Columbus Crew 2

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Columbus Crew 2
Columbus Crew 2 logo.png
Full nameColumbus Crew 2
Nickname(s)Crew 2, Capybaras [1] [2]
FoundedDecember 6, 2021;3 years ago (2021-12-06)
Stadium Historic Crew Stadium
1 Black and Gold Blvd
Columbus, OH
Capacity19,968
Coordinates 40°0′34″N82°59′28″W / 40.00944°N 82.99111°W / 40.00944; -82.99111
Owner Columbus Crew
Head coach Federico Higuaín
League MLS Next Pro
2024 7th, Eastern Conference
5th, Central Division
Playoffs: Conference Finals
Website www.columbuscrew.com/crew2/
Soccerball current event.svg Current season

Columbus Crew 2 is a professional soccer team based in Columbus, Ohio that competes in the MLS Next Pro league, the third division of American soccer. The team is owned by, and operates as the reserve team of the Major League Soccer club Columbus Crew. The team plays home matches at Historic Crew Stadium. The team was announced as a member of MLS Next Pro on December 6, 2021. [3]

Contents

History

On December 6, 2021, the Columbus Crew announced the formation of a reserve team in MLS Next Pro that would begin play in the 2022 season and that they would play at Historic Crew Stadium (the parent club's former home venue) in Columbus, Ohio. [4] At the same time, the club announced its first manager, Corey Wrey, who is the Crew's current Assistant General Manager, a position he will continue to hold. [5] The Crew 2 will be one of 21 teams that play in the newly formed league. [6] On January 28, 2022, the Crew announced that Laurent Courtois would serve as the team's first head coach. [7]

The club played their first match on March 26, 2022, which ended in a 0–2 loss to Inter Miami CF II at DRV PNK Stadium. [8] The first win came the following week with a 1–0 victory over Chicago Fire FC II. [9]

Crew 2 won the first ever MLS Next Pro Cup title, defeating St. Louis City SC 2 4-1 on October 8, 2022. [10]

The following year, the team once again qualified for the playoffs and made it to the Cup Final. They were defeated 1–3 by Austin FC II. [11]

Players and staff

Current roster

As of September 10, 2025 [12]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No.Pos.NationPlayer
1 GK Flag of Guatemala.svg  GUA Nicholas Hagen ( [A] )
14 MF Flag of Germany.svg  GER Amar Sejdić ( [A] )
16 MF Flag of the United States.svg  USA Taha Habroune ( [A] )
22 GK Flag of Mexico.svg  MEX Abraham Romero ( [A] )
29 MF Flag of the United States.svg  USA Cole Mrowka ( [A] )
30 MF Flag of Colombia.svg  COL Nicolás Rincón
31 FW Flag of Cote d'Ivoire.svg  CIV Kevin Gbamblé (on loan Ivoire Académie)
32 MF Flag of the United States.svg  USA Quinton Elliot
33 DF Flag of Senegal.svg  SEN Ibrahima Sy
36 DF Flag of England.svg  ENG Pharrell Willis
37 MF Flag of Trinidad and Tobago.svg  TRI Kaïlé Auvray
40 DF Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  CAN Keesean Ferdinand
41 GK Flag of Belarus.svg  BLR Stanislav Lapkes ( [A] )
42 FW Flag of the United States.svg  USA Brent Adu-Gyamfi
No.Pos.NationPlayer
44 FW Flag of the United States.svg  USA Anthony Alaouieh
46 DF Flag of the United States.svg  USA Cesar Ruvalcaba ( [A] )
47 FW Flag of the Dominican Republic.svg  DOM Cristian Ortiz (on loan Tampa Bay Rowdies)
48 DF Flag of Colombia.svg  COL Málcom Palacios
49 MF Flag of the United States.svg  USA Tristan Brown ( [A] )
50 MF Flag of Ecuador.svg  ECU J.J. Granda
51 MF Flag of the United States.svg  USA Gio De Libera
52 FW Flag of the United States.svg  USA Chase Adams
55 DF Flag of the United States.svg  USA Chris Rogers (Captain)
60 GK Flag of the United States.svg  USA Alex Zochowski ( [B] )
61 MF Flag of the United States.svg  USA Shalom Adja ( [B] )
63 DF Flag of the United States.svg  USA Gianmarco Di Noto ( [B] )
No.Pos.NationPlayer
64 MF Flag of the United States.svg  USA Cooper Flanary ( [B] )
65 FW Flag of the United States.svg  USA Prince Forfor ( [B] )
66 FW Flag of the United States.svg  USA Alex Gimple ( [B] )
67 MF Flag of the United States.svg  USA Artem Grinblat ( [B] )
68 DF Flag of the United States.svg  USA Zach Lloyd ( [B] )
69 FW Flag of the United States.svg  USA Apolo Marinch ( [B] )
70 GK Flag of the United States.svg  USA Keller Abbott ( [B] )
71 DF Flag of the United States.svg  USA Dylan Randazzo ( [B] )
72 FW Flag of the United States.svg  USA Austin Su ( [B] )
73 MF Flag of the United States.svg  USA Isaac Tortola ( [B] )
91 GK Flag of the United States.svg  USA Deven Patel ( [B] )
  • ^
    First team player
  • ^
    Columbus Crew Academy player

