TULSA, Okla. – FC Tulsa announced on Friday the club had signed midfielder Jeremy Kelly ahead of the 2024 USL Championship season. The transaction is pending league and federation approval.

Kelly joins Tulsa having spent the past two seasons with fellow USL Championship club Memphis 901 FC, where he recorded 11 goals and 11 assists across 70 appearances while helping the side advance to the USL Championship Playoffs in both seasons.

“I’m excited to join FC Tulsa and get to know the Tulsa community,” said Kelly. “FC Tulsa has made a commitment to being one of the best teams in the league and I look forward to pushing myself to make that happen. I can’t wait to play at ONEOK Field and give our fans an entertaining 90 minutes.”

A native of Prague, Czech Republic who also lived in France before his family moved to the United States, Kelly came through the youth ranks at North Carolina FC before competing for the University of North Carolina collegiately. He joined the professional ranks in 2020 when he was selected ninth overall by Club de Foot Montreal in the 2020 Major League Soccer SuperDraft before being traded to the Colorado Rapids.

Kelly made eight appearances in MLS for the Rapids while also spending time on loan with Phoenix Rising FC in the USL Championship, where he made five appearances in the 2021 season. The past two campaigns he has been a key piece in Memphis, leading the side in appearances across the regular season and playoffs.

“Jeremy is a special talent who can make our playing style come to life,” said Tulsa Head Coach Blair Gavin. “His intelligence on both sides of the ball plus his qualities to eliminate defenders will help us put more pressure on opponents and win games.”

Analysis

Jeremy Kelly is another major addition to Tulsa’s midfield corps this offseason with the 26-year-old’s versatility front and center in what he’ll add to Head Coach Blair Gavin’s squad. Kelly was a standout attacking midfielder in his first season in Memphis, racking up eight goals and 10 assists in leading the side to the Eastern Conference Semifinals of the USL Championship Playoffs.

This past season, meanwhile, he was asked to sit deeper in the lineup and formed a standout tandem with Aaron Molloy, raising his passing accuracy rate to 84.6 percent and upping his tackle success rate to 66 percent. Over the past two seasons, only Molloy and former Memphis forward Phillip Goodrum – who made the move to Tulsa midway through last season – rank higher in Goals Added for 901 FC per American Soccer Analysis at a +14.44 mark.

With Justin Portillo and Charlie Adams having joined Tulsa already this offseason and 16-year-old prodigy Nate Worth also in contention for holding midfield minutes, expect Kelly to be in a more advanced role for Tulsa where he can positively impact play in the final third.