Charlotte FC adds another player, North Carolina native Brandt Bronico
Brandt Bronico, a UNC Charlotte graduate, joins Charlotte FC as the club’s third player via a trade with Chicago Fire FC. The clubs will swap fourth-round selections in the 2022 MLS SuperDraft as part of the deal.
Sergio Ruiz and Riley McGree are Charlotte’s two other signed players. Ruiz is a midfielder from Northern Spain competing for the club Las Palmas in the Spanish second division. McGree is an attacking midfielder from Australia playing for Birmingham City in the English Football League Championship. Bronico is also a midfielder, but he is Charlotte FC’s first player from within MLS.
The 25-year-old made 66 appearances with Chicago, including 40 starts. He scored two goals and had eight assists in his four seasons with the Fire. Bronico joined Chicago as a third-round pick (47th overall) in the 2017 MLS SuperDraft, and the team announced in November that it declined Bronico’s contract option for 2021.
Prior to MLS, Bronico played for the Charlotte 49ers, scoring 25 goals (23 assists) during his collegiate career at UNC Charlotte. Bronico was named the Conference USA Player of the Year, Offensive MVP and a Golden Boot winner during his senior year. He scored nine goals, including four to win matches, that season.
Bronico tweeted out the news that he was “COMIN HOME!!!” on Friday.
“So blessed and grateful to be a part of @CharlotteMLS!” Bronico tweeted. “Huge thanks to everyone who made this possible and I can’t wait to bring the #Grindset back I love you, Charlotte!”
The pro player is a North Carolina native already familiar with some of Charlotte FC’s staff. He played on youth teams for the NC Fusion and Carolina Dynamo under Charlotte FC technical director Marc Nicholls.
Bronico is from High Point, N.C., and was unavailable for comment Friday, as he was getting married to former 49ers women’s soccer player Rebecca Beatty, according to Queen City Football Chronicle.
This story was originally published December 18, 2020 at 5:54 PM.
