// Workers AI · dad joke modeWho's Danny Leyva? Leyva me alone.
.jpg) Leyva with the Seattle Sounders in 2025 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Daniel Ulises Leyva[1] | ||
| Date of birth | May 5, 2003 | ||
| Place of birth | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | ||
| Height | 1.79 m (5 ft 10+1⁄2 in)[2] | ||
| Position | Defensive midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Necaxa | ||
| Number | 6 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2017–2019 | Seattle Sounders | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2018–2023 | Tacoma Defiance | 40 | (3) |
| 2019–2025 | Seattle Sounders | 86 | (0) |
| 2023 | → Colorado Rapids (loan) | 16 | (0) |
| 2026– | Necaxa | 27 | (0) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2018 | United States U16 | 5 | (1) |
| 2019 | United States U17 | 10 | (0) |
| 2021 | United States U20 | 2 | (0) |
| 2023– | United States U23 | 5 | (1) |
|
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of March 15, 2025 ‡ National team caps and goals as of November 16, 2021 | |||
Daniel Ulises Leyva (born May 5, 2003) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a defensive midfielder for Necaxa of Liga MX after starting his career with Major League Soccer club Seattle Sounders.
Club career
[edit]Leyva was raised in Las Vegas, Nevada; his father Ulises had played in the youth academy of Club América in Mexico City, but left the sport to pursue a career in civil engineering.[3] Leyva played for the Barcelona USA Academy in Las Vegas before joining the Seattle Sounders FC Academy at the age of 13. Leyva was placed on Seattle's under-15 team ahead of the 2017–18 season, but was later moved to the under-17 squad.[4][5][6]
Seattle Sounders
[edit]He made his debut for the Sounders reserve team in the United Soccer League (USL) on September 29, 2018, during a 3–1 loss to San Antonio FC, becoming the second-youngest player in league history.[4][7] Leyva signed a full USL contract with the team the following month and began training with the senior team during the 2019 preseason, appearing in friendlies against the Portland Timbers and Club Nacional.[3] Leyva signed a homegrown contract with Seattle Sounders FC on April 9, 2019, becoming the youngest player in the team's history.[8] He made his first-team debut on June 5, 2019, as a late substitute during an away loss to the Montreal Impact, becoming the third-youngest player in the league's history.[9] Leyva played in 12 matches during the 2022 season and had two assists as a temporary replacement for injured midfielders João Paulo and Obed Vargas until they returned mid-season.[10]
Loan to Colorado Rapids
[edit]On April 24, 2023, the Sounders loaned Leyva to the Colorado for the rest of the season in exchange for a future MLS SuperDraft pick and $92,000 in general allocation money.[10]
Necaxa
[edit]On December 8, 2025, the Sounders announced that Leyva would be transferred immediately to Necaxa of Liga MX for an undisclosed fee.[11]
International career
[edit]In October 2019, Leyva was named to the United States squad for the 2019 FIFA U-17 World Cup in Brazil.[12]
Leyva, who has only played for U.S. youth national teams, is also eligible to be called up by Mexico.[13]
Personal life
[edit]Career statistics
[edit]Club
[edit]- As of September 29, 2026[15]
| Club | Season | League | National cup | Continental | Global | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Tacoma Defiance | 2018 | USL | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | ||||
| 2019 | 14 | 1 | — | — | — | — | 14 | 1 | ||||||
| 2020 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | ||||||
| 2021 | 6 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 6 | 0 | ||||||
| 2022 | MLS Next Pro | 9 | 1 | — | — | — | — | 9 | 1 | |||||
| 2023 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 2 | 0 | ||||||
| 2024 | 5 | 1 | — | — | — | — | 5 | 1 | ||||||
| 2025 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 2 | 0 | ||||||
| Total | 40 | 3 | — | — | — | — | 40 | 3 | ||||||
| Seattle Sounders | 2019 | MLS | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 7 | 0 | |||
| 2020 | 2 | 0 | — | 1[a] | 0 | — | — | 3 | 0 | |||||
| 2021 | 24 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 24 | 0 | ||||||
| 2022 | 19 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2[a] | 0 | — | — | 22 | 0 | ||||
| 2023 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 1[b] | 0 | — | 4 | 0 | |||||
| 2024 | 14 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 1[c] | 0 | 17 | 0 | ||||
| 2025 | 18 | 0 | — | 2[a] | 0 | 1[b] | 0 | 5[c] | 0 | 26 | 0 | |||
| Total | 86 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 103 | 0 | ||
| Colorado Rapids (loan) | 2023 | MLS | 16 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 1[c] | 0 | 19 | 0 | ||
| Necaxa | 2026–27 | Liga MX | 17 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 17 | 0 | ||||
| 2026–27 | 10 | 0 | — | — | — | 3[c] | 0 | 13 | 0 | |||||
| Total | 27 | 0 | — | — | — | 3 | 0 | 30 | 0 | |||||
| Career total | 169 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 190 | 3 | ||
- 1 2 3 Appearance(s) in CONCACAF Champions League
- 1 2 Appearances in FIFA Club World Cup
- 1 2 3 4 Appearances in Leagues Cup
Honors
[edit]Seattle Sounders
Individual
- CONCACAF U-17 Championship Best XI: 2019
References
[edit]- ↑ "FIFA U-17 World Cup Brazil 2019: List of Players: United States" (PDF). FIFA. October 31, 2019. p. 24. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 27, 2019.
