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Aidan Morris

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Not to be confused with Aiden Morris.

Aidan Morris
Morris with Middlesbrough in 2025
Personal information
Full name Aidan Zen Patrick Morris[1]
Date of birth (2001-11-16) November 16, 2001 (age 24)
Place of birth Fort Lauderdale, Florida, U.S.
Height 5 ft 10 in (1.77 m)
Position Midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Middlesbrough
Number 18
Youth career
2015–2017 Weston FC
2017–2019 Columbus Crew
College career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2019 Indiana Hoosiers 21 (2)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2020–2024 Columbus Crew 83 (6)
2022 Columbus Crew 2 3 (0)
2024– Middlesbrough 35 (0)
International career‡
2018 United States U18 3 (0)
2020 United States U20 2 (0)
2023–2024 United States U23 4 (1)
2023– United States 13 (0)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of June 24, 2025
‡ National team caps and goals as of November 18, 2025

Aidan Zen Patrick Morris (born November 16, 2001) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a midfielder for EFL Championship club Middlesbrough and the United States national team.

A native of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Morris trained at Weston FC before joining the academy of the Columbus Crew in 2017 at the age of 16. He spent a year at Indiana University in 2019, winning the Big Ten Freshman of the Year award before being signed by the Columbus Crew in 2020. He made his debut for the first team the same year, eventually becoming the youngest player in Major League Soccer history to start an MLS Cup. He won two MLS Cups (2020 and 2023) with Columbus before transferring to Middlesbrough in the EFL Championship for a reported $4 million in 2024.

Born in the United States and having Canadian ancestry, Morris was able to represent either the United States or Canada internationally. He was capped several times across multiple youth levels for the United States, before making his senior debut in January 2023.

Youth career

[edit]

Originally from Florida, Morris played academy soccer for Weston FC, and was recruited to the Columbus Crew Academy, where he played from 2017 to 2019, accumulating 43 appearances and scoring eight goals across his three years in the academy.[2] He attended Indiana University in 2019, scoring two goals and providing a team-leading eight assists, with head coach Todd Yeagley calling him "a dominant personality."[2][3] Morris was recognized as the Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week twice on October 8 and 29,[4][5] and was later named Big Ten Freshman of the Year and won the 2019 TopDrawerSoccer.com National Freshman of the Year Award. After his lone college season, Morris signed as a homegrown player for the Columbus Crew.[6]

Professional career

[edit]

Columbus Crew

[edit]

2020: MLS Cup champion

[edit]

Morris was announced as a homegrown player signing by the Columbus Crew on January 14, 2020.[6] He made his professional debut in a July 11 match during the MLS is Back Tournament, coming on late in a 4–0 trouncing of in-state rival FC Cincinnati.[7] He made his second appearance for the Crew on July 16, coming off the bench for an injured Darlington Nagbe in the 67th minute of a 2–0 win against New York Red Bulls.[8] He made his first start for the Crew in October 2020.[9] Overall, Morris made eleven appearances for the Crew during the 2020 MLS season.[10] To cap off the season, on December 12, 2020, he became the youngest player in league history to start in MLS Cup, as he helped guide the Crew to a 3–0 win over the Seattle Sounders.[11]

2021–2022: Injury and breakthrough

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Morris started the first game of the 2021 season for the Crew, a 4–0 win against Real Estelí in the round of 16 of the CONCACAF Champions League. Morris again started the second leg against Real Esteli, however, he left the game in the fourth minute of what was a 1–0 victory for Columbus with an ACL injury that sidelined him for the entirety of the 2021 MLS season.[12]

Morris made his return to action on the opening game of the 2022 season, coming on as a substitute in the 69th minute of a 4–0 victory for Columbus on February 26.[13] After two months of coming in strictly as a second-half substitute and playing in a few reserve games, Morris started in an April 19 U.S. Open Cup game where he drew a penalty kick in the Crew's 2–1 loss to Detroit City FC.[14] Morris became the starter after an injury to incumbent midfielder Artur.[15] He ended the 2022 season with 21 starts in 28 total appearances.[13][16]

2023: Second championship

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During the 2023 preseason, Morris changed his squad number from 21 to 8.[17] During 2023 season, Morris became the full-time starter next to Darlington Nagbe in midfield,[18] and on March 25, he scored his first goal for the club in a 6–1 win over Atlanta United at home. He added his second and third goals for the club in the following match against Real Salt Lake on April 1.[19] On April 12, Morris signed a new contract with the Crew until 2026.[18] He scored his fourth goal of the season in the 3–0 Hell is Real derby victory against FC Cincinnati.[19] After making the playoffs for the first time since winning the 2020 MLS Cup, Morris and the Columbus Crew defeated Los Angeles FC 2-1 in MLS Cup to give Morris his second championship.

2024

[edit]

During the 2024 season, Morris scored his first goal of the new season on March 16 versus the New York Red Bulls. On April 2, he was sent off for a second yellow in a CONCACAF Champions Cup match versus Tigres UANL.[20] On April 27, he was named captain for the first time for Columbus in the 0–0 draw at home against CF Montréal.[21] The following game, he scored against C.F. Monterrey in the Champions Cup semifinal, a goal which sent his club to the final. He was named Player of the Match for his efforts.[22] On June 22, he played in his final game for Columbus, subbing out of the game in the 60th minute, with the fans chanting his name in unison to bid him farewell.[23]

Morris with Columbus Crew in 2023.

