Reed Baker-Whiting has re-signed with the Seattle Sounders through the 2028 season with an option for 2029, the club announced on Thursday. The 20-year-old Seattle native will occupy a U-22 roster spot, leaving two more such spots open for either external signings or internal promotions.
“Reed is a young and promising talent who’s already shown a lot of maturity in his time with the club,” Sounders General Manager & Chief Soccer Officer Craig Waibel said in a team release. “We’re pleased to have him continue his journey with us and believe this new contract reflects the potential we see in him.”
Re-signing Baker-Whiting before the offseason was an obvious priority. Baker-Whiting’s contract runs out at the end of the season and while he wouldn’t have been a MLS free agent, he would have been free to sign anywhere else in the world.
Already in his fifth MLS season, Baker-Whiting has experienced his fair share of ups and downs. He was one of the youngest players to ever play in MLS when he made his debut in 2021 but didn’t really break in as a regular contributor until 2023. Just as he seemed to be establishing himself as a starter, he suffered a hamstring injury in the regular-season finale and then struggled to get healthy for the first half of 2024. He still managed to make 31 first-team appearances last year, but was mostly used as a more defensive-minded sub on the wings.
This year, he’s slowly re-established himself as a viable option at fullback where he’s started to push Nouhou for starter’s minutes again. Among his more notable starts were against Atletico Madrid in the Club World Cup and against Inter Miami in the Leagues Cup final, both times being matched against high-level talent and holding his own.
More recently, Baker-Whiting has been invited to the U20 World Cup roster after making five appearances for the United States this year. He is apparently still deciding if he will accept that invitation, which would cause him to miss anywhere from 2-4 Sounders games.