    • Out on loan

    Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

    No.Pos.NationPlayer
    45 DF Flag of the United States.svg  USA Owen Presthus (at Hartford Athletic)
    54 GK Flag of the United States.svg  USA Luke Pruter (at Indy Eleven)

    Staff

    As of February 21, 2025 [13]
    Front office
    Investor-operators Dee and Jimmy Haslam
    JW and Whitney Johnson
    Dr. Pete Edwards
    President Issa Tall
    General Manager
    Director of Player DevelopmentDan Lock
    Coaching staff
    Head coach Federico Higuaín
    Assistant coach Josh Williams
    Goalkeeper coachAlex Blackburn
    Performance coachJorge Gonzalez
    Additional staff
    Manager of Soccer OperationsClaire Quaassdorff
    Head Athletic TrainerSara Kusner
    Assistant Athletic TrainerAlex Nucerino
    Equipment ManagerCaden Fergison
    Video & Data AnalystMarc O'Neill

    Last updated: 14:20, February 21, 2025 (UTC)
    Source:

    Team records

    Season-by-season

    As of March 19, 2025
    Season MLS Next Pro PlayoffsTop Scorer
    PWDLGFGAGDPtsDiv.Conf.OverallPlayerGoals
    2022 2416536222+40551st1st1stChampions Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Jacen Russell-Rowe 21
    2023 2816395846+12541st3rd5thRunner-up Flag of the United States.svg Gibran Rayo 12
    2024 28117105147+4455th7th12thConference Finals Flag of the United States.svg Chase Adams 9
    2025 122731224–12108th15th28thTBD Flag of the United States.svg Chase Adams 3

    Head coaches record

    As of June 26, 2025
    NameNationalityFromToPWDLGFGAWin%
    Laurent Courtois Flag of France.svg  France January 28, 2022January 8, 2024593881313777064.41
    Kelvin Jones Flag of the United States (23px).png  United States March 13, 2024December 10, 202428117105147039.29
    Federico Higuaín Flag of Argentina.svg Argentina January 29, 2025122731224016.67

    Honors

    National
    CompetitionsTitlesSeasons
    MLS Next Pro Cup 1 2022
    MLS Next Pro Regular Season 1 2022
    Eastern Conference1 2022
    Eastern Conference (Playoffs)2 2022, 2023
    Eastern Conference Central Division2 2022, 2023

