Jeremy Kelly
American soccer player
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jeremy Kelly (born October 21, 1997) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a defender for USL Championship club Charleston Battery.
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Kelly with Crawley Town in July 2024 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | October 21, 1997 | ||
| Place of birth | Prague, Czech Republic | ||
| Height | 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in) | ||
| Position(s) | |||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Charleston Battery | ||
| Number | 29 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2003–2008 | Racing Club de Fontainebleau | ||
| 2008–2012 | Triangle United | ||
| 2013–2016 | Carolina RailHawks | ||
| College career | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2016–2019 | North Carolina Tar Heels | 79 | (0) |
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2016 | Carolina RailHawks | 1 | (0) |
| 2018 | San Francisco City | 3 | (0) |
| 2019 | North Carolina FC U23 | 5 | (0) |
| 2020–2021 | Colorado Rapids | 8 | (0) |
| 2021 | → Phoenix Rising (loan) | 5 | (0) |
| 2022–2023 | Memphis 901 | 67 | (11) |
| 2024 | FC Tulsa | 0 | (0) |
| 2024–2025 | Crawley Town | 55 | (4) |
| 2025– | Charleston Battery | 11 | (1) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2016 | United States U20 | 2 | (1) |
|
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of October 25, 2025 ‡ National team caps and goals as of December 22, 2016 | |||
Youth
Kelly signed an amateur contract with Carolina RailHawks on March 17, 2016.[1] His amateur status would allow him to play college soccer for North Carolina Tar Heels when their college season began later in the year.[2]
Kelly played four years at UNC, starting 59 of his 79 appearances and tallying one goals and 2 assists. Kelly was an obstacle to the UNC's midfield en route to consecutive NCAA College Cup appearances. He was a second-team All-ACC selection in his senior year.[3]
Professional
Colorado Rapids
On January 9, 2020, Kelly was selected ninth overall in the 2020 MLS SuperDraft by Montreal Impact. His rights were then immediately traded to Colorado Rapids in exchange for $75,000 of General Allocation Money and the Rapids natural first round selection.[4]
On February 25, 2020, the Rapids officially announced the signing of Kelly to an initial one-year contract.[5] He made his MLS debut against Real Salt Lake in the MLS is Back Tournament on July 12, 2020.[6] Kelly recorded his first career assist during a 5–0 win versus Real Salt Lake on Sept. 12.[7] He finished his rookie season with one assist in 246 minutes played across eight appearances at right back, two of them starts.[8] In March 2021, Kelly joined Phoenix Rising FC on loan for the 2021 season.[9]
On July 1, 2021, Kelly was recalled from loan by the Rapids.[10] Following the 2021 season, Colorado opted to decline their contract option on Kelly.[11]
Memphis 901
On February 18, 2022, he signed with USL Championship club Memphis 901.[12] He left Memphis following the 2023 season.[13]
Crawley Town
Kelly joined FC Tulsa on January 5, 2024,[14] but Kelly and Tulsa mutually agreed on a termination of his contract a month later.[15] On February 1, 2024, Kelly signed for EFL League Two club Crawley Town on a deal until summer 2024.[16] He made his debut for the club as a substitute in a 1–0 defeat to Crewe Alexandra on February 10.[17] Kelly appeared in all three of Crawley's League Two play-off matches at the end of the 2023–24 as Crawley were promoted to League One after a 2–0 victory over Crewe Alexandra in the final.[17][18]
Charleston Battery
On June 25, 2025, it was announced Kelly would return to the United States and join USL Championship side Charleston Battery on a multi-year deal, reuniting him with former Memphis manager Ben Pirmann in Charleston.[19]
International
Kelly was named to Tab Ramos' U.S. U-20 squad for camp and two friendlies against New York Cosmos and New York Red Bulls II in July 2016.[20] Kelly scored in stoppage time to defeat NYRBII.[21]
Kelly was born in Prague in the Czech Republic, and lived in France until he was 10 years old. He later moved to North Carolina.[22]
Career statistics
- As of end of 2024–25 season
| Club | Season | League | National Cup[a] | League Cup[b] | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Carolina RailHawks | 2016[23] | NASL | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 2 | 0 | ||
| San Francisco City | 2018[24] | USL PDL | 3 | 0 | — | — | — | 3 | 0 | |||
| North Carolina FC U23 | 2019[25] | USL League Two | 5 | 2 | — | — | — | 5 | 2 | |||
| Colorado Rapids | 2020[26] | Major League Soccer | 8 | 0 | — | — | — | 8 | 0 | |||
| 2021[26] | Major League Soccer | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 0 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | ||
| Phoenix Rising FC (loan) | 2021[27] | USL Championship | 5 | 0 | — | — | — | 5 | 0 | |||
| Memphis 901 | 2022[26] | USL Championship | 34 | 8 | 1 | 0 | — | 2[c] | 0 | 37 | 8 | |
| 2023[26] | USL Championship | 33 | 3 | 3 | 1 | — | 1[c] | 0 | 37 | 4 | ||
| Total | 67 | 11 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 74 | 12 | ||
| Crawley Town | 2023–24[17] | EFL League Two | 18 | 1 | — | — | 3[d] | 0 | 21 | 1 | ||
| 2024–25[28] | EFL League One | 37 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3[e] | 0 | 44 | 4 | |
| Total | 55 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 65 | 5 | ||
| Career total | 144 | 17 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 162 | 19 | ||
- Includes US Open Cup, FA Cup
- Appearance(s) in USL Championship Playoffs
- Appearance(s) in EFL League Two play-offs
- Appearance(s) in EFL Trophy
Honors
Crawley Town