MLS NEXT Pro Huntsville City Football Club

Nashville Soccer Club Signs Chris Applewhite as Third Homegrown Player

Published on January 15, 2025 under MLS NEXT Pro (MLS NEXT Pro)
Huntsville City Football Club News Release


NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Nashville Soccer Club announced today the signing of 2024/25 U18 Nashville SC Academy defender Chris Applewhite to a first team contract as a homegrown player through the 2027 Major League Soccer season with options for 2028 and 2029. Applewhite joins Isaiah Jones and Adem Sipić as homegrown players on the club's senior team roster for the 2025 MLS season.

"Chris has been exceptional during his experiences in our academy and this past season with Huntsville City FC, and his outstanding play and professional mentality at each level along the way has seen him earn this opportunity with our first team," said Nashville SC General Manager Mike Jacobs. "He has a high ceiling as a player, and we are excited about his future."

"I am extremely grateful to sign my first professional contract with Nashville SC," said Applewhite. "I couldn't have reached this point without God, my family, my coaches, and my teammates, and I am excited to be a part of this club."

Hailing from Waldorf, Md., Applewhite joined the Nashville SC Academy's U17 squad as a 15-year-old in 2022 and was named Academy Player of the Year in 2024. His maturity, physical skills, and work ethic have enabled the defender to advance from the U17 squad to the professional level in just two seasons, resulting in Applewhite becoming the youngest player to start a match for Nashville SC's MLS NEXT Pro affiliate Huntsville City Football Club on March 16, 2024.

In addition to appearing in 20 matches with 18 starts for Huntsville in 2024, Applewhite was named to the 2024 MLS NEXT All-Star Game presented by Allstate as one of only 44 All Stars chosen from a pool of more than 5,000 eligible players born between 2007 and 2009.

The defender comes from an athletic family, with his father Chiron playing college football at Grambling State University, his sister Jaida playing college soccer at Howard University, and cousins who played in the NFL including safety A.J. Moore who had a stint with the Tennessee Titans in 2022.

Transaction: Nashville SC signs defender Chris Applewhite to a first team contract as a homegrown player through the 2027 Major League Soccer season with options for 2028 and 2029 on Jan. 15, 2025

CHRIS APPLEWHITE

Position: Defender

Height:6'2"

Weight:182 lbs.

Birthdate: Aug. 23, 2007

Age:17

Hometown: Waldorf, Md.

Nationality: American

Last club: Nashville SC Academy 2024/25 U18 Team

How Acquired: Signed to first team contract as a homegrown player via Nashville SC's Academy through the 2027 MLS season with options for 2028 and 2029 on Jan. 15, 2025

QUOTE REPOSITORY:

Chris Applewhite, Nashville SC Homegrown Player: "I am extremely grateful to sign my first professional contract with Nashville SC. I couldn't have reached this point without God, my family, my coaches, and my teammates, and I am excited to be a part of this club."

Mike Jacobs, Nashville SC General Manager: "Chris has been exceptional during his experiences in our academy and this past season with Huntsville City FC, and his outstanding play and professional mentality at each level along the way has seen him earn this opportunity with our first team. He has a high ceiling as a player, and we are excited about his future."

Rumba Munthali, Nashville SC Head of Methodology: "Chris is a mature, talented, intelligent, hard-working soccer player and an even better person. He is one of the most intrinsically motivated young professionals I have had the pleasure of coaching, and he excels at breaking lines and advancing the ball to start the attack. His drive, determination, and focus are second to none, which is why I am so excited not just about the player he is right now but about the player and leader he wants to become."

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