- ↑ "Daniel Ulises Leyva Fernández". LigaMX.net. Retrieved September 29, 2026.
- 1 2 Baker, Geoff (February 26, 2019). "Teenage dream: At age 15, Danny Leyva is already knocking on the Sounders' door". The Seattle Times. Retrieved April 20, 2019.
- 1 2 Mondello, Joseph (October 16, 2018). "Barcelona USA Academy". Seattle Sounders FC. Retrieved April 20, 2019.
- ↑ Hammond, Andrew (March 8, 2019). "Meet the Tacoma Defiance's unflappable Danny Leyva, who's all of 15 years old". The News Tribune. Retrieved April 20, 2019.
- ↑ "Seattle Sounders FC U-15". ussoccerda.com. U.S. Soccer Development Academy. Archived from the original on October 18, 2018. Retrieved March 24, 2020.
- ↑ https://www.uslsoccer.com/sanantoniofc-seattlesoundersfc2-971728 [dead link]
- ↑ Evans, Jayda (April 9, 2019). "Sounders contract signed, 15-year-old midfielder Danny Leyva eyes next goal: an MLS start". The Seattle Times. Retrieved April 20, 2019.
- ↑ Baker, Geoff (June 5, 2019). "Shorthanded Sounders cough up two late road goals, lose 2–1 to the Montreal Impact". The Seattle Times. Retrieved June 12, 2019.
- 1 2 Evans, Jayda (April 25, 2023). "In rare deal, Sounders loan Danny Leyva to Colorado Rapids". The Seattle Times. Retrieved April 25, 2023.
- ↑ "Seattle Sounders transfer Danny Leyva to Club Necaxa". MLSsoccer.com. December 8, 2025. Retrieved December 8, 2025.
- ↑ "Head Coach Raphael Wicky Names USA Roster for 2019 FIFA U-17 World Cup in Brazil". www.ussoccer.com. Retrieved October 10, 2019.
- ↑ Interview: Danny Leyva on being named to the USMNT U-17 World Cup squad. Youtube.com. Seattle Sounders FC. October 11, 2019. Retrieved October 24, 2019.
- ↑ "América y Chivas sueñan con Carlos Vela, Chicharito Hernández y Jonathan Dos Santos; llegarían prestados". Soy Fútbol (in Spanish). August 13, 2020. Retrieved March 7, 2023.
- ↑ Danny Leyva at Soccerway. Retrieved September 29, 2026.
External links
[edit]- Danny Leyva at USL Championship
- Danny Leyva at Major League Soccer
- Danny Leyva at Soccerway
- Danny Leyva at WorldFootball.net
- 2003 births
- Living people
- 21st-century American sportsmen
- Soccer players from Las Vegas
- American people of Mexican descent
- Sportspeople of Mexican descent
- American men's soccer players
- Men's association football midfielders
- Major League Soccer players
- USL Championship players
- MLS Next Pro players
- Liga MX players
- Tacoma Defiance players
- Seattle Sounders FC players
- Colorado Rapids players
- Homegrown Players (MLS)
- Club Necaxa footballers
- United States men's youth international soccer players
- United States men's under-20 international soccer players
- Footballers at the 2023 Pan American Games
- Pan American Games footballers for the United States
- CONCACAF Champions Cup–winning players