Danny Leyva

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

2022 (Seattle): Leyva established a new career-high with 12 starts in 19 appearances in 2022, recording two assists. He recorded his first MLS assist on Alex Roldan’s 89th minute goal in a 4-0 win against Vancouver Whitecaps FC at home (June 14). He also recorded an assist on an Albert Rusnák goal in a 2-1 loss to Real Salt Lake (August 14). Leyva started all nine of his appearances for Tacoma Defiance in 2022, recording a goal in a 4-1 win over Colorado Rapids II (June 19).

2021 (Seattle): Leyva became a regular in Seattle’s rotation in 2021, starting eight of 24 appearances. He started in the historic match at Austin FC that saw the Rave Green start five teenagers en route to a 1-0 win (July 23). The Las Vegas native also started of five of six matches for Tacoma Defiance.

2020 (Seattle): Leyva made two appearances for Seattle, with his lone start coming in the season opener, a 2-1 over Chicago (March 1). Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the shortened USL Championship season, Leyva only got one start for Tacoma Defiance in 2020, logging a full 90 minutes against the San Diego Loyal on March 12.

2019 (Tacoma Defiance/Seattle): Prior to signing an MLS contract, Leyva started four of five appearances in 2019 for Tacoma Defiance, Sounders FC’s USL side, logging 354 minutes. He has an 83.5-percent passing accuracy on a team-high 254 total passes, while also ranking among the team leaders with four tackles won and 19 duels won. Leyva appeared in six MLS games, including four starts and 413 minutes played. Leyva made his MLS debut on June 5 at Montreal, coming on as a substitute and playing eight minutes. He made his first career start on June 29 vs. Vancouver and played the full 90 minutes while recording two shots. When Leyva was signed as Seattle’s 12th Homegrown Player at 15 years and 339 days old, he became the youngest First Team signing in club history. Leyva is also tied for the 15th youngest signing in league history, and became the 19th player to sign an MLS contract prior to their 16th birthday. In total, he appeared in 14 games for Tacoma Defiance, making 12 starts and totaling 1,069 minutes. 

2018 (S2): Leyva started one match for S2, a 3-1 road loss to San Antonio FC on September 30, making him the youngest player in club history to start a USL match, and the second-youngest in league history to earn a start, completing 35 of 44 passes with two interceptions in 90 minutes.

YOUTH EXPERIENCE

Leyva joined the Sounders FC Academy from his local select club, Barcelona Las Vegas, in 2017, playing with the club’s U-15 and U-17 teams last season (2017-2018) and compiling 11 goals and 13 assists across all competitions. He began playing two years up with the U-17s during the first round of 2018 Generation Adidas Cup, which Sounders FC won. He went on to feature in every postseason match as the U-17s collected the club’s first-ever U.S. Soccer Development Academy national championship.

In two seasons for the Academy, Leyva played in 66 matches for the U-15s and U-17s across all competitions.

INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE

Leyva has represented the United States at the U-15 and U-16 levels. He first caught the attention of U.S. Soccer when the Sounders U-15s played the U.S. U-15s in a preseason friendly, with Leyva tallying a goal and an assist in a 5-2 win for Seattle. He was called up to the U.S. U-15 team twice and eventually became a mainstay at the U-16 level, earning call-ups to four camps and one international trip in 2018. On several occasions, the midfielder captained the U-16s for a series of friendlies. The Las Vegas native played in the 2018 Torneo Delle Nazioni, where he featured in matches against Croatia, Italy, Slovenia and Japan, and he scored the game-winning goal from a corner kick against hosts Italy. He was recently called up to the U-17 National Team for the final domestic camp ahead of the 2019 CONCACAF Championships, which serves as the qualifying event for the 2019 U-17 World Cup. Leyva is one of two players born in 2003 to be called-in by new head coach Raphael Wicky for the camp in Lakewood Ranch, Fla.