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Tyler Heaps

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Tyler Heaps
Personal information
Date of birth (1991-04-21) April 21, 1991 (age 35)
Height 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Position Defender
Team information
Current team
 San Diego FC (sporting director)
Youth career
Bangu Tsunami
Minnesota Thunder Academy
College career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2009 North Park Vikings – (–)
2010–2012 Augsburg Auggies 57 (1)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2014 Minnesota United Reserves – (–)
Managerial career
2014–2015 Saint Katherine Firebirds
(assistant)
2016–2021 United States Soccer Federation
(manager of analytics and research)
2021–2023 AS Monaco
(head of analytics)
2023 Right to Dream Academy
(head of recruitment and insight)
2024– San Diego FC
(sporting director)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals

Tyler Heaps (born April 21, 1991) is an American soccer executive and former player who is the sporting director of Major League Soccer club San Diego FC. Heaps played college soccer for the North Park Vikings and the Augsburg Auggies before spending a stint with the Minnesota United Reserves. He has previously worked as the head of analytics for the United States Soccer Federation and AS Monaco, and as the head of recruitment and insight for the Right to Dream Academy.

Early life

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Heaps grew up in the eastern part of Saint Paul, Minnesota,[1] as the youngest of five children raised by single mother Paula Heaps.[2] Money was often tight in the Heaps household, with Heaps having to work concessions at Minnesota Twins games as a child alongside his mother in order to collect enough money for club soccer.[2] He first joined Bangu Tsunami FC before eventually switching to the Minnesota Thunder Academy.[3] Heaps attended DeLaSalle High School, where he was an all-conference honoree in each of his four years of soccer.[4] He also spent two years playing football, two years participating in track and three years playing basketball. He graduated as a member of the National Honor Society.[4]

College career

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Heaps started playing college soccer for the North Park Vikings in Chicago.[5] He transferred to Augsburg University ahead of the 2010 season and spent the remaining three years of his collegiate career as a defender for the Auggies.[3] After playing 21 games in his first year with the Auggies, he made 18 appearances in each of his junior and senior seasons. As a senior in 2012, he recorded Augsburg career-highs for himself in both goals and assists. He also departed from the program with one set of Academic All-MIAC honors.[4]

Club career

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In 2014, Heaps played for the Minnesota United Reserves in the National Premier Soccer League.[3] At the same time, he took a job as an assistant coach for the Saint Katherine Firebirds soccer team.[5] Heaps balanced both his Minnesota United and Saint Katherine responsibilities with working a day job in the finance industry.[3] He ended his playing career after one season.[5]

Executive career

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The United States Soccer Federation hired Heaps in 2016, joining the organization's burgeoning analytics department.[3] Heaps had been previously inspired to the field of analytics after viewing the film Moneyball.[6] He eventually rose to become the USSF's head of analytics, working with both the United States men's national team and women's national team;[7] part of his responsibilities included coding and building player evaluation algorithms.[8] He was an analyst for the women's national team that won the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup.[7] He spent a total of five years with the USSF before departing in 2021.[6]

Heaps then spent three seasons as the head of analytics for French Ligue 1 club AS Monaco,[1] working to improve Monaco's recruitment, performance and sporting strategy systems.[9] His efforts helped the club twice qualify for the UEFA Europa League and end the 2021–22 season in third place despite having finished in 17th the year prior.[9]

In 2023, Heaps joined the Right to Dream Academy youth development system.[2] In his sole year at Right to Dream,[3] he worked as the head of recruitment and insight and helped build FC Nordsjælland's first-team recruitment strategy.[6]

On August 15, 2024, Major League Soccer expansion club San Diego FC (also connected to the Right to Dream Academy)[10] announced the appointment of Heaps as the club's sporting director and general manager.[11] Heaps, 33 years old at the time of his hiring, became the youngest sporting director in the MLS.[12] He proceeded to orchestrate the construction of San Diego FC's inaugural roster and soccer operations department, including the appointment of head coach Mikey Varas.[9] Under Heaps' leadership, San Diego FC set league records for points and victories and advanced to the conference final in its first season.[13] In February 2026, Heaps signed a three-year contract extension with the club, lasting until 2029.[14]

