Yutaro Tsukada
Japanese footballer (born 2001)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Yutaro Tsukada (塚田 裕太郎, Tsukada Yutaro; born 28 July 2001) is a Japanese professional footballer who plays as a winger for Major League Soccer club Orlando City.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 28 July 2001 | ||
| Place of birth | Tokyo, Japan | ||
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) | ||
| Position | Winger | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Orlando City | ||
| Number | 34 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| FC Tokyo | |||
| College career | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2020–2021 | Daytona State Falcons | 24 | (26) |
| 2022–2023 | West Virginia Mountaineers | 40 | (13) |
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2022 | New Mexico United U23 | 4 | (3) |
| 2023 | Capital FC | (5) | |
| 2024 | Orlando City B | 14 | (4) |
| 2024 | → Orlando City (loan) | 1 | (0) |
| 2024– | Orlando City | 4 | (0) |
| 2024– | → Orlando City B (loan) | 11 | (3) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 04:28, 27 April 2026 (UTC) | |||
Early life
Tsukada was born in Tokyo, Japan.[1] He played youth football with FC Tokyo.[2]
College career
In 2020, Tsukada began attending Daytona State College.[3] On 11 September 2021, he scored a hat-trick in a 4–2 victory over the Georgia Military College Bulldogs.[4] At the end of his sophomore season, he was named to the USC First Team All-America, the NJCAA DI All-American Team, Junior College Division I Men All-East Region, and the Region 8 All-Region Team and the Region 8 Player of the Year.[5][6] He departed the school holding 6 school records - most goals in a season (20), most goals in 2 seasons (26), most hat tricks (4), fastest goal in school history (32 seconds), most free kicks scored (4), and most points (63).[5]
In 2022, he transferred to West Virginia University to play for the men's soccer team in NCAA Division I.[7] He made his debut on August 25 against the Robert Morris Colonials.[8] On October 11, 2022, he scored his first goal in a victory over the Lehigh Mountain Hawks.[9] In October 2023, he was named the WVU Student-Athlete of the Week and the Sun Belt Conference Offensive Player of the Week,[10][11] and earned WVU Student-Athlete of the Week honors a second time in November.[12] At the end of his senior season, he was named to the All-Sun Belt First Team, Sun Belt All-Tournament Team, All-Southeast Region First Team, Scholar All-South Region First Team, TopDrawerSoccer Best XI Second Team, All-America Third Team, and the College Soccer News All-America Second Team.[13][14][15][16]
Club career
Semi-professional
In 2022, Tsukada joined New Mexico United U23, the development team of USL Championship team New Mexico United, in USL League Two.[17] On 26 May, Tsukada made his debut for the club and scored his first goal in a 2–2 draw against the Colorado International Soccer Academy.[18] Tsukada made four appearances for the team and scored three goals.[19]
In 2023, he joined Capital FC in their inaugural season in USL League Two after the team had severed ties with the Portland Timbers.[20] On 28 May, Tsukada his first goal for the club, the equalizing goal of a 3–1 win at PDX FC.[21] Tsukada would score five goals for the club.[22]
Orlando City
At the 2024 MLS SuperDraft, Tsukada was selected in the first round (25th overall) by Orlando City.[23][24] In March 2024, he signed a one-year contract with the reserve affiliate, Orlando City B, in MLS Next Pro.[25][26] On 16 March, he made his professional debut, scoring a free kick in a 3–2 victory over Atlanta United 2.[27] Tsukada would score seven goals and assist in seven more, totaling 14 goal contributions, the second most for the team behind Alex Freeman.[28] In May, Tsukada signed two short-term loans with the first team.[29][30] He made his Major League Soccer debut on 15 May in a substitute appearance against Inter Miami.[31] On 15 August, Tsukada signed a contract with the first team through 2025, with club options in 2026 and 2027.[32]
On 8 February 2025, during a pre-season friendly against CF Montréal, Tsukada suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament. On 25 February, it was announced by the club that Tsukada had undergone a successful surgery to reconstruct the ligament and that he was placed onto the season ending injury list.[33][34] On 17 November, despite Tsukada being unable to make a competitive appearance for Orlando City due to injury throughout the 2025 season, Orlando City exercised their 2026 contract option for Tsukada.[35][36]
Personal life
On 10 January 2026, Tsukada announced that he had married his partner Mio, a college volleyball player who played for the New Mexico Military Institute, the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns, and the Florida State Seminoles.[37][38]
Career statistics
- As of 26 April 2026[39]
| Club | Season | League | U.S. Open Cup | Playoffs | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| New Mexico United U23 | 2022[40] | USL League Two | 4 | 3 | — | — | — | 4 | 3 | |||
| Orlando City B | 2024 | MLS Next Pro | 14 | 4 | — | — | — | 14 | 4 | |||
| Orlando City (loan) | 2024 | Major League Soccer | 1 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 1[a] | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
| Orlando City | 2024 | Major League Soccer | 2 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | ||
| 2025 | Major League Soccer | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2026 | Major League Soccer | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | ||
| Orlando City total | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 0 | ||
| Orlando City B (loan) | 2024 | MLS Next Pro | 8 | 3 | — | 1 | 0 | — | 9 | 3 | ||
| 2026 | MLS Next Pro | 3 | 0 | — | — | — | 3 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 11 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 3 | ||
| Career total | 34 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 37 | 10 | ||
- Appearances in Leagues Cup
Honours
Individual
- Daytona State Falcons Spotlight Player of the Year: 2021[5]
- United Soccer Coaches Junior College Division I Men's All-America Team: 2021[6]
- NJCAA DI All-American Team: 2021[6]
- Junior College Division I Men All-East Region: 2021[6]
- Sun Belt All-Tournament Team: 2023[13]
- All-Sun Belt First Team: 2023[13]
- United Soccer Coaches All-Southeast Region First Team: 2023[13]
- United Soccer Coaches Scholar All-South Region First Team: 2023[13]
- United Soccer Coaches All-America Third Team: 2023[13]
- College Soccer News All-America Second Team: 2023[13]
- TopDrawerSoccer Best XI Second Team: 2023[13]
- MLS Next Pro Player of the Month: May 2024[41]
