Charlie Sharp

Charlie Sharp (born June 23, 2001) is an American soccer player who plays for Toronto FC II in MLS Next Pro.

Early life

Sharp played youth soccer with the Michigan Alliance FC, before later joining the Michigan Wolves SC.^[1]

Sharp attended Brighton High School where he earned all-conference, all-county, all-state honours in his senior year and was also named the Livingston County Player of the Year in 2018.^[2][3]

College career

In 2019, Sharp began attending Western Michigan University, where he played for the men's soccer team.^[4] On September 14, 2019, he score his first collegiate goal in a victory over the Cincinnati Bearcats.^[5] In October 2019, he was named the Mid-American Conference Player of the Week and was named to the National Team of the Week.^[6][7] At the end of his first season, he was named the MAC Freshman of the Year and named to the All-MAC First Team and College Soccer News All-Freshman Team.^[8][9] In his sophomore season, he was named to the All-MAC Academic Team.^[10] At the end of his junior season, he was named to the All-MAC Second Team, All-North Region Third Team, an the All-MAC Academic Team.^[11][12][13]

He began his senior season with a hat trick in an exhibition match against the Cleveland State Vikings.^[14] He was named the MAC Player of the Week three times^{[15][16][17][18]} and was named as the MAC Scholar Athlete of the Week once.^[19] He helped the school win the MAC title that season, where he was named the MAC Tournament MVP.^[20] That season he was aksi named to the All-MAC First Team, All-North Region First Team, First Team Scholar All-American, First Team Academic All-America, and Academic All-District.^[21][22][23]

He returned for a fifth season in 2023 and was name to the Forwards to Watch List, TopDrawerSoccer Preseason All-American Third Team, and the Mac Hermann Trophy Watch List prior to the season.^[24][25][26] On September 10, he scored a hat trick in a victory over the Dayton Flyers.^[27] During the season, he was named the Missouri Valley Conference Offensive Player of the Week twice,^[28][29] named to the College Soccer News National Team of the Week,^[30] and the National Player of the Week.^[31][32][33] On November 8, 2023, he became the school's all-time leading scorer.^[34][35] On November 16, he scored a hat trick in a 3–0 victory over the Green Bay Phoenix.^[36][37] At the end of the season he was named the National Scholar Player Of The Year^[38] and was a finalist for the Mac Hermann Trophy (awarded to the top college soccer player of the year).^[39] He was also named to the All-MVC First Team,^[40] was a First Team All-American,^[41] TopDrawerSoccer First Team All-American,^[42] Academic All-District Team,^[43] Academic All-America Second Team,^[44] He led the NCAA in goals (19) and points (46) in 2023.^[45]

Club career

In 2021, Sharp played with the Flint City Bucks in USL League Two.^[46] In 2022, he played with the Seacoast United Phantoms.^[47] In 2023, he played with AFC Ann Arbor, where he was the team's leading goal scorer.^[1]

At the 2023 MLS SuperDraft, Sharp was selected in the third round (61st overall) by Toronto FC.^[48] However, he did not immediately join the club, instead returning to college for an additional year.^[49][50] After attending pre-season with the first team,^[51] in February 2024, he signed a professional contract with Toronto FC II in MLS Next Pro.^[52][53] He made his debut on April 7 against Columbus Crew 2.^[54] He scored his first goal for the club on April 14, in a victory over FC Cincinnati 2.^[55]

References

External links

• Charlie Sharp at Soccerway