Kyle Nakazawa

How Acquired: Traded to the Galaxy from Philadelphia along with a second round pick in the 2013 MLS SuperDraft in exchange for an international roster spot through the 2012 MLS season on February 1, 2012.

A Southern California native and former star with the Galaxy U-20’s who also spent time training with the first team while playing at UCLA, Nakazawa brings creativity and composure to the Galaxy midfield. Capable of playing centrally or on either wing, the South Bay native saw his role with the Philadelphia Union expand in each of his two seasons with the club and will now look for continued improvement after returning to his hometown club.

MLS Highlights

2011: Played in 22 of Philadelphia’s 34 regular season games, making 11 starts while tallying a goal and three assists. He started and played 70 minutes in the regular season opener against Houston on 3/19. Tallied the first assist of his MLS career on 5/12, setting up Michael Farfan for a goal in the Union’s 2-1 home win over Chicago. One week later, he scored the first goal of his career, tallying the game-winner in a 6-2 win at Toronto FC while also assisting on Justin Mapp’s goal in that win. His final assist of the season came on 7/17 at New England, setting up a goal for Carlos Valdes. He was in the Union’s 18-man squad for each of Philadelphia’s games in the Eastern Conference Semifinal Series against Houston, but he did not play in either leg of that series. 2010: Selected by the Philadelphia Union in the third round (33rd overall) of the 2010 MLS SuperDraft, playing in 14 games during his rookie season. He made his MLS debut as a second half substitute in his team’s 3-1 road loss to the Galaxy on 5/1. He made the first start of his career a week later, playing 90 minutes in midfield at Real Salt Lake.

College Highlights

Played four years at UCLA (2006-09) alongside current Galaxy teammates Brian Perk and Michael Stephens, scoring 20 goals and adding 26 assists in 75 games while helping the Bruins reach the NCAA Tournament four times. The UCLA MVP as a sophomore in 2007, he was an honorable mention Pac-10 selection as a freshman before earning a Second Team nomination as a sophomore before finally earning First Team honors in his senior year when he scored a career-high 12 goals in addition to seven assists. He was selected as the Pac-10 Player of the Week in consecutive weeks during his senior season, becoming just the second player in conference history to do so.

Academy Highlights

2008-09: Spent two years playing for the Galaxy U-20’s, helping them record a 14-5-1 record in that time. In 2008, they finished atop the Pacific SoCal Division with a 7-2-1 record while outscoring teams 41-7. While with the Galaxy U-20’s he was joined by current Galaxy teammates Rafael Garcia, Brian Perk and Michael Stephens.

National Team

A former member of the U.S. Under-17 National Team Residency Program, Nakazawa played at the 2007 FIFA U-17 World Championship, scoring twice in four games at the tournament, tallying in wins over North Korea and Italy while also registering an assist. He has also played for the U.S. Under-20 National Team.