Jack Neeley: Proving the Pathway
A product of the inaugural academy class, his journey to first-team appearances is helping define the club's blueprint for development
One of the marks of a great soccer club is its ability to develop players from its academy to the first team. Programs like La Masia (Barcelona) and De Toekomst (Ajax) come to mind. Think about the impact the players who have graduated from those academies, and the systems that trained them, have had on the clubs.
In a league filled with roster restrictions and a salary cap, there’s an argument to be made that MLS academies are just as, if not more important, to their clubs as the legendary academies we think of. Having Homegrown and academy players fill out rosters, become starters, and potentially be transferred to bigger clubs is crucial to achieving sustainable success in the MLS.
Teams like the Philadelphia, Dallas, and the New York Red Bulls have shown the rest of the league what they can strive to create. For a comparatively new club like Charlotte FC, establishing a clear pathway from academy to MLS Next Pro to the first team helps raise the floor and sets the stage for sustainable development.
Brian Romero signed the club’s first Homegrown contract in 2022, followed by Nimfasha Berchimas in 2023. There has been less written about another Homegrown player who recently made his MLS debut - Jack Neeley.
From the inaugural academy class to a Homegrown contract
Jack is known around the club as a young player with exceptional poise on the ball. This hasn’t happened by accident, as you’ll read, and it has taken a lot of work. This work was started by his parents, both former soccer players, before he was even conscious of it. “My parents introduced me to soccer as soon as I could start walking. I was always kicking a ball around the house,” he explained.
He started playing organized soccer at age four and explained, “From there it was my obsession, and every year I didn't try any other sports. It was soccer the whole time.” I always love to ask defenders and goalies if they started in that position (most rarely do), and the same was true for Jack. Because he was comfortable on the ball and could kick it harder than all the other kids, he played forward. Despite scoring in bunches in the attack, he progressively made his way back into a holding midfield role, and by U13, he was playing center back.
Unlike many young players, Jack wasn’t obsessed with watching teams, nor did he gravitate to famous players. “I just liked playing. I didn't really care about any of that stuff, I just played because I thought it was fun,” he shared. As time passed, Jack thought his path would likely consist of playing in college, where he would later hope to be drafted. Something happened that changed everything. An MLS club was starting in Charlotte, his hometown.
Before the Crown’s inaugural season in 2022, they started their academy, and Jack was part of the first class of players. It wasn’t always easy playing in the academy. There are lots of young players who get the opportunity to join academies around the world, but the reality is that the majority won’t make it to the first team. From my time covering the game and talking with players, there are a handful of key traits that I see in those who make the jump. One of them is grit (or grinta, as the Italians and Mauricio Pochettino say).
“I've had some adversity in soccer. I mean, I wasn’t always the best player, the most physically athletic player on every team. Having the fight and proving that I belong on every team has been important. And I feel like that's one of the reasons why I'm here,” he explained.
That grinta paid off during his time with the academy, and he started playing up with the first team in the 2023 preseason at just 18 years old. During that time, he faced off against legendary players like Chicharito and Christian Benteke. He didn’t back down…he held his own and it showed. Shortly after, he signed as the club’s third-ever professional Homegrown contract in 2023. I asked him to reflect on that moment,
“It was special…I grew up in Charlotte…I knew that it was something I wanted to be involved with, and I wanted to be here so my family could see me play…and when I signed, everything went so quickly, and my parents had me step back and kind of enjoy the moment. We had a dinner to celebrate, but I was all over the place, talked to an agent, talked to the club, signed a contract, announced it, all that. And then I was already playing my first game for Crown Legacy. So it happens so quickly sometimes it's hard to understand what's going on and how special it can be.”
A few years removed from those days, I asked Jack if there was anything he would go back and share with his younger self in the academy. “I would tell myself this for sure, just calm down. I feel like I was so anxious all the time, like I have to be perfect, I have to impress everybody…just calm down. It's all going to work out.”
Captaining Crown Legacy
The creation of MLS Next Pro and Crown Legacy came about at just the right time for Jack and the group of academy players around him. How important is this league? Jack thinks it’s invaluable, “We need that bridge between the academy and the first team. As the league gets better, that bridge becomes harder to make. So I think MLS Next Pro is very important.”
His time with Crown Legacy has allowed him to gain experience at a higher and more professional level. “A lot of the time, I had just played guys that were my age. And so that was the first year I was playing people who were older, faster, stronger, and smarter than me. Having that experience and getting a lot of minutes under my belt was really important,” he explained.
