Kevin Paredes

Kevin Paredes came through D.C. United's academy and made his professional bow with the club's reserve side, Loudoun United FC, before signing as a homegrown player in January 2020. Two seasons and 41 appearances later, he moved to VfL Wolfsburg for a fee that stood as a club record for D.C. United.

The move brought its rewards and its setbacks in roughly equal measure. Paredes built a breakout 2023 campaign, featuring in 28 Bundesliga matches for Wolfsburg, form that earned him the Chipotle U.S. Soccer Young Male Player of the Year award for that season. He also won his first senior USA cap in September 2023, coming off the bench in a friendly win over Oman. The following summer he was one of the standout figures for the United States at the 2024 Paris Olympics, scoring twice against Guinea as the team reached the quarterfinals before finishing eighth.

Injuries then disrupted his progress at Wolfsburg. A broken foot in August 2024 was aggravated the following year, limiting his contribution during what became four and a half years in Germany. He left as a free agent when his contract expired and signed with FC Utrecht in the Eredivisie on a one-year deal with two option years.

Paredes also represented the United States at the 2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup, part of a run through the youth and Olympic set-ups that preceded his senior international debut. Of Dominican descent, he chose to represent the United States at international level.