Preston Popp (born December 8, 1999) is a Canadian soccer player who plays for Rochester New York in MLS Next Pro.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | (1999-12-08) December 8, 1999 (age 22) | ||
| Place of birth | Montreal, Quebec, Canada | ||
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (178 cm) | ||
| Position(s) | Forward | ||
| Club information | |||
Current team | Rochester New York FC | ||
| Number | 88 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| CS Dollard | |||
| Charlotte Soccer Academy | |||
| North Carolina FC | |||
| 2017 | New York Red Bulls | ||
| 2017–2018 | Toronto FC | ||
| College career | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2018–2021 | Charlotte 49ers | 67 | (22) |
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2019 | North Carolina FC U23 | 6 | (1) |
| 2022– | Rochester New York FC | 8 | (0) |
| 2022 | → FC Cincinnati II (loan) | 1 | (0) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of August 12, 2022 | |||
Born in Montreal, Popp is the son of Jim Popp, who was the general manager of the Canadian Football League team Montreal Allouettes at the time.[1] He began playing youth soccer with CS Dollard, before moving to Mooresville, North Carolina at age ten.[1] He played youth soccer with the Charlotte Soccer Academy and North Carolina FC,[2] also played with the New York Red Bulls Academy[1] and Toronto FC Academy.[3]
In 2018, he began attending the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, where he played for the men's soccer team.[4][5] He scored his first goal on September 11, 2018 against the Elon Phoenix.[6] In his freshman season, he was named to the Conference USA All-Freshman Team[7] and the Conference USA All-Tournament Team.[8] In his junior season, he was the Co-Golden Boot winner and was named to the Conference USA Second Team,[9] and was also a Second Team Scholar All-American, United Soccer Coaches All-Southeast Region, and Scholar All-Region.[10] He was also named to the College Sports Information Directors of America All-District III First Team.[11][12] In his senior season in 2021, he once again won the Conference USA Golden Boot,[13] All-Region honours, and was named to the Conference USA First Team.[14]
In 2019, he played with North Carolina FC U23 in USL League Two,[15] despite originally being set to join Reading United AC.[16] He was named to the USL2 Team of the Week, after scoring his first goal on June 7 against Lionsbridge FC, scoring in stoppage time to give his team a 2-1 victory.[17]
After not being selected in the 2022 MLS SuperDraft,[18] he signed a contract with MLS Next Pro side Rochester New York FC.[19][20] On May 1, he joined FC Cincinnati II on a short-term loan for their match against Toronto FC II, as Cincinnati was experiencing a roster shortage.[21]
Rochester New York FC – current squad | |
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