Jon Bakero

Jon Bakero (born 5 November 1996) is a Spanish footballer who currently plays for Phoenix Rising FC in the USL Championship. In 2017, Bakero won the MAC Hermann Trophy, an annual award given to the top college soccer player in the United States.

Jon Bakero
Personal information
Full name Jon Bakero
Date of birth (1996-11-05) 5 November 1996
Place of birth Sitges, Spain
Height 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Playing position(s) Striker
Club information
Current team
 Phoenix Rising
Number 10
Youth career
2009–2011 La Blanca Subur
2011–2012 Lech Poznań
2012–2014 La Blanca Subur
College career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2014–2017 Wake Forest Demon Deacons 88 (37)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2016 FC Tucson 8 (1)
2017 Carolina Dynamo 7 (5)
2018 Chicago Fire 4 (0)
2018 → Tulsa Roughnecks (loan) 3 (2)
2018–2019 Toronto FC 3 (0)
2018 → Toronto FC II (loan) 5 (1)
2019 → Phoenix Rising (loan) 26 (3)
2020– Phoenix Rising 0 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 12 December 2019

Career

Youth and college

Bakero played college soccer for Wake Forest in the Atlantic Coast Conference, where he was a regular starter all four years. In total, Bakero made 88 appearances for the Demon Deacons, scoring 37 goals across all competitive matches. Bakero made his debut for Wake Forest on 29 August 2014 in a 3–1 loss against UCLA. A month later, he would earn his first points with Wake Forest, notching an assist against Akron on 30 September 2014, in a 2–1 victory. In the following match, on 3 October 2014, Bakero scored his first collegiate goal against Duke in a 4–1 victory. Bakero would score multiple times two weeks later.

During his sophomore year, Bakero improved on his freshman campaign and scored eight season goals, and would go on to earn Third Team All-ACC recognition. Between his sophomore and junior years, Bakero played for FC Tucson in the Premier Development League, a off-season amateur league that allows college soccer players to retain their NCAA eligibility while still playing competitively during the offseason. Bakero finished the 2016 PDL season with one goal in eight appearances for Tucson.

In his junior year, Bakero played an integral part of the 2016 Wake Forest team that earned their first ACC Men's Soccer Championship since 1989, and their first berth in the NCAA College Cup Final since 2007. Bakero earned All-ACC Tournament XI honors and College Cup Best XI honors. In between his junior and senior years, Bakero returned to the PDL where he scored five times in seven appearances for the Carolina Dynamo.

Bakero lead the Deacs in scoring for his senior year, where he notched 16 goals in 23 appearances. He helped Wake Forest successfully defend their ACC Tournament title, and reach the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament. He was awarded with First-Team All ACC honors, the ACC Men's Soccer Offensive Player of the Year and the Hermann Trophy, which is given annually by the Missouri Athletic Club to the best college soccer player in the United States.

Professional

Ahead of the 2018 Major League Soccer season, it was announced that Bakero had signed a contract with Major League Soccer, making him eligible for the 2018 MLS SuperDraft.[1] He was an expected first round draft pick.[2][3][4] Bakero was selected by Chicago Fire SC with the fifth overall pick in the SuperDraft. Bakero made his professional debut on April 14, 2018 as an 85th minute substitution in a 0–1 loss to the LA Galaxy.

On 20 July 2018, Bakero was traded by Chicago Fire to Toronto FC along with $50,000 in General Allocation Money in exchange for Nicolas Hasler.[5] Jon made his TFC debut in their 3-2 loss to NYCFC on August 11. In 2019, he was loaned to Phoenix Rising FC[6] After the season, he signed a permanent contract with Phoenix Rising.[7]

Honors

Individual

Club

Personal life

Bakero is the son of former professional footballer, José Mari Bakero, who played for the Spain national football team, Real Sociedad and FC Barcelona. He is also the nephew of Itziar Bakero, a former female professional footballer.

Career statistics

Updated as of October 28, 2019

Club Season League Domestic Cup League Playoffs Continental Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
FC Tucson 2016 PDL812000—101
Carolina Dynamo 2017 7500——75
Chicago Fire 2018 MLS4000——40
Tulsa Roughnecks(loan) 2018 USL3200——32
Toronto FC 2018 MLS3000—0030
Toronto FC II (loan) 2018 USL51———51
Phoenix Rising (loan) 2019 USL Championship2431010—253
Career total 54123010005812

References
  1. "Wake's Bakero, Twumasi Heading To MLS". WFMY-TV. Tegna, Inc. 5 January 2018. Retrieved 6 January 2018.
  2. Clark, Travis (25 December 2017). "2018 MLS Mock Draft: Version 1.0". TopDrawerSoccer.com. Top Drawer Soccer. Retrieved 6 January 2018.
  3. Galarcep, Ives (28 December 2017). "Meet the 2018 Generation Adidas Class and Top MLS Draft Prospects". Goal. Perform Group. Retrieved 6 January 2018.
  4. Ralph, Matt (20 January 2017). "2018 MLS SuperDraft: An Early Look at Prospects for Next Year's Draft". The Brotherly Game. SB Nation. Retrieved 6 January 2018.
  5. Rodriguez, Alicia (20 July 2018). "Chicago Fire acquire Nicolas Hasler from Toronto FC for Jon Bakero, GAM". Major League Soccer.
  6. Canadian Press (20 March 2019). "Toronto FC loans Jon Bakero to USL's Phoenix Rising FC". Sportsnet.
  7. Anderson, Jake (12 December 2019). "Phoenix Rising brings back midfielder Jon Bakero for 2020 season". Arizona Sports.
  8. Goff, Steven (5 January 2018). "Lorton's Andi Sullivan wins Hermann Trophy as college soccer's best player". The Washington Post. The Washington Post. Retrieved 6 January 2018.
  9. Dell, John (5 January 2018). "Wake's Bakero wins Hermann Trophy Award". Winston-Salem Journal. Berkshire Hathaway. Retrieved 6 January 2018.
  10. Wake Forest’s Jon Bakero Wins the 2017 Senior Class Award® for Men’s Soccer, Seniorclassaward.com, accessed December 15, 2017
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