Over the last two seasons, Jack has been a mainstay for Crown Legacy and has had the honor of wearing the armband as captain for the 2025 season. We spoke a lot about how that came about, and he shared:
“The club wants me to be that leader. And I think part of that comes with the position as well. A lot of the time, you see captains are center backs or holding midfielders. You know, there are a couple of outliers that are forwards, but usually it's those that can see the entire field. They have to communicate to the entire field. And it just naturally comes with that. And then having the coaches like Jose [Tavares] and Kevin [Sawchak], and Gary [Dicker], who want to push me into that because they've been there. They know what it takes, and they've seen other players have to grow into that. Because it's not easy being that leader.”
Spending so much time practicing with the first team over the years, Jack has been able to catch different things from veterans around the club. He spoke about looking up to Ashley Westwood and the way he leads in training. He spoke of Tim Ream, who isn’t the captain, but leads by example and has taught him what it takes to be a leader, even when you aren’t wearing the armband.
In a recent Crown Legacy matchup versus Inter Miami II, Jack showed exactly why the coaching staff has him leading the team. In that back-and-forth game, he tied the game up from the penalty spot. Towards the end of the game, Crown Legacy earned another penalty, and Jack stepped up again with a chance to ice the game.
Taking multiple spot kicks in one game can be a challenge…the mind games are ruthless. Jack explained, “We practice pens in training, and we've been to several shootouts…so it's not a foreign feeling to me…on the second one, I decided to go the same direction. I just didn't want to give him a chance, so that's why I wanted to put it high, hit it hard, and not give him a chance, regardless if he goes the right way or not.” As you’ll see below, he stepped up and roofed the ball to seal the victory.
On the strides he hopes to continue making this year with Crown Legacy, Jack outlined:
“I'm always working on everything. Some of the aerial stuff is important. I've had a couple of chances and I'd like to score some goals with my head. It's easier defending with your head and to just go and kind of you pick a direction in the field and you're like, hey, anywhere will do over there. But attacking, you’ve got to be a little more precise. And I feel like that's something I need to work on. It'll make me more important to the team and the club. If I can stop goals and also score goals.”
He also spoke about is being more physical because he knows first-team football is faster and it’s a big leap. He explained, “It's just, you know, you're defending a couple of guys who are 20 or rookies out of the college, and then you’ve got to go in and defend against Zaha. It's a big jump.”
Breaking into the first team
In recent years, the U.S. Open Cup has been a place for younger player in MLS to cut their teeth at the highest level. Last month, Charlotte FC played in-state foes North Carolina FC in the Round of 32. Jack was named in the roster on the bench to start the game. “Going into the game, I had no expectations at all of even touching the field…I was there if they needed me,” he revealed.
As the game went into extra time, players were wearing out and Charlotte FC needed to hold their lead and close the game out. They called Jack’s name and he made his first-team debut. About that night, he said: “They called my name. I was like, wow, this is pretty cool. But going out there, I didn't feel scared or anything. I felt like I was prepared for it. I thought I was going to be nervous going into it. I was like, oh man, I don't want to be too nervous. Then going into it, I didn't feel nervous. I felt pretty confident that it was within my abilities and I was going to be able to take care of business like I needed to.”
Jack showed a lot of poise to make his debut in an elimination game on the road in extra-time. On what that moment meant to him and his family:
“My parents have been pushing me since I was four years old and as soon as I could walk. Doing that for them was really important for me. All the time, money, just driving around, and the investment they've made for me, it is important to give back to them and prove that it wasn't all for nothing. That's why I do it, it's for them.”
As he has been able to train more with the first team, Jack has the opportunity to glean wisdom from a strong group of center backs. On Andrew Privett, “He's very clean and he takes care of the job…he just does his job so solid.” On Adilson Malanda, “His passing ability is really good. His defensive ability is incredible. So I’m trying to learn that, but he also has an edge to him that I'm trying to learn about…he's not a captain either, but he's a leader out there on the field. He's kind of grown into that over the last couple of years.”
He also has the opportunity to learn from veterans Tim Ream and Bill Tuiloma who have also played at the highest levels for their national teams. On Ream, “He's been in the Premier League. He's been at the peak of everyone's game that we all want to be at, and he's been able to really teach me.” Having this group around him has played a key role in his development.
From Jack’s perspective, consistency has been key to getting opportunities in the first team. Not just for him, but he thinks it is crucial for any young player to show consistency to the staff, “Everybody should know what it takes to get to that level. Because we're always talking about it. It's the biggest part. I think it is always the consistency…so for the young guys to build that trust with the first team, you’ve got to be consistent. Then the coaches are going to know what you're going to be able to give in the game is what you're giving in training.”
