Louisville City FC adds 16-year-old defender Hayden Stamps as USL Academy signing

LOUISVILLE, KY – Louisville City FC added defender Hayden Stamps as a USL Academy signing ahead of this weekend’s home-opening game against Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC at Lynn Family Stadium.

The signing, which is pending league and federation approval, allows the 16-year-old to train with and play for LouCity’s First Team in the USL Championship and Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup while maintaining his NCAA eligibility.

A sophomore at Kentucky Country Day School, Stamps could also benefit from a new USL Championship rule for 2024 that allows clubs to dress up to two additional players aged 17-and-under for home games without taking a spot on the standard 18-player gameday squad.

“We are excited to be able to sign Hayden to a USL Academy contract,” said LouCity Head Coach Danny Cruz. “This is another important step in his development, as he is now training with us every day. We also believe the new initiative from the league is going to allow our young academy players another opportunity for growth by experiencing everything that goes into a game day.

“We have seen throughout preseason Hayden’s personality come out with the group, and I am looking forward to continuing to see how he develops with the first team.”

Stamps joins LouCity following an impressive high school season in which he led KCD with 20 goals and was named to the KHSAA All-State Second Team. He also earned All-Region First Team honors for the ECNL Ohio Valley Region with his LouCity Academy team.

“I want to thank all my friends, my family, and most importantly God for getting me to where I am today,” said Stamps. “I’m extremely excited to start working toward lifting that cup at the end of the season, and I can’t think of a better club to work with than Louisville City.”