    Monthly Awards

    Player of the Month

    Goalkeeper of the Month

    Annual Awards

    MLS Next Pro Most Valuable Player

    Golden Boot

    Goalkeeper of the Year

    Coach of the Year

    MLS Next Pro Cup MVP

    See also

    References

    1. ↑ Asta, Diana (July 10, 2022). "Columbus Crew 2 visits the zoo to celebrate Capybara appreciation day". WSYX. Retrieved July 11, 2022.
    2. ↑ Snipes, Tyler (September 24, 2022). "Capybaras in Columbus? The story behind Crew 2's unexpected identity". MLSNextPro.com. Retrieved September 24, 2022.
    3. ↑ "Crew 2". ColumbusCrew.com. Retrieved December 7, 2021.
    4. ↑ Benatar, Orri (December 6, 2021). "Columbus Crew launches development team, Crew 2". NBC4 WCMH-TV. Retrieved December 7, 2021.
    5. ↑ Murphy, Pat (December 6, 2021). "Columbus Crew announces the creation of Crew 2". Massive Report. Archived from the original on December 6, 2021. Retrieved December 7, 2021.
    6. ↑ MLSsoccer staff (December 6, 2021). "MLS NEXT Pro unveils 21 clubs for inaugural season starting March 2022". MLSsoccer.com. Retrieved December 7, 2021.
    7. ↑ Crew Communications (January 28, 2022). "Columbus Crew 2 appoints Laurent Courtois as first Head Coach". ColumbusCrew.com. Retrieved January 31, 2022.
    8. ↑ mlsnextpro. "Rodriguez brace powers Inter Miami II over Columbus Crew 2 | MLSSoccer.com". mlsnextpro. Retrieved March 31, 2022.
    9. ↑ devinweisbarth (April 10, 2022). "Crew 2 looks to keep momentum following first win in team history". Massive Report. Retrieved April 11, 2022.
    10. ↑ Tellitud, Jesus (October 8, 2022). "Columbus Crew 2 hoist MLS NEXT Pro Cup with 4-1 win over St Louis CITY2". MLS Next Pro. Retrieved October 8, 2022.
    11. ↑ mlsnextpro. "CLBvsATX 10-22-2023 | MLSNEXTPro.com". mlsnextpro. Retrieved October 23, 2023.
    12. ↑ "Crew 2 Roster". ColumbusCrew.com. Retrieved May 10, 2022.
    13. ↑ "Crew 2 Technical Staff". ColumbusCrew.com. Retrieved March 5, 2022.
    14. ↑ mlsnextpro. "MLS NEXT Pro Monthly Awards: May | MLSNEXTPro.com". mlsnextpro. Retrieved August 2, 2022.
    15. ↑ mlsnextpro. "MLS NEXT Pro Monthly Awards: June | MLSNEXTPro.com". mlsnextpro. Retrieved August 2, 2022.
    16. ↑ mlsnextpro. "MLS NEXT Pro Monthly Awards: August | MLSNEXTPro.com". mlsnextpro. Retrieved September 15, 2022.
    17. ↑ "MLS NEXT Pro names Jacen Russell-Rowe first-ever Most Valuable Player". MLSnextpro.com. MLS Next Pro. October 7, 2022. Retrieved October 7, 2022.
    18. ↑ "Columbus Crew 2's Jacen Russell-Rowe wins 2022 MLS NEXT PRO Golden Boot with the most goals". MLSnextpro.com. MLS Next Pro. September 18, 2022. Retrieved September 18, 2022.
    19. ↑ Schneider, Jacob (September 23, 2022). "Columbus Crew 2 goalkeeper Patrick Schulte named MLS NEXT Pro Goalkeeper of the Year". MLSnextpro.com. MLS Next Pro. Retrieved September 23, 2022.
    20. ↑ Schneider, Jacob (September 23, 2022). "Columbus Crew 2's Laurent Courtois named MLS NEXT Pro Coach of the year". MLSnextpro.com. MLS Next Pro. Retrieved September 23, 2022.
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