On 3 May 2014, James appeared on the bench for FC Edmonton in an NASL match against Fort Lauderdale Strikers.[1] He would make another bench appearance that season in a Canadian Championship match against Montreal Impact.[1]
From 2014 to 2019, James attended the University of Alberta, where he would make 67 appearances over five seasons for the Golden Bears.[2][3][4][5][6] While attending university, James played at the amateur level for the Edmonton Green & Gold in the Alberta Major Soccer League, making a total of 23 appearances between 2016 and 2018.[7][8]
In November 2018, James was selected in the first round of the CPL–U Sports Draft, seventh overall, by his former club FC Edmonton.[9] On 17 January 2019, James officially signed with FC Edmonton.[10] On 4 May 2019, James made his professional debut against Valour FC in the club's first match in the Canadian Premier League.[1] That season, he made a total of 22 league appearances, and was one of the three goalkeepers nominated for the CPL Golden Glove.[1] On 27 November 2019, James re-signed with Edmonton for the 2020 season.[11] He once again signed another contract to keep him with Edmonton for the 2021 season on January 11, 2021.[12] He announced his retirement following the conclusion of the 2021 season.[13] Overall, James made 52 appearances for FC Edmonton, remaining as the club's number one goalkeeper for its first three years in the CPL, and collected twelve clean sheets.[14] While these seasons were not successful for the Eddies, as they finished at or near the bottom of the table each time, James was often a bright spot, as seen from his 2019 Golden Glove nomination.
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