Middlesbrough

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After an "emotional" final game with Columbus,[24] Morris was announced as a signing by EFL Championship club Middlesbrough on June 28, 2024.[25] The transfer fee was reported by The Athletic to be in the region of $4 million.[26] He made his debut for Middlesbrough against Swansea City on August 10, 2024, becoming the 1000th player to make a competitive appearance for the club.[27]

International career

[edit]

He has made appearances for the United States under-18 and under-20 soccer teams.[28][29] He made his senior debut in a 2–1 loss to Serbia on January 25, 2023.[30]

In May 2023, Morris was listed on both the United States and Canada preliminary rosters for the 2023 CONCACAF Nations League Finals.[31] In June 2023, he committed to the United States, joining their roster for the 2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup.[32]

On October 8, 2023, Morris was called up to the United States under-23 national team ahead of friendlies against Mexico and Japan.[33]

Style of play

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Morris is known for his drive, aggression, and his excellent ball-winning abilities, which have been attributed to his positioning, determination and impressive work rate. He is a player that not afraid to tackle or get involved in any part of the field.[34][35][36][37][38]

Personal life

[edit]

Born in the United States, Morris is of Canadian descent through his father.[39] He is a fan of Manchester United.[2]

Career statistics

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Club

[edit]
As of match played June 24, 2025[10]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup[a] League cup[b] Continental Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Columbus Crew 2020 MLS 10 0 — — — 1[c] 0 11 0
2021 0 0 — — 2[d] 0 — 2 0
2022 27 0 1 0 — — — 28 0
2023 30 4 2 0 — 3[e] 0 6[c] 0 41 4
2024 16 2 — — 6[d] 1 — 22 3
Total 83 6 3 0 — 11 1 7 0 104 7
Columbus Crew 2 2022 MLS Next Pro 3 0 — — — — 3 0
Middlesbrough 2024–25 Championship 35 0 — 2 0 — 0 0 37 0
Career total 121 6 3 0 2 0 11 1 7 0 144 7
  1. ^ Includes U.S. Open Cup
  2. ^ Includes EFL Cup
  3. ^ a b Appearance(s) in MLS Cup Playoffs
  4. ^ a b Appearance(s) in CONCACAF Champions Cup
  5. ^ Appearances in Leagues Cup

International

[edit]
As of match played November 18, 2025[40]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
United States 2023 4 0
2024 5 0
2025 4 0
Total 13 0

Honors

[edit]

