In building a professional soccer club from the ground up, Rhode Island FC Head Coach and General Manager Khano Smith had one thing in mind when it came to forming his squad: USL Championship experience. League veterans like Koke Vegas and Albert Dikwa highlighted the club’s list of offseason acquisitions as part of this initiative and have played a crucial role in the club’s inaugural season.
Conor McGlynn joined Rhode Island FC from regional rivals Hartford Athletic on November 8 as the club’s second-ever signing, and is another experienced presence that Smith has been able to rely on to be a leader on the field. As one of five players elected to RIFC’s player-leadership group, the Middle Village, New York native has twice strapped on the captain’s armband for the Ocean State club.
There were points in McGlynn’s career where his future in the sport was uncertain. Now, he’s deviated far from the traditional path to reach his fifth USL Championship season.
Here are five things to know about the midfielder:
Inaugural Club Number Two
McGlynn’s signing with Rhode Island FC was at the beginning of a months-long process of building an expansion team. For some players, the adjustment to an entirely new set of players, coaching staff, environment and style can prove to be a difficult process. For McGlynn, however, this isn’t his first time with a brand-new team.
RIFC is McGlynn’s second professional club. He spent the beginning of his career a couple hours west of Beirne Stadium with Eastern Conference rival Hartford Athletic, having signed with the Green and Blue following its inaugural season in 2019. Working his way into the squad through four seasons, the midfielder made 102 total appearances, scoring 10 goals and assisting four. By the end of his time in the Constitution State, he became a regular in the starting lineup, appearing in 31 of the club’s 34 matches and logging 2,621 minutes in 2023. He captained the club twice in that span.
From Law Enforcement to Professional Soccer: Risk and Reward
McGlynn’s journey to signing his first professional contract with Hartford Athletic was one riddled with uncertainty over whether or not he’d be able to pursue a professional soccer career at all. After a four-year career with Siena College from 2016-2019, where he tallied nine goals and 16 assists, the midfielder graduated with a degree in psychology, with aspirations to work in law enforcement for the FBI if his soccer journey didn’t progress.
Luckily for him, it did. In December 2019, Hartford Athletic hosted its annual open tryout period ahead of its second season in 2020 after becoming the USL Championship’s newest expansion team. More than 100 players flocked to Connecticut to make their dream a reality, with seven ultimately invited to preseason camp. Eventually, after making the two-hour commute from Siena’s campus to Hartford for a week of trials, McGlynn stood as the last remaining hopeful, and became the second player in five seasons to sign a professional contract out of the trial period. He is the only open tryout signee to surpass the 100-appearance mark for Hartford.
SportsCenter Regular
McGlynn was no stranger to the highlight reel in his time with Hartford Athletic, as the first two of his ten professional goals made an appearance in SportsCenter’s Top 10. One of the goals, dubbed as one of the best in Hartford Athletic history by the club’s YouTube channel, occurred midway through a 7-0 rout of New York Red Bulls II on June 5, 2021. Winning the ball in the midfield, McGlynn launched a shot from inside his own half, chipping the goalkeeper from more than 60 yards away to find the back of the net in spectacular fashion. The goal was only the second of his professional career and went viral on social media, totaling more than three million views.
The first goal of his career came one season prior against the same opponent on October 5, 2020. Just moments after coming on in the second half, McGlynn unleashed a rocket from outside the box that nestled into the top corner to open his professional account, earning him the number five spot on SportsCenter Top 10.
Midfielder or Defender? Thriving Out of Position
By trade, McGlynn is a midfielder, but you wouldn’t know that if you watched him play for Hartford last season. Of his 79 career appearances for the club, he played in a defensive role for 58 of them, including a 2023 season where he was the heartbeat of the Hartford Athletic back line. He led the defensive unit in 25 of his 29 starts as a central defender, including the final seven matches of the season.
Even playing out of his natural position, McGlynn went the full 90 minutes 27 times last season, stamping himself as a regular in the starting lineup. Going as far back as his breakout season in 2021, all of his career-high five goals that year came as a defensive midfielder. McGlynn has seen action in each third of the field throughout his career, and his versatility has proven to be a reliable asset in his first five professional seasons.
Runs in the Family
Conor is one of two brothers, both of whom play professionally in the U.S. His younger brother, Jack, currently plays for Philadelphia Union in Major League Soccer, where he’s made 104 appearances since 2020 with 10 career goals and 12 assists. He has also featured for the United States at various youth levels, including the Under-16, Under-20 and Under-23 National Teams, and even has one senior cap with the U.S. Men’s National Team.
Jack’s career began with Philadelphia Union II, who were part of the USL Championship before the formation of MLS Next Pro. The two brothers faced off four times in the USL Championship during Jack’s one season with Philadelphia’s reserve side in 2020, with the younger McGlynn scoring one of his five goals of 2020 in a 1-1 draw against his brother’s Hartford squad on September 24, 2020. In that match, Conor also got in on the action, scoring what would have been a late winner in the 88th minute before the goal was ultimately chalked off for a foul on the goalkeeper.