Floridian Rookies Series: Alex Freeman

A potential option at right back for the USMNT from Florida

Born: August 9, 2024 in Baltimore, MD

Current Team: Orlando City SC

Connection to Florida: raised here, he has become a pro for one of the state’s MLS clubs

With my biases growing up in the Tampa Bay region, it takes a lot to get me to recognize the goings on in Orlando. That being said, anyone who fails to see the talent and potential in Alex Freeman is a fool. A right back who is only technically a rookie within Major League Soccer proper, this son of a former Super Bowl winner is finally making good on the promise so many scouts saw in him for the last few years.

To say that Freeman has it in his genes is an understatement. His father was not a soccer player, but was a professional athlete all the same. Antonio Freeman was born and raised in Baltimore, where his son would later be born in 2004. Seven years before that, the elder Freeman won the Super Bowl with the Green Bay Packers. It’s safe to say athleticism at least runs in the family. Alex grew up in south Florida, playing for the renowned youth club Weston FC. From there, he joined Orlando City’s academy setup.

Already representing his country at a young age, Alex Freeman made his debut for the club’s B side in March of 2022 in MLS Next Pro. This was about a month after he had signed on with the first team as their 12th ever homegrown player. Then General Manager Luis Muzzi said, “Alex is an exciting young player for us and another important example of hard work and dedication producing results.” But, racking up appearances at age-level competition was not the endgame for the defender. After winning the MLS Next Cup title at under-17 level, he had his sights set on the senior team.

Freeman would make his full MLS debut in stoppage time of a 2-0 home win over the LA Galaxy in April 2023. That was his only game for Orlando City in league play that year, with just another two appearances in MLS the following season. He continued to bide his time and work to impress the coaching staff. OCB coach Manuel Goldberg said toward the end of the 2024 season that, “The key for his success this season is the defensive part he is doing. Although he is contributing a lot in the offensive part, he is doing a big, big, big and important job in the defensive part, so we are happy for that for him.”

Working on both sides of his game has paid off. After subbing into Orlando’s first match of the 2025 campaign, Freeman started the second, scoring the game’s second goal, and he hasn’t looked back. Transfermarkt shows that he has played the full 90 minutes in every subsequent MLS fixture, with his performances ultimately leading to a call up to the senior US men’s side. On Sunday June 1st, he will begin his work toward a potential senior national team debut. Based on his career so far, the young star will only see this as another beginning.