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New York City FC sign Prince Amponsah to Homegrown contract

The 21-year-old central defender is the 16th Homegrown in club history. The NYCFC Academy product played for Manhattan Kickers and Wake Forest University.

New York City FC central defender Prince Amponsah | Courtesy newyorkcityfc.com

New York City FC just announced they signed defender Prince Amponsah to a Homegrown contract to the First Team through 2025, with options through 2028.

The 21-year-old left-footed central defender is the 16th Homegrown in club history. This comes on the heels of the news that New York City signed 17-year-old midfielder Jacob Arroyave, whose Homegrown contract was announced earlier today.


New York City FC | Homegrown Signings

Name Pos Signed MLS Debut
Prince Amponsah D 2025
Jacob Arroyave M 2025
Alex Rando GK 2024
Zidane Yañez F 2023
Jonny Shore M 2023
Drew Baiera D 2023
Máximo Carrizo M 2022
Jonathan Jiménez* F 2022
Samuel Owusu D 2022 2022
Nico Benalcazar* D 2022 2023
Christian McFarlane D 2021 2024
Andres Jasson* M 2020 2021
Tayvon Gray D 2019 2021
Justin Haak M 2019 2019
Joe Scally* D 2018 2020
James Sands* M 2017 2017

* No longer with NYCFC


Born in The Bronx in 2003, spent four years in the New York City FC Academy, then went on to play for Manhattan Kickers FC, a youth program based in Lower Manhattan.

Amponsah attended Manhattan Hunter Science High School on the Upper West Side, then attended Wake Forest University, where he made 92 appearances for the men's soccer team.

Jun 23, 2017

The defender started in all of Wake Forest's 23 games in 2024, playing 2072 minutes and providing three assists. He was the Most Valuable Player in the 2024 ACC Tournament, which was won by Wake Forest. The school went on to advance to the Quarterfinals of the NCAA 2024 Division I tournament before getting knocked out out by Ohio State.


2024 ACC Tournament MVP Prince Amponsah


The title was won by a University of Vermont squad that featured Max Murray, a 6' 5" central defender who was selected by New York City in the first round of the 2025 MLS SuperDraft. In fact, Amponsah's omission in the SuperDraft's list of eligible players led our friends at The Outfield to correctly speculate that he would go on to sign with New York City as a Homegrown player.

Wake Forest's Prince Amponsah, the best left-footed CB in college, is not on the draft eligible list meaning he is probably signing with NYCFC as a homegrown.

The Outfield (@theoutfield.nyc) 2024-12-16T20:13:13.055Z

The full statement from New York City is below:

New York City FC Signs Defender Prince Amponsah to a Homegrown Contract 

NEW YORK – January 10, 2025 –
New York City FC announced today that it has signed defender Prince Amponsah to a first team contract as a Homegrown for the 2025 season, with options through 2028.

Amponsah, the 16th Homegrown signing in club history, returns to New York City FC following a standout collegiate career at Wake Forest. During the defender's time with Wake Forrest College, Amponsah served as team captain and earned 2024 ACC Tournament Most Valuable Player and United Soccer Coaches Second-Team All-South Region honors.

During the defender’s collegiate career, The Bronx native started all 23 matches in 2024, logging more than 2,000 minutes and contributing three assists. Amponsah played every minute of Wake Forest’s three NCAA Tournament matches and almost the entirety of its four ACC Tournament games. He finished his collegiate career ranked seventh in program history in both appearances (92) and starts (84).

“Prince has been a part of the New York City FC family for many years and we are happy to welcome him back as a Homegrown signing,” said Sporting Director David Lee. “He has continued his development since he left our academy and has had an outstanding collegiate career at Wake Forest where he’s been one of the top defenders in the NCAA. Having spent his early years in the academy, Prince knows the organization and our style of play well which will help his transition into professional football. We’re excited to see him take the next step in his career with the first team and look forward to his contributions on the field this season and beyond.”

Before joining Wake Forest, Amponsah spent four seasons in New York City FC’s academy, making 86 appearances, including 79 starts. He was one of 10 academy players that were invited to participate in the first team’s preseason in 2020.

"I’m absolutely thrilled to sign with New York City FC, it’s a surreal moment for me," Defender Prince Amponsah said. "This is something I’ve been working toward my entire life, and to achieve it with my boyhood club makes it even more special. Growing up in the shadows of Yankee Stadium, I’ve always dreamed of representing not just myself and my family, but my city. Wearing these colors and this badge means everything to me. I can’t wait to play in front of New York City’s incredible fans and work toward lifting a trophy together. The journey here has been challenging, but it’s the grind every single day that makes this moment so rewarding. This is just the beginning, and I’m ready to keep pushing forward."

Transaction: New York City FC sign defender Prince Amponsah to a first team contract as a Homegrown through 2025, with options through 2028.

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