Reed Vanarthur Baker-Whiting

Reed Baker-Whiting was sixteen years and 46 days old when he stepped onto the pitch against LAFC in May 2021, making him the fifth-youngest player to appear in Major League Soccer. He had spent the previous five years in the Seattle Sounders academy, and the club moved quickly once it decided he was ready.

The rest of his rise in Seattle followed a similar pattern of first-team minutes mixed with time back at Tacoma Defiance. Between those stints he collected two pieces of silverware with the Sounders: the CONCACAF Champions League in 2022 and the Leagues Cup in 2025.

His performances also carried him through the American youth pyramid, with caps and goals across the under-15, under-19, under-20, under-21 and under-23 sides.

In February 2026, Seattle sent him to Nashville SC in a deal that brought the Sounders up to $1.1 million, split between guaranteed and performance-based fees — a trade that closed the Seattle chapter of his career and opened a new one on the other side of the country.

Baker-Whiting arrives as a right-footed defender capable of playing higher up as a midfielder.