Stefan Cleveland

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Stefan Cleveland
2023 Leagues Cup - Seattle vs. Monterrey - combined starting lineups (Stefan Cleveland cropped).jpg
Cleveland with the Seattle Sounders in 2023
Personal information
Full name Stefan Daniel Cleveland [1]
Date of birth (1994-05-25) May 25, 1994 (age 31) [1]
Place of birth Dayton, Ohio, United States
Height 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) [1]
Position Goalkeeper
Team information
Current team
 Sporting Kansas City
College career
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
2012–2015 Dartmouth Big Green 38 (0)
2016 Louisville Cardinals 22 (0)
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
2015 Dayton Dutch Lions 3 (0)
2017–2019 Chicago Fire 5 (0)
2017 → Tulsa Roughnecks (loan) 2 (0)
2018 → Tulsa Roughnecks (loan) 1 (0)
2019 → Lansing Ignite (loan) 21 (0)
2020–2023 Seattle Sounders 22 (0)
2020 → Tacoma Defiance (loan) 2 (0)
2022–2023 → Tacoma Defiance (loan) 1 (0)
2024–2025 Austin FC 0 (0)
2025 → Austin FC II (loan) 1 (0)
2026– Sporting Kansas City 0 (0)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 12:27, December 12, 2025 (UTC)

Stefan Daniel Cleveland (born May 25, 1994) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a goalkeeper for Major League Soccer club Sporting Kansas City.

Contents

Early life

Cleveland was born in Dayton, Ohio, and attended The Miami Valley School. [2]

Career

College and amateur

Cleveland spent four years at Dartmouth College playing college soccer. After earning an engineering degree from Dartmouth College in 2016, Cleveland began graduate school at the University of Louisville in 2017. While at University of Louisville, Cleveland used his final season of NCAA eligibility playing for the Cardinals. [2]

In 2015, Cleveland appeared for Premier Development League side Dayton Dutch Lions. [3]

Professional

On January 13, 2017, Cleveland was drafted in the second round as the 26th overall pick in the 2017 MLS SuperDraft by Chicago Fire. [4] He signed with the club on January 30, 2017. [5]

He made his professional debut on May 27, 2017, whilst on loan with Chicago's United Soccer League affiliate Tulsa Roughnecks during a 3–1 win over Portland Timbers 2. [6] He made his MLS debut on August 4, 2018, starting in a 2–1 loss to Real Salt Lake, making 8 saves and allowing 2 goals. [7]

Cleveland was acquired by Seattle Sounders FC on November 26, 2019. [8] He has mainly played for reserve team Tacoma Defiance or filled in for starting Sounders goalkeeper Stefan Frei during congested weeks of the season or with injuries. Cleveland played 16 matches during the 2021 season after Frei injured his knee early in the season. [9] On January 19, 2022, Cleveland re-signed with the Sounders. [10]

On December 24, 2023, Austin FC acquired Cleveland as a free agent and signed him to a two-year deal with a club option for the third year. [11]

On December 10, 2025, Sporting Kansas City acquired Cleveland in exchange for $50,000 in general allocation money. [12]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played May 7, 2025 [13]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
ClubSeasonLeagueNational cup [a] OtherTotal
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Dayton Dutch Lions 2015 PDL 30——30
Chicago Fire 2017 Major League Soccer 0000—00
2018 5000—50
2019 0000—00
Total50000050
Tulsa Roughnecks (loan) 2017 USL 2000—20
2018 1000—10
Total30000030
Lansing Ignite (loan) 2019 USL 1 210001 [b] 0220
Seattle Sounders FC 2020 Major League Soccer00——00
2021 150—1 [c] 0150
2022 7010—80
2023 20201 [c] 050
Total2403020280
Tacoma Defiance 2020 USL Championship 00——00
2021 20——20
2022 10——10
Total30000030
Austin FC 2024 Major League Soccer00—1 [c] 010
2025 0010—10
Total00101020
Austin FC II (loan) 2025 MLS Next Pro 10——10
Sporting Kansas City 2026 Major League Soccer0000—00
Career total6004040680
Notes
  1. ↑ Appearances in U.S. Open Cup
  2. ↑ Appearances in USL League One Playoffs
  3. 1 2 3 Appearances in Leagues Cup

Honors

Seattle Sounders FC

References

  1. 1 2 3 "FIFA Club World Cup Morocco 2022™: List of Players: Seattle Sounders FC" (PDF). FIFA. February 7, 2023. p. 6. Archived (PDF) from the original on February 12, 2023. Retrieved February 12, 2023.
  2. 1 2 "Stefan Cleveland - 2016 Men's Soccer".
  3. ↑ Staff, PDL (January 31, 2017). "Fire Sign PDL Alums Johnson, Cleveland".
  4. ↑ "Fire add Daniel Johnson, Guillermo Delgado, Stefan Cleveland and more GAM in day 1 of SuperDraft".
  5. ↑ "Sign Daniel Johnson and Stefan Cleveland". Chicago Fire. January 30, 2017. Retrieved April 29, 2019.
  6. ↑ "USL MATCH RECAP | Tulsa Roughnecks FC: 3, Portland Timbers 2: 1". Portland Timbers. May 27, 2017. Retrieved April 29, 2019.
  7. ↑ "Stefan Cleveland". MLSsoccer.com. Retrieved April 29, 2019.
  8. ↑ "Sounders FC acquires goalkeeper Stefan Cleveland from Chicago Fire". SoundersFC.com. Retrieved November 26, 2019.
  9. ↑ Evans, Jayda (September 28, 2021). "'It was a roller coaster of emotions': Sounders keeper Stefan Frei talks about return from injury, rehab process". The Seattle Times. Retrieved May 9, 2022.
  10. ↑ "Sounders FC re-signs goalkeeper Stefan Cleveland". SoundersFC.com. Retrieved January 19, 2022.
  11. ↑ "Austin FC Signs Free Agent Goalkeeper Stefan Cleveland". AustinFC.com. Austin FC. December 24, 2023. Retrieved December 24, 2023.
  12. ↑ "Sporting Kansas City acquire G Stefan Cleveland from Austin FC". Field Level Media. December 10, 2025. Retrieved December 12, 2025.
  13. ↑ Stefan Cleveland at Soccerway
  14. ↑ "Game Details". concacaf.com. May 5, 2022. Retrieved May 5, 2022.
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