North Carolina FC has signed veteran defender Conor Donovan ahead of the 2025 USL Championship campaign, with the center back having made 225 appearances in the Championship previously in his career. | Photo courtesy Taylor Soares / Sacramento Republic FC
CARY, N.C. – North Carolina FC announced on Thursday it had signed defender Conor Donovan to a two-year contract through the 2026 USL Championship season. The transaction is pending league and federation approval.
A native of Fuquay-Varina, N.C., Donovan returns for his second stint with NCFC having previously competed for the club in the 2020 season. He joins the side after three campaigns with Sacramento Republic FC during which he was voted to the 2023 USL Championship All-League First Team while making 96 appearances across the regular season and playoffs for the club.
“I’m extremely excited to be back with North Carolina FC,” said Donovan. “This club and community mean so much to me. I’m excited to be joining such a talented team and can’t wait for the 2025 season.”
A standout player at multiple local youth clubs including TFCA, FVAA and the U18 Capital Area RailHawks, Donovan had multiple coaches with deep ties to North Carolina FC and NCFC Youth including Dewan Bader, Henry Gutierrez and current North Carolina FC Head Coach and Sporting Director John Bradford throughout his development.
Donovan remained in the state for his college career, competing at North Carolina State University, before he was selected with the 22nd pick of the 2015 Major League Soccer SuperDraft. After suffering a torn ACL in his rookie season, he remained with Orlando for three seasons before joining Rio Grande Valley FC prior to the 2018 campaign.
Since then, the 29-year-old has become one of the league’s most consistent center backs, recording 225 appearances across the regular season and playoffs overall. In 2022 he was a key part of the Republic FC side that reached the Final of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, the first lower division side to do so in more than a decade.
“Conor is someone I am very familiar with from both his time with the youth club and his time here as a professional,” said Bradford. “He has a proven ability to excel in the USL Championship and understands what soccer means to this area. When we had the chance to bring him back home, it was an easy decision for us.”