Fans of Seattle Sounders FC, or the US men’s national team for that matter, may well remember the early days of Jordan Morris’ career.
The buzz started in the early 2010s, when the Mercer Island, Washington native leaped from neighborhood club Eastside FC to the Sounders Academy, and shortly after that, to Stanford University.
At Stanford, his star soared further, leading the Cardinal to their first NCAA Tournament title in 2015 and winning the MAC Hermann Trophy (awarded to the nation’s best college player) along the way. What’s more, he earned seven USMNT caps and scored in a friendly against Mexico before turning pro – a bright prospect under then-Yanks head coach Jürgen Klinsmann.
In short order, Morris had become a hot-button player in the national soccer scene. Fans, players and coaches, including Klinsmann, weighed in on when, and where, the attacking phenom with eye-popping pace and power should sign his first pro deal.
"It all happened really, really fast, I think, for me growing up. I was in the academy, I had a really good year and maybe started getting recognized for that," Morris told MLSsoccer.com at Media Marketing Day.
"But before that, I was at a local club in Seattle, never played for youth national teams, never had any of that exposure until I was in the academy, got called into a camp, didn’t end up making the U-20 World Cup team and then went to college.
"... It was a whirlwind for me going from no recognition, no exposure to kind of people knowing who you were and all."
Hometown hero
Late in January 2016, amid the frenzy of speculation that followed his standout junior season, Morris officially took his talents back to Seattle, signing a homegrown deal with the Sounders that drew mixed reaction from stateside fans, some of whom had hoped he’d play overseas – particularly in light of a reported offer from the Bundesliga’s Werder Bremen.
Two MLS Cups and one historic Concacaf Champions Cup triumph later, the now-veteran Sounder is at peace with how things shaped out.
"That decision came up quick, but I'm incredibly happy with the decision I made," said Morris. "I've grown so much as a player, as a person here. I've been able to win trophies for my hometown club, which is pretty cool."
Of course, signing his first contract with Seattle didn’t mean the 2016 MLS Rookie of the Year was deadset on staying home for the duration of his career. Even after a 2018 ACL tear temporarily paused his development, Morris continued progressing under head coach Brian Schmetzer, winning 2019 MLS Comeback Player of the Year honors and earning a spot in the league’s Best XI a year later, all of which opened doors overseas.
Accordingly, Morris signed a loan deal with Swansea City midway through the Welsh club’s 2020-21 push to earn promotion from the EFL Championship to the Premier League. But only five appearances into his tenure with the Swans, he tore his ACL again, cutting his foray into the European game far short of his vision.
Now, after two more comeback seasons with Seattle, the almost-one-club man has a fresh perspective on what it would mean to play out his career with his hometown club.
"[The Premier League] was a big goal of mine," said Morris. "Things happen for a reason. Obviously a tough injury and not the way I wanted it to go over there, but I got to the age now that everyone in Europe is looking so young now. And if an opportunity pops up, it's definitely something I would still look at because that dream and that itch wasn't quite fulfilled. I think I only played four games or something like that.
"But I'm super happy in Seattle, like I mentioned. The league has grown so much, the quality is so much better and, if I stay in MLS my whole career, I want to be in Seattle. I think it would be incredible to have my whole career there, kind of solidify my legacy there, and it’s pretty special and unique to be able to do that in your hometown."
New year, new motivations
It doesn’t hurt that new challenges lie on the horizon in Seattle. With club-legend Nico Lodeiro moving to Orlando City SC in the offseason, locker-room leadership will fall on Morris more than ever in 2024. And in passing on the club’s winning culture to younger breakout players like Josh Atencio and Jackson Ragen, plus newly-singed Young DP Pedro de la Vega, the ninth-year Sounder turns to lessons learned from legends past.
"It's interesting because I'm a quiet guy," said Morris. "My leadership style definitely isn't vocal, and so for me, I think I need to continue to grow in that role a little bit. But a lot of it is, I know how helpful it was for me coming in as a young kid just having the confidence from the older guys to go out and play your game, to know that they have your back."
There are new levels to reach on the field, too. Seattle's attack struggled for much of last season, with the club finishing near the bottom of the Western Conference for goals scored. Those snake-bitten tendencies in front of net contributed heavily to a 1-0 Conference Semifinals defeat to LAFC in the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs, ending a somewhat rare trophy-less season in the Pacific Northwest.
"We were disappointed with how the year ended last year, with not making MLS Cup, not competing for a trophy that year," said Morris, who regularly lined up as the team’s No. 9 in 2023 after previously playing almost exclusively on the left wing. "That left a bad taste in our mouths. But I love playing for a club like that."
And as a little extra motivation heading into 2024, Morris has something, or rather someone, new to play for. In September 2023, he and his wife welcomed their first child, Theo Francis Morris, into the world.
"First game after he was born, I scored and did a little celebration for him," said Morris, whose father, Dr. Michael Morris, is the Sounders’ orthopedic surgeon. "I felt like I almost played more free after he was born. And just like the weight kind of was off my shoulders a little bit, just realizing what's really important in life."
Jonathan Sigal contributed to the reporting of this story.