Personal life

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Heaps graduated from Augsburg University with a major in mathematics and minor in computer science.[15] He had initially planned on studying chemistry, but soon discovered a dislike for the subject and switched majors.[8]

He is married to Lindsey Heaps (formerly Horan), midfielder and captain for the United States women's national soccer team.[16] They met when he was an employee of US Soccer and had to fill in as a player during a USWNT training session.[1] The couple announced their engagement in June 2023 before getting married in Colorado in December of the following year.[17]

References

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  1. 1 2 3 Marthaler, Jon (June 13, 2025). "MLS surprise San Diego FC comes to Allianz Field with a Minnesotan helping point the way". The Minnesota Star Tribune. Retrieved August 16, 2026.
  2. 1 2 3 Boehm, Charles (August 15, 2025). "San Diego FC: Taking "play your kids" to the next level". Major League Soccer. Retrieved August 16, 2026.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Greder, Andy (June 13, 2025). "Rising soccer leader returns home to St. Paul for MLS match against Loons". St. Paul Pioneer Press. Retrieved August 16, 2026.
  4. 1 2 3 "Tyler Heaps". Augsburg Auggies. Retrieved August 16, 2026.
  5. 1 2 3 "Tyler Heaps". Saint Katherine Firebirds. Retrieved August 16, 2026.
  6. 1 2 3 Finley, Ryan (August 15, 2024). "San Diego FC names Tyler Heaps as club's first sporting director; expect a coach 'very soon'". San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved August 16, 2026.
  7. 1 2 Chambers, Kaia (August 20, 2019). "Alumni Spotlight: Tyler Heaps '13 on Using his Math Major for the U.S. Women's National Soccer Team". Alumni, Parents, and Friends. Retrieved August 16, 2026.
  8. 1 2 Zeigler, Mark (November 29, 2025). "The San Diego FC miracle: How GM Tyler Heaps built a roster from scratch". San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved August 16, 2026.
  9. 1 2 3 "San Diego FC Re-Signs Sporting Director and General Manager Tyler Heaps". San Diego FC. Retrieved August 16, 2026.
  10. ↑ Jefferson, Frank (August 16, 2024). "New sporting director for San Diego FC talks the position, future for club". Fox 5 San Diego. Retrieved August 16, 2024.
  11. ↑ "San Diego FC appoints Tyler Heaps as sporting director". NBC 7 San Diego. August 15, 2024. Retrieved August 16, 2026.
  12. ↑ "San Diego FC Makes Analytics Vet Tyler Heaps Youngest Sporting Director in MLS". Times of San Diego. August 15, 2024. Retrieved August 16, 2026.
  13. ↑ Press (February 24, 2026). "San Diego FC signs GM Tyler Heaps to multiyear contract extension after impressive debut season". ABC 10 News San Diego KGTV. Retrieved August 16, 2026.
  14. ↑ Campos, Giselle. "San Diego FC extends Sporting Director and General Manager Tyler Heaps". The Daily Aztec. Retrieved August 16, 2026.
  15. ↑ Burack, Emily (July 25, 2024). "Lindsey Horan's Fiancé Tyler Heaps Works as a Soccer Analyst". Town & Country. Retrieved August 16, 2026.
  16. ↑ "For USWNT Captain Lindsey Heaps, Returning to Denver Is More Than Just a Homecoming". SI. August 12, 2026. Retrieved August 16, 2026.
  17. ↑ Weiss, Jacqueline (December 31, 2024). "Who Is Lindsey Horan's Husband? All About Tyler Heaps". People. Retrieved August 16, 2026.
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