NASHVILLE, Tenn. (Jan. 15, 2025) – 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 2027 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 Major League Soccer 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 multiple 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 2027 with options for 2028 and 2029 on Jan. 10, 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 on Jan. 10, 2025
