The Seattle Sounders have signed 16-year-old midfielder Reed Baker-Whiting to a Homegrown contract, the club announced Wednesday. Blake-Whiting made seven appearances in 2020 for Seattle's USL affiliate Tacoma Defiance before spending the 2021 preseason with the Sounders first team. He signed a four-year contract, with an additional club option year.
“We are excited to add another young, talented player to our roster,” said Sounders general manager & president of soccer Garth Lagerwey in a team release. “Reed has shown promise in his time with the academy and Tacoma Defiance, in addition to his extended time training in the First Team environment. It’s always nice to see young players climb the ranks within our development pipeline, and we look forward to seeing how Reed progresses from here.”
Baker-Whiting joined the club via the Sounders Discovery Program from Seattle United in 2016 and now becomes the 17th Sounders Homegrown Player signing in club history.
“As someone who joined the club recently, one of the intriguing aspects of this organization is its pipeline of strong young players, and Reed is the latest example of that,” said Sounders vice president of soccer operations & sporting director Craig Waibel. “Reed is a promising player with positional versatility, and the fact that he’s been training with the First Team for the better part of a year is a sign that at just 16 years of age, he’s able to compete at the highest levels of our organization. We look forward to watching him develop further from here."