When we sat down for this interview, it was shortly after that Open Cup debut. We talked about what his goals were now that he made that appearance. He shared:
“I want to play in the first team and become a starter, that is the ultimate goal. I'm not too worried about what lies beyond that right now because I'm not there yet. Getting into the squad is going to be important, making sure I'm on the bench a lot, learning, seeing what that game day is like…and then you know, as time goes on, be more consistent and then start getting into the squad, coming on subbing. If somebody gets injured, maybe I'm the one that needs to be called upon for that. And then just be more consistent, more minutes under my belt, understand what the league's about, defending better players consistently and then becoming a starter at some point is the main goal.”
Just a few days after our interview, Jack found himself on the bench for an MLS matchup versus the Columbus Crew. With the Crown holding onto a 3-2 lead and right-back Nick Scardina needing a sub, Jack was indeed the one who was called upon and he made his MLS debut! A huge step in his career as these appearances are a lot tougher to get than early round Open Cup games.
I asked manager Dean Smith about Jack’s debut after the match. Check out his comments below and hear what position Dean thinks he could have a future at:
I connected with Jack after the game to get his thoughts on the night. On making his debut in front of the home crowd, “I couldn’t ask for anything better. I have been working at this club for five years towards this and my dream finally came true…from sitting in that crowd as a young kid in the academy to then play in front of that same crowd…the story writes itself.”
I asked about how it felt debuting in MLS compared to his Open Cup appearances. On this bigger stage, he shared, “As far as on the field it was the same, when you get on the field you get into a zone, focus on the game, and everything drowns out. But on the bench you hear the crowd cracking, it was insane and that really got to me. This is a huge opportunity that I have in front of me and I can’t wait to take it if it comes to me and thankfully it did.”
With Charlotte FC continuing to struggle with injuries across the backline and other players missing MLS action while playing with their national teams, don’t be surprised if Jack gets his name called a few more times. The club recently announced adding Jack to a short-term agreement with the first team. Off-roster Homegrown Players are allowed to be called into the roster throughout the season and appear in up to six matches.
In Jack’s own words
Whenever I get the chance to interview players, especially those who haven’t been in the spotlight for too long, I like to do a lightning round of questions to help fans get to know them a bit more:
How would your teammates describe Jack Neeley?
“They tell me that I'm pretty funny, which I think I'm just being myself and people find that funny. I think my dad's funny. So I think part of that is him coming out through me. On the field, I'd say on the ball, I'm, pretty calm. I'm composed on the ball. Then in training, sometimes I have a little edge to me. I get on players and sometimes maybe more than I need to, but I think it's good for the team. Personally, I think it's good for everybody to keep everyone sharp and understand where the level's at.”
Dream goal celebration?
“I think everybody wants this because it's just like the most satisfying thing in the world. You score, I don't know, maybe on the road or you score in front of a packed out stadium. Got the nice grass, it's got a little bit of moisture on it. You hit a sick knee slide and people are cheering. That'd be unbelievable.”
If you weren't a professional soccer player, what would you want to be?
“I think about this quite often. I've just gotten into golf the last two years. I know it's ridiculously hard to do, but that looks so much fun. I mean, they're on the road a lot, but that lifestyle and you don't have to do as much running as we do. Also, it looks really cool to be good at golf. I think that'd be really cool.”
Is there anything that playing soccer has taught you about yourself or anything playing soccer has taught you about life?
“Every coach has taught me about how much hard work is important and how much you put into things is what you're going to get out of it. And I feel like my dad's really helped with that. My dad has a million life lessons for me. And one of them is working hard. And then the results will come.”
Why do you play soccer? What does it mean to you? What is that motivation?
“I always just really enjoyed playing. I was never drawn to any other sport. I think there's just something satisfying about playing soccer, it just itches the right spot in my brain for me…and then the hard work, it gets you in great shape. I love it. I love the running around, working hard, being tired after a day. It makes you feel like you actually worked for something and you deserve to go and lay down for a little bit and maybe take a nap. I think it's the greatest sport ever. And then just seeing where it can take you is something else that makes you choose the sport. There's so many routes you can take, so many countries you can play in. If you want to play in another country, I think that option is there for sure.”
I hope you enjoyed getting to know Jack a bit more. I am excited to see the opportunities he could get at Charlotte FC in the future. His journey from the academy to the first team is exactly how teams have designed the pathway and he can serve as an example to both younger players coming through the system and to the team itself as they invest more into the development setup at the club.