Indiana Hoosiers

Columbus Crew

Individual

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "National team roster – 2023 CONCACAF Nations League Finals: USA" (PDF). CONCACAF. May 19, 2023. p. 7. Archived (PDF) from the original on May 19, 2023. Retrieved May 19, 2023.
  2. ^ a b c "Aidan Morris". ColumbusCrew.com. Retrieved April 19, 2025.
  3. ^ Rigdon, Jared (October 25, 2019). "Tiger out of its cage: Freshman Aidan Morris does it all in vital conference win - The Hoosier Network". www.thehoosiernetwork.com. Retrieved November 16, 2025.
  4. ^ "Morris Crowned Big Ten Player of the Week". Indiana University Athletics.
  5. ^ "Morris Collects Third Award of the Week". Indiana University Athletics.
  6. ^ a b "Columbus Crew SC signs Crew SC Academy product Aidan Morris". ColumbusCrew.com. January 14, 2020.
  7. ^ @ColumbusCrewSC (July 12, 2020). "Homegrown 🏡 Now in the match: @sebaberhalter & @AidanZMorris #Crew96 | #CINvCLB | 0–4" (Tweet). Retrieved July 12, 2020 – via Twitter.
  8. ^ "Recap". mlssoccer.com. Major League Soccer. July 16, 2020. Retrieved July 17, 2020.
  9. ^ "Aidan Morris provides a bright spot during the Crew's recent slump". massivereport.com. Vox Media. October 10, 2020. Archived from the original on November 7, 2022. Retrieved June 3, 2021.
  10. ^ a b "USA – A. Morris – Profile with news, career statistics and history – Soccerway". int.soccerway.com. Soccerway.
  11. ^ "Columbus Crew's Aidan Morris youngest ever to start, register assist in MLS Cup". mlssoccer.com. Major League Soccer. December 12, 2020. Retrieved June 3, 2021.
  12. ^ Myers, Jacob (April 17, 2021). "Crew unfortunate to lose bright, young player Aidan Morris, potentially for the year". The Columbus Dispatch. Retrieved June 3, 2021.
  13. ^ a b "Columbus Crew announces 2022 Team Award winners | Columbus Crew". ColumbusCrew.com. November 10, 2022. Retrieved November 16, 2025.
  14. ^ Palazzolo, Tavio (April 20, 2022). "2022 US Open Cup Round 3: Maxi Rodriguez creates smokeshow in Detroit City's upset of Columbus Crew". Archived from the original on November 16, 2025. Retrieved November 16, 2025.
  15. ^ Johnson, Bailey (November 23, 2022). "Columbus Crew trade midfielder Artur to Houston Dynamo for up to $350k in allocation money". The Columbus Dispatch. Retrieved November 16, 2025.
  16. ^ "Aidan Morris All Competitions Stats, Goals, Records". FBref.com. Retrieved November 16, 2025.
  17. ^ Johnson, Bailey. "Wilfried Nancy's week-by-week preseason plan to prepare the Crew for the 2023 season". The Columbus Dispatch. Retrieved November 16, 2025.
  18. ^ a b Johnson, Bailey. "Columbus Crew midfielder Aidan Morris signs contract extension through 2026". The Columbus Dispatch. Retrieved November 16, 2025.
  19. ^ a b "2023 Aidan Morris Match Logs". FBref.com. Retrieved November 16, 2025.
  20. ^ "Columbus Crew, Tigres UANL even in thrilling first leg". Concacaf. March 30, 2024. Retrieved November 16, 2025.
  21. ^ Mac Kay, Brianna (April 28, 2024). "Columbus Crew record fifth straight MLS regular-season draw in Montreal match: 2 takeaways". Yahoo Sports. Retrieved November 16, 2025.
  22. ^ "Champions Cup Semifinals Game-Changer: Aidan Morris". Concacaf. May 8, 2024. Retrieved November 16, 2025.
  23. ^ Arace, Michael (June 23, 2024). "Aidan Morris bids farewell to Columbus Crew in 4-0 victory over Sporting KC | Arace". The Columbus Dispatch. Retrieved November 16, 2025.
  24. ^ Calabrese, Alex (June 23, 2024). ""My heart is black and gold": Aidan Morris takes in emotional Crew win". mlssoccer. Retrieved April 19, 2025.
  25. ^ "US International Aidan Morris Joins Boro". Middlesbrough FC. June 28, 2024. Retrieved June 28, 2024.
  26. ^ Bogert, Tom (June 11, 2024). "Middlesbrough agree deal to sign Morris from Columbus Crew". The Athletic. The New York Times Company. Retrieved June 28, 2024.
  27. ^ Barker, Josh (August 10, 2024). "Aidan Morris gives verdict on Middlesbrough debut after making history vs Swansea". Boro News. Retrieved April 18, 2025.
  28. ^ U.S. Soccer (February 2, 2018). "Two Crew SC Academy players called-in to U.S. U-18 Men's National Team | Columbus Crew". ColumbusCrew.com. Archived from the original on April 11, 2023. Retrieved April 11, 2023.
  29. ^ "New U-20 MNT Head Coach Anthony Hudson Kicks Off 2020 With 24-Player Training Camp, Two Games vs. Mexico". www.ussoccer.com.
  30. ^ Vertelney, Seth (January 26, 2023). "Untested USMNT shows promise, inexperience in Serbia defeat". Pro Soccer Wire. Retrieved April 11, 2023.
  31. ^ "CONCACAF drops stacked Canada preliminary Nations League roster with some surprise names". Canada Soccer Daily. May 19, 2023. Retrieved May 19, 2023.
  32. ^ Murphy, Patrick (June 14, 2023). "Crew's Aidan Morris chooses the United States over Canada, following his heart". Massive Report.
  33. ^ "Twenty-three Players Called to U.s. Olympic Men's Soccer Team Training Camp as Preparations for Paris 2024 Kick Off in Phoenix". ussoccer.com. October 8, 2023. Retrieved October 8, 2023.
  34. ^ Johnson, Bailey. "'Never an off day': Inside the intense mindset that drives Crew midfielder Aidan Morris". The Columbus Dispatch. Retrieved May 13, 2023.
  35. ^ Chairez, Marcus (February 22, 2022). "MLS 2022 — Top 25 American U21s – Chasing A Cup". Retrieved May 13, 2023.
  36. ^ "Who were the best young-player performers in MLS Matchday 2? | MLSSoccer.com". mlssoccer. Retrieved May 13, 2023.
  37. ^ Johnson, Bailey. "Why Wilfried Nancy wants Aidan Morris to 'be more composed' for the Crew in 2023". The Columbus Dispatch. Retrieved May 13, 2023.
  38. ^ Shaw, Dominic (June 25, 2024). "Aidan Morris on his 'special' Middlesbrough phone call and step into the 'unknown'". The Northern Echo. Retrieved April 19, 2025.
  39. ^ "USMNT midfielder Morris admits he's considering Canada switch". May 20, 2023.
  40. ^ Aidan Morris at National-Football-Teams.com
  41. ^ "2019 Big Ten Men's Soccer Tournament". Big Ten Conference. Archived from the original on November 4, 2019. Retrieved December 13, 2020.
  42. ^ "2019 Men's Division I Postseason Awards | College Soccer". TopDrawerSoccer.com.
  43. ^ "2023 MLS All-Star Team Roster". Major League Soccer. July 7, 2023. Archived from the original on June 27, 2023. Retrieved July 17, 2023.
[edit]
Middlesbrough F.C. – current squad
United States
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