TRANSFER TRACKER STATUS: Signing
Austin FC have signed defender Aedan Stanley and goalkeeper Will Pulisic, the club announced in a Friday release.
Stanley becomes Austin's third selection from the 2021 MLS SuperDraft to be signed, joining Daniel Pereira and Freddy Kleemann. Pulisic, the cousin of US men's national team star Christian Pulisic, signs with the expansion side following a preseason trial on the heels of his collegiate career at Duke that saw him make 66 appearances, start 65 games and post 19 shutouts.
“We are excited to officially welcome Aedan and William to Austin FC,” Austin sporting director Claudio Reyna said in Friday's release. “They have both been training hard to earn a position in our roster, and we look forward to their further development as they add youthful depth to our squad.”
Stanley spent the 2020 season in the USL Championship with Portland Timbers II, where he started all 16 games of the 2020 USL season and dished out three assists. He had signed with Sporting Kansas City II after Timbers II announced they would forgo the 2021 USL Championship season before Austin made him 21st overall pick in the first round of this year's SuperDraft.
Like Pulisic, the 21-year-old defender is also a Duke product, making starting all 20 of his appearances and contributing three assists in 2018, while playing and starting 17 matches in 2019.
The pair played together at Duke during the 2018-2019 season and are now reunited as late roster additions for Austin as the club gets set to embark on its debut season in MLS.
