Sean Nealis (born January 13, 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 defender for the

New York Red Bulls The New York Red Bulls are an American professional association football, soccer club based in the New York metropolitan area. The Red Bulls compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conferenc ...

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 ...

Career

Youth and college

Born in

Massapequa, New York Massapequa (, ) is a Hamlet (New York), hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in the Oyster Bay (town), New York, Town of Oyster Bay in Nassau County, New York, Nassau County, on the South Shore (Long Island), South Shore of Long Island, in Ne ...

, Nealis began playing soccer at the age of seven. In his junior year of high school, he led the Massapequa Chiefs to a NYSPHSAA Class AA Championship. Nealis attended

Hofstra University Hofstra University is a Private university, private research university in Hempstead, New York, United States. It originated in 1935 as an extension of New York University and became an independent college in 1939. Comprising ten schools, includ ...

, where he was a member of the varsity soccer team for four years. During his senior season he was recognized as the Colonial Athletic Association Defensive Player of the Year. In 2018, Nealis played five games in the PDL with

Westchester Flames Westchester Flames is an American soccer team based in New Rochelle, New York, United States. Founded in 1999, the team plays in USL League Two, the fourth tier of the American soccer pyramid. The team plays its home games at City Park Stadium ...

. He is the younger brother of former

Georgetown Hoyas The Georgetown Hoyas are the collegiate athletics teams that officially represent Georgetown University, located at Washington, D.C. The Georgetown's athletics department fields 24 men's and women's varsity level teams and competes at the Natio ...

Long Island Rough Riders The Long Island Rough Riders are an American soccer team based in South Huntington, New York, United States. Founded in 1994, the team plays in USL League Two, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid. The team plays its home games at Mit ...

and

New York Cosmos New York Cosmos may refer to * New York Cosmos (1970–1985), a team in the North American Soccer League (then the top-tier soccer league in the United States and Canada) * New York Cosmos (2010), a team playing since 2020 in the National Indepen ...

defender, Jimmy Nealis. His older brother, Connor, played for

Binghamton University The State University of New York at Binghamton (Binghamton University or SUNY Binghamton) is a public university, public research university in Binghamton metropolitan area, Greater Binghamton, New York, United States. It is one of the four uni ...

. Nealis' younger brother, Dylan, was a member of the Georgetown Men's Soccer National Championship Team in 2019 and was drafted third overall by Inter Miami in the 2020

MLS SuperDraft The MLS SuperDraft is an annual Draft (sports), college draft for teams of Major League Soccer in the United States and Canada in which MLS clubs take turns selecting from a pool of eligible amateur players. These drafted players usually come f ...

. Dylan later joined his brother as a Red Bull in 2021.

New York Red Bulls

On January 11, 2019, Nealis was drafted in the second round of the

2019 MLS SuperDraft The 2019 MLS SuperDraft was the twentieth SuperDraft conducted by Major League Soccer. The SuperDraft is typically held in conjunction with the annual January United Soccer Coaches convention, which in 2019 was held in Chicago, Illinois. The fi ...

, by the

. After a strong preseason with the club, Nealis signed an MLS contract on February 17. On February 27, 2019, Nealis made his professional and New York Red Bulls debut coming on in the second half for Aaron Long in 3–0 victory over Atlético Pantoja in the

2019 CONCACAF Champions League The 2019 CONCACAF Champions League (officially the 2019 Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League) was the 11th edition of the CONCACAF Champions League under its current name, and overall the 54th edition of the premier football club competition orga ...

. A few days later, on March 2, 2019, Nealis made his league debut with the club, appearing in a 1–1 draw with

Columbus Crew The Columbus Crew are an American professional soccer club based in Columbus, Ohio. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conference. The team began play in 1996 as one of the 10 cha ...

. On May 11, 2019, Nealis scored his first goal for the club in a 3–1 victory over

FC Dallas FC Dallas is an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The franchise be ...

. Nealis became a regular starter for New York during the 2021 season. On August 25, 2021, he signed a three-year contract extension, with an additional option year. On October 23, 2021, Nealis scored the winning goal for New York in a 2–1 victory over

. Toward the end of the 2022 season, New York once again handed Nealis a contract extension through the 2026 season with an option for 2027. Nealis was named team captain for New York for the 2023 season. On September 23, 2023, Nealis scored his first goal of the season, the go ahead goal in a 5–3 victory over D.C. United. Nealis scored the only Red Bull goal in a 2–1 loss to the

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 ...

MLS Cup 2024 MLS Cup 2024 was the 29th edition of the MLS Cup, the championship match of Major League Soccer (MLS), the top-flight association football, soccer league in the United States and Canada. The match was played on December 7, 2024, at Dignity Health ...

. On May 7 2025, Nealis scored his first goal of the season for New York in a 4-1 victory over

Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC is a professional Association football, soccer team based in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Founded in 2014, the team is a member of the Western Conference (USL Championship), Western Conference in the USL Champions ...

, helping his club advance in the

Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, commonly known as the U.S. Open Cup (USOC), is a knockout cup competition in men's soccer in the United States. It is the country's oldest ongoing national soccer competition. The competition was first held duri ...

Career statistics

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nealis, Sean 1997 births Living people Men's association football defenders American men's soccer players Hofstra Pride men's soccer players New York Red Bulls draft picks New York Red Bulls players Sportspeople from Massapequa, New York Soccer players from Nassau County, New York USL League Two players Westchester Flames players New York Red Bulls II players Major League Soccer players USL Championship players Hofstra University alumni 21st-century American sportsmen