Thomas Williams (soccer)

Thomas Williams
Personal information
Full name Thomas Ivory Williams III[1]
Date of birth (2004-08-15) August 15, 2004
Place of birth Titusville, Florida, U.S.
Height 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)[2]
Position Defender
Team information
Current team
Nashville SC
Number 21
Youth career
2015–2021 Orlando City
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2020 Orlando City B 13 (0)
2021–2025 Orlando City 5 (0)
2022–2025Orlando City B (loan) 78 (0)
2026– Nashville SC 0 (0)
2026–Huntsville City FC (loan) 1 (0)
International career
2020 United States U17 3 (0)
2022 United States U19 3 (0)
2023 United States U20 1 (0)
2023– United States U23 5 (0)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 18:39, March 16, 2026 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals as of November 4, 2023

Thomas Ivory Williams III (born August 15, 2004) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a defender for Major League Soccer club Nashville SC.

Career

Orlando City

As a member of the Orlando City academy since 2015, Williams played 84 games and scored eight goals across multiple age groups in four seasons with the team.[3]

In March 2020, Williams signed an academy contract with Orlando City B, Orlando City's USL League One affiliate, ahead of the 2020 season.[4] He made his debut on August 7, 2020, playing the full 90 minutes during a 2–0 win over New England Revolution II.[5]

Having spent the first part of the 2021 season with the club's under-17 academy team, Williams was signed to an MLS homegrown contract by Orlando City on June 15, 2021, guaranteed through 2024, with a club option in 2025. Aged 16 years, 304 days, he became the club's youngest first-team signing, surpassing the record set by Tommy Redding in 2014. Williams had trained with the first-team during the previous two preseason camps.[6]

On January 22, 2025, it was announced that Williams had signed new contract with the club through 2026, with a club option for 2027.[7] On April 19, Williams made his first appearance for the senior team since the 2022 season when he came on as an 80th-minute substitute for Luis Muriel in a goalless draw with CF Montréal.[8][9] The appearance would ultimately be Williams' only appearance for the senior team that season.[10]

Nashville SC

Williams was acquired by Nashville SC on December 8, 2025, on a one-year contract with club options for two more years, in exchange for the team's natural first round pick in the 2026 MLS SuperDraft and up to $100K in general allocation money.[11] Williams made his Nashville SC and CONCACAF Champions Cup debut on February 17, 2026, in a 2–0 win over Atlético Ottawa.[12]

Career statistics

As of match played March 15, 2026[10]
Club Season League U.S. Open Cup North America Playoffs[a] Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Orlando City B 2020 USL League One 13 0 13 0
Orlando City 2021 Major League Soccer 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2022 Major League Soccer 4 0 1 0 0 0 5 0
2023 Major League Soccer 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2024 Major League Soccer 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2025 Major League Soccer 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
Total 5 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 0
Orlando City B (loan) 2022 MLS Next Pro 14 0 14 0
2023 MLS Next Pro 14 0 1 0 15 0
2024 MLS Next Pro 26 0 1 0 27 0
2025 MLS Next Pro 24 0 24 0
Total 78 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 93 0
Nashville SC 2026 Major League Soccer 0 0 2 0 2 0
Huntsville City FC (loan) 2026 MLS Next Pro 1 0 1 0
Career total 97 0 1 0 2 0 2 0 0 0 102 0
  1. ^ Includes MLS Next Pro playoffs and MLS Cup playoffs

Honors

Orlando City

References

  1. ^ "2024 CONCACAF Champions Cup – Club roster: Orlando City SC (USA)" (PDF). CONCACAF. January 30, 2024. p. 19. Retrieved January 30, 2024.
  2. ^ "Thomas Williams". Orlando City SC. Retrieved August 22, 2022.
  3. ^ "Thomas Williams OCSC DA profile". www.ocsc.ussoccerda.com. Archived from the original on August 9, 2020. Retrieved August 8, 2020.
  4. ^ Poe, Julia (March 3, 2020). "Orlando City B announces roster for 2020 USL League One season". Pro Soccer USA. Archived from the original on March 4, 2020. Retrieved August 14, 2020.
  5. ^ "New England Revolution II vs. Orlando City B - August 7, 2020". www.uslleagueone.com.
  6. ^ "Orlando City SC Signs Defender Thomas Williams as Club's 11th All-Time Homegrown". www.orlandocitysc.com.
  7. ^ "Orlando City SC inks Homegrown defender Thomas Williams to new contract". Orlando City. January 22, 2025. Retrieved January 22, 2025.
  8. ^ "Match report: Orlando City SC remains unbeaten in six straight matches with scoreless draw against CF Montréal". Orlando City. April 19, 2025. Retrieved November 18, 2025.
  9. ^ "MTLvsORL 04-19-2025". Major League Soccer. Retrieved November 18, 2025.
  10. ^ a b "Thomas Williams – Soccerway profile". Soccerway. Retrieved August 7, 2020.
  11. ^ "Nashville Soccer Club Acquires Defender Thomas Williams from Orlando City SC in Exchange for First Round Pick in 2026 MLS Superdraft". Nashville SC. December 8, 2025. Retrieved December 10, 2025.
  12. ^ Shames, Jacob (February 17, 2026). "Nashville SC vs Atletico Ottawa score, live updates, start time, TV channel". The Tennessean. Retrieved February 17, 2026.