, while is archai ...
in MLS. He scored two more goals in the USL Championship Playoffs as the Battery reached the Eastern Conference Final for a second consecutive year. His 30 goals set the club's new single-season scoring record.
After the season, Markanich won USL Championship Player of the Year and garnered All-League First Team honors. Markanich was a near-unanimous pick for Player of the Year and was the first Battery player to win the award since
Lamar Neagle in 2010.
Castellón
On August 30, 2024, Markanich agreed to a contract with Spanish
Segunda División
The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Segunda División, commonly known as Segunda División or La Liga 2, and officially known as LaLiga HyperMotion for sponsorship reasons, is the men's second professional association football division of the Spa ...
side
CD Castellón
Club Deportivo Castellón, S.A.D. is a professional List of football clubs in Spain, Spanish football team based in Castellón de la Plana, in the Valencian Community. Founded on 20 July 1922, it currently plays in , holding home games at ''Nou E ...
, effective as of January 1.
International career
Philippines
In 2024, Markanich was reportedly among the diaspora players being recruited by head coach
Tom Saintfiet
Tom Saintfiet (born 29 March 1973) is a Belgian football coach and former player. He is the current head coach of the Mali national team.
He managed the Gambian national team from 2018 to 2024, earning a place in the top five list of best coa ...
and team manager
Freddy Gonzalez to play for the
Philippines
The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...
.
Personal life
Markanich has a twin brother,
Anthony Markanich, who also plays soccer. Anthony was drafted by the
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 the
2022 MLS SuperDraft.
He currently plays for
Minnesota United.
Honors
Charleston Battery
*
Eastern Conference Champion (Playoffs):
2023
Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...
Individual
*
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 ...
Player of the Year:
2024
The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...
*USL Championship Golden Boot:
2024
The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...
*USL Championship All-League First Team:
2024
The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...
Records
*Most goals scored in a USL Championship regular season: 28 (2024)
*Most goals scored in a Charleston Battery season (all competitions): 30 (2024)
References
External links
Nicholas Markanichat FC Cincinnati
Nick Markanichat NIU Huskies
{{DEFAULTSORT:Markanich, Nick
Living people
1999 births
American men's soccer players
American sportspeople of Filipino descent
Men's association football forwards
FC Cincinnati draft picks
FC Cincinnati players
FC Cincinnati 2 players
Charleston Battery players
CD Castellón footballers
Major League Soccer players
MLS Next Pro players
Northern Illinois Huskies men's soccer players
Soccer players from Illinois
USL League Two players
Filipino men's footballers
21st-century American sportsmen
21st-century Filipino sportsmen