Danny Leyva
American soccer player (born 2003)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Daniel Ulises Leyva (born May 5, 2003) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a defensive midfielder for Club Necaxa of Liga MX after starting his career with Major League Soccer club Seattle Sounders FC.
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Leyva with the Seattle Sounders in 2025 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Daniel Ulises Leyva[1] | ||
| Date of birth | May 5, 2003 | ||
| Place of birth | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | ||
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)[2] | ||
| Position | Defensive midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Necaxa | ||
| Number | 6 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2017–2019 | Seattle Sounders | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2018–2023 | Tacoma Defiance | 40 | (3) |
| 2019–2025 | Seattle Sounders | 107 | (0) |
| 2023 | → Colorado Rapids (loan) | 19 | (0) |
| 2026– | Necaxa | 9 | (0) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2018 | United States U16 | 5 | (1) |
| 2019 | United States U17 | 10 | (0) |
| 2021 | United States U20 | 2 | (0) |
| 2023– | United States U23 | 5 | (1) |
|
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of March 15, 2025 ‡ National team caps and goals as of November 16, 2021 | |||
Club career
Leyva was raised in Las Vegas, Nevada; his father Ulises had played in the youth academy of Club América in Mexico City, but left the sport to pursue a career in civil engineering.[3] Leyva played for the Barcelona USA Academy in Las Vegas before joining the Seattle Sounders FC Academy at the age of 13. Leyva was placed on Seattle's under-15 team ahead of the 2017–18 season, but was later moved to the under-17 squad.[4][5][6]
Seattle Sounders FC
He made his debut for the Sounders reserve team in the United Soccer League (USL) on September 29, 2018, during a 3–1 loss to San Antonio FC, becoming the second-youngest player in league history.[4][7] Leyva signed a full USL contract with the team the following month and began training with the senior team during the 2019 preseason, appearing in friendlies against the Portland Timbers and Club Nacional.[3] Leyva signed a homegrown contract with Seattle Sounders FC on April 9, 2019, becoming the youngest player in the team's history.[8] He made his first-team debut on June 5, 2019, as a late substitute during an away loss to the Montreal Impact, becoming the third-youngest player in the league's history.[9] Leyva played in 12 matches during the 2022 season and had two assists as a temporary replacement for injured midfielders João Paulo and Obed Vargas until they returned mid-season.[10]
Loan to Colorado Rapids
On April 24, 2023, the Sounders loaned Leyva to the Colorado for the rest of the season in exchange for a future MLS SuperDraft pick and $92,000 in general allocation money.[10]
Club Necaxa
On December 8, 2025, Seattle Sounders FC announced that Leyva would be transferred immediately to Necaxa of Liga MX for an undisclosed fee.[11]
International career
In October 2019, Leyva was named to the United States squad for the 2019 FIFA U-17 World Cup in Brazil.[12]
Leyva, who has only played for U.S. youth national teams, is also eligible to be called up by Mexico.[13]
Personal life
Career statistics
Club
- As of match played October 7, 2023[15]
| Club | Season | League | National cup | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Tacoma Defiance | 2018 | USL | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | |||
| 2019 | USL | 14 | 1 | — | — | — | 14 | 1 | ||||
| 2020 | USL | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | ||||
| 2021 | USL | 6 | 0 | — | — | — | 6 | 0 | ||||
| 2022 | MLS Next Pro | 9 | 1 | — | — | — | 9 | 1 | ||||
| 2024 | MLS Next Pro | 5 | 1 | — | — | — | 5 | 1 | ||||
| Total | 36 | 3 | — | — | — | 36 | 3 | |||||
| Seattle Sounders FC | 2019 | MLS | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 7 | 0 | ||
| 2020 | MLS | 2 | 0 | — | 1[a] | 0 | — | 3 | 0 | |||
| 2021 | MLS | 24 | 0 | — | — | — | 24 | 0 | ||||
| 2022 | MLS | 19 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2[a] | 0 | — | 22 | 0 | ||
| 2023 | MLS | 3 | 0 | — | — | 1[b] | 0 | 4 | 0 | |||
| 2024 | MLS | 12 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 7 | 0 | 21 | 0 | ||
| 2025 | MLS | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | |||
| Total | 66 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 81 | 0 | ||
| Colorado Rapids (loan) | 2023 | MLS | 16 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 1[c] | 0 | 19 | 0 | |
| Career total | 118 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 136 | 3 | ||
- Appearance(s) in CONCACAF Champions League
- Appearance in FIFA Club World Cup
- Appearance in Leagues Cup