Brooks Lennon

Lennon, 26, had a career season in 2023, tying personal bests in games played (33) and starts (32) and setting career marks in minutes played (2,881), goals (four) and assists (10) during the regular season. The right back then started all three matches and played every minute of the postseason, adding three more assists to his tally. His 13 assists were the most by an MLS defender in 2023, as the next-highest player had eight. Lennon reached 100 games played for Atlanta in all competitions in 2023, becoming just the ninth player in club history to reach the 100 games mark.

After a 2022 season in which he scored two goals and recorded a then-career-best seven assists splitting his time between right back and right wing, Lennon re-signed with Atlanta United through the 2025 MLS season with an option for 2026. Both of his 2022 goals came in second-half stoppage time, scoring his first of the campaign on a match-tying free kick against C.F. Montréal and his next in a 4-1 win against Chicago Fire FC. Lennon registered a two-assist game to secure three points against D.C. United in a 3-2 victory.

Lennon joined Atlanta on Dec. 2, 2019. He led all Atlanta outfield players in appearances (26), starts (21) and minutes (1,956) across all competitions in 2020 and contributed two goals and three assists. The right back and right winger scored his first goal of the season against Orlando City SC on Aug. 29 and then recorded a goal and two assists against D.C. United on Oct. 3.The right back started 30 of 32 MLS appearances in 2021 and six assists. He created a team-best 75 chances, which ranked 10th in MLS.

The Arizona native started his youth career in Real Salt Lake’s residency program in his home state. After a 31-goal campaign during the 2014-15 U.S. Soccer Development Academy (USSDA) season, Lennon signed with Liverpool of the English Premier League. He spent two years in their academy, mostly with the club’s U-23s where he scored two goals during the 2016-17 Premier League 2 campaign.

Lennon re-joined RSL prior to the 2017 season and made his MLS debut on March 18 against LA Galaxy. Primarily playing as a winger during his rookie season, he scored three goals and added four assists in 25 games. Lennon permanently signed with the club after the season and coach Mike Petke moved him to the backline ahead of 2018. He shined as the team’s right back, starting 32 games while helping the club reach the Western Conference Semifinals. In 2019, Lennon showed his overall versatility, playing both fullback positions and on the wing, while making 25 appearances. Overall in three seasons with RSL, Lennon made 86 league appearances with 63 starts and scored three goals and added 10 assists.

2023 (Atlanta United): MLS: Tied personal bests in games played (33) and starts (32) and set career marks in minutes played (2,881), goals (four) and assists (10) during the regular season. His 13 assists during the regular season and postseason combined were the most by an MLS defender in 2023. MLS Cup Playoffs: Started all three matches and played every minute of Atlanta’s three matches against Columbus in Round One, recording three assists. Tallied an assist in Game 2 and two assists in Game 3. U.S. Open Cup: Came in as a substitute against Memphis on April 26. Leagues Cup: Started and played 90 minutes in both matches against Inter Miami CF and Cruz Azul.

Atlanta United (2022): Started 22 of his 27 appearances across all competitions. MLS: Started 22 of his 25 appearances. Tallied two goals and recorded a career-high seven assists. Scored a match-tying free kick goal against Montreal on March 19. Scored a goal against Chicago on May 7. Recorded two assists against D.C. United on Aug. 28. Completed the second-most successful crosses in MLS (76). U.S. Open Cup: Made two substitute appearances. Scored one goal in Atlanta’s 6-0 win against Chattanooga in the Third Round.

Atlanta United (2021): Started 34 of his 36 appearances in all competitions. Started 30 of 32 MLS appearances. Recorded a career-high six assists. Created a team-best 75 chances, which ranked 10th in MLS. MLS CupPlayoffs: Started Atlanta’s first round match against New York City. Concacaf Champions League: Started three matches, including both legs against Alajuelense and the second leg against Philadelphia Union.

Atlanta United (2020): Started 21 of his 26 appearances in all competitions, leading Atlanta outfield players in appearances, starts, and minutes. Started 19 of his 23 MLS appearances and tallied two goals and three assists playing at right back or right wing. Scored against Orlando on Aug. 29. Scored a goal and recorded two assists against D.C. on Oct. 3. Recorded the highest Crossing Open Accuracy among all MLS players with at least 50 crosses at 29.59 %. Concacaf Champions League: Made two starts in three appearances. Came on as a substitute against FC Motagua in the first leg of the Round of 16. Started the second leg and against Club América in the first leg of the Quarterfinals.

Real Salt Lake (2019: Started 16 of his 28 appearances and recorded one assist.

Real Salt Lake (2018): Started 32 of his 33 appearances. Recorded five assists.

Real Salt Lake (2017): Started 15 of his 25 appearances. Scored three goals and recorded four assists. Made his MLS debut on March 18 against LA Galaxy.

International: Lennon made his USMNT debut in a friendly against Bosnia and Herzegovina on Dec. 18, 2021 and started the match. He was called into the USMNT January preparation camp in 2021 ahead of three Concacaf World Cup Qualifiers. On the youth level, he was a driving force behind the U-20’s first-ever Concacaf Championship in 2017, scoring four goals while being named to the tournament’s Best XI. Lennon was called into the U-23s in 2019 for two matches at the United International Football Festival in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. He appeared in both matches during the tournament and scored twice in a 2-0 win over United Gran Canaria. In total, he earned four caps and scored four goals with the U.S. U-23’s, 17 caps and seven goals with the U-20s and nine caps and one goal with the U-18’s.