Nate Jones (soccer)
American soccer player (born 2001)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Nathaniel Jones (born August 23, 2001) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a defender for Las Vegas Lights of the USL Championship.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Nathaniel Jones[1] | ||
| Date of birth | August 23, 2001 | ||
| Place of birth | Seattle, Washington, U.S. | ||
| Height | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | ||
| Position | Defender | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Las Vegas Lights | ||
| Number | 3 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Harbor Premier | |||
| Washington Premier | |||
| Crossfire Premier | |||
| College career | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2020–2023 | Washington Huskies | 58 | (5) |
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2022 | Crossfire Redmond | ||
| 2023 | Vermont Green | 9 | (0) |
| 2024–2025 | Colorado Rapids | 0 | (0) |
| 2024 | → Colorado Rapids 2 (loan) | 25 | (0) |
| 2025 | → Las Vegas Lights (loan) | 17 | (0) |
| 2026– | Las Vegas Lights | 0 | (0) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of March 1, 2026 | |||
Early life
Jones began playing youth soccer in local Gig Harbor leagues in his hometown, before joining the Harbor Premier and later Washington Premier FC.[2]
Jones attended Gig Harbor High School, where he earned All-League, All-County and All-State honors, while playing for the soccer team.[3]
College career
In August 2019, he committed to attend the University of Washington to play for the men's soccer team in the fall of 2020.[2] He made his collegiate debut on February 4, 2021 against the Northwest Eagles and made his first start on March 20, 2021 against the Stanford Cardinal.[4] On October 21, 2022, he scored his first collegiate goal against the Oregon State Beavers.[5] In his junior season, he helped the team win the Pac 12 title[6] and at the end of his junior season, he was named to the All-Pac-12 Second Team.[7] Ahead of his senior season, he was named to the All-Pac 12 Preseason Team,[8] and at the end of the season, he was selected to the All-Pac-12 First Team.[9] After the season, he was invited to attend the MLS College Showcase.[10][11]
Club career
In 2022, he played with the Crossfire Redmond in the National Premier Soccer League.[12]
In 2023, he played with Vermont Green FC in USL League Two, appearing in nine matches.[13][14]
At the 2024 MLS SuperDraft, he was selected in the first round (fifth overall) by Austin FC.[15][16] However, his rights were immediately traded to the Colorado Rapids in exchange for $250,000 in General Allocation Money.[17] In January 2024, he signed a professional contract with the Rapids.[18][19] Training with the first team, he spent most of the season playing with the second team, Colorado Rapids 2, in MLS Next Pro.[20] He made his professional debut on March 17 with Rapids 2, against St. Louis City 2.[21] In January 2025, Jones was loaned to USL Championship club Las Vegas Lights for the 2025 season.[22][23] He made his debut for Las Vegas on March 8 against the Tampa Bay Rowdies.[24] On November 26, the Colorado Rapids announced that they had declined his contract option.[25]
On December 23, 2025, Las Vegas Lights announced they had signed Jones for the 2026 USL Championship season with a club option for 2027.[26]
Career statistics
- As of match played October 12, 2025[1]
| Club | Season | League | Playoffs | National cup | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Vermont Green FC | 2023 | USL League Two | 9 | 0 | — | – | – | 9 | 0 | |||
| Colorado Rapids | 2024 | Major League Soccer | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Colorado Rapids 2 (loan) | 2024 | MLS Next Pro | 25 | 0 | – | 1 | 0 | – | 26 | 0 | ||
| Las Vegas Lights FC (loan) | 2025 | USL Championship | 17 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 19 | 0 | |
| Career total | 51 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 54 | 0 | ||