Coming off of his MLS NEXT Cup winning season in 2023, Kaiden Moore is having a fantastic 2024 so far. Halfway through the 2024 campaign, the 17-year-old centerback from Macon, Georgia is set to sign his first professional contract with Atlanta United 2 through the end of the 2025 season when he will be promoted to a Homegrown Player for the 2026 season.
Moore’s season began as an academy call-up in preseason camp with Atlanta United 2 before being invited to join the US U-17 YNT in West Palm Beach under new head coach Shaun Tsakiris.
Having the opportunity to represent himself and his club amongst some of the top talent of the U-17 age group added extra inspiration and motivation for Moore who return to Atlanta ready to compete for starting minutes with Atlanta United’s second team. He made his debut on April 15th at home against Philadelphia Union II. While the scoreline did not go Atlanta’s way, Moore did more than enough to earn another crack at the starting lineup one week later against FC Cincinnati 2. In all, Moore has started or played substantial minutes in 8 of the team’s 16 matches this season and continues to improve his positioning, passing, and ability to read the game in front of him with each new opportunity.
Moore was recently profiled in USMNTProspects as part of a comprehensive ranking of US-eligible players born in 2007. Based on the mixed opinion on the young left-footed centerback, this is a player who needs consistency against quality opposition to ensure that he can realize his solid potential as a professional central defender.
“Kaiden is yet another great example of the club’s player development pathway and the strong link between the Academy and our First Team that we’re continuing to build” said Director of Methodology Javier Perez. “Kaiden has shown great promise during his time with our Academy squads and already has professional experience after making his Atlanta United 2 debut earlier this season. We are thrilled to have him continue to grow his career with Atlanta United.”
He is far from the only centerback talent in the system with Braden Dunham also vying for minutes at the left centerback spot and Ethan Degny nipping at the heels of the older defenders. This kind of staggered contract between the 2s and the first team that was also used for Cooper Sanchez allows the club to show they believe in their young player but need him to develop more before they believe he is ready to consistently contribute alongside the growing group of Homegrown talent on the first team. This is exactly the kind of signings Atlanta United should be making to keep its emerging talent in Atlanta.
Congratulations Kaiden!
It is great to see Atlanta just churning out defenders. At this rate we are going to have a surplus at CBs, which is a great thing
100%. We have a great pipeline of left-backs, centerbacks, and goalkeepers, plus a growing pool of talent in the midfield. For a salary-capped league like MLS, consistently churning out quality starters and depth in the defensive half of the starting 11 means a lot of resources available for investment up the spine and at the attacking skill positions. When a rarer top talent emerges on the wings, at the 9, or at the 10, that is an absolute coup.