Player Details

Name

Matt Hedges

Pronunciation

HED-jess

Height

6' 4"

Weight

207 lbs

Date of Birth

4.1.1990 (34)

Birthplace

Carmel, NY, USA

Position

Defender

Position Detail

Central Defender

Preferred Side

Centre

Roster Category

Senior
Career Summary

Hedges joined Austin FC via a trade with Toronto FC on July 26, 2023. Upon completion of the trade, Hedges signed a new contract with Austin that will keep him with the Verde & Black through the end of the 2024 season with options for 2025 and 2026. He went on to make six (6) appearances for Austin during the back half of the 2023 campaign, scoring his first goal for the Club in a 3-0 win over D.C. United.

Hedges has well over a decade of experience competing in MLS, and spent the 2012-2022 seasons with FC Dallas, recording 18 goals and four (4) assists in 310 MLS appearances for the club. He was named to the MLS Best XI in both 2015 and 2016, and in 2016 was named MLS Defender of the Year after captaining his side to the Supporters’ Shield and Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup titles. Hedges received MLS All-Star honors in the 2017, 2018, and 2019 seasons.

Hedges joined Toronto FC following the 2022 season, making 14 appearances for the Canadian club in 2023. He is one of only 25 players in league history to play at least 27,000 career regular season minutes, and ranks eighth among active MLS players in minutes played.

At the senior international level, Hedges made five (5) appearances for the United States Men’s National Team between 2015 and 2017. He was a member of the USMNT which won the 2017 Concacaf Gold Cup, playing 90 minutes in victories over Martinique in the group stage and El Salvador in the quarterfinals.

Prior to turning professional, Hedges grew up in Carmel, Indiana. He played three (3) seasons of collegiate soccer at Butler University and one (1) at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He was the Horizon League Defender of the Year as both a sophomore and a junior, and the ACC Defender of the Year as a senior, helping UNC win an NCAA championship. Dallas selected Hedges with the 11th overall pick of the 2012 MLS SuperDraft.