Sports: Soccer
Born: February 3, 1996
Town: Flemington, New Jersey
Brian White was born February 3, 1996 in Flemington, NJ, to Chip and Michele White. Tall, quick and coordinated, Brian gravitated toward soccer and was a standout youth-league competition at an early age. Brian played at the Players Development Academy in Somerset, and starred for his high-school team, the Hunterdon Central Red Devils. Brian was on everyone’s radar as he neared the end of his prep career, ranked in the Top 20 players in the nation. A gifted student, he accepted a scholarship from Duke University, where he would be named an Academic All-American all four years.
At Duke, Brian started about half the games as a freshman and was a starting midfielder from his sophomore year on. He was the Blue Devils’ Offensive MVP as a junior, leading the team in scoring and netting three game-winners. In 2017, coach John Kerr often employed Brian as a striker and he earned third-team All-America honors. In all, Brian scored 23 times in 73 college games. During Brian’s college years, he also suited up for the Red Bulls U-23 club in the Premier Development League. In 25 games over three seasons, he scored 21 times and won the PDL’s Golden Boot award and was named MVP in 2017.
Following his senior season in Durham, Brian and fullback Carter Manley were both taken in the first round of the 2018 MLS SuperDraft—Brian by his “home team” the Red Bulls and Manley by Minnesota United. Brian made his pro debut that March for Red Bulls II, the team’s reserve squad based in Montclair. He scored 8 goals in 22 games for the “Baby Bulls” before earning promotion to the first team in August. In his first start for the Red Bulls later that month, he scored the lone goal in a 1–0 win over the Houston Dynamo. He was part of a team that finished with the league’s best record, earning the coveted Supporters’ Shield.
Brian was a regular at striker for the Red Bulls in 2019, netting 9 goals. The following season, he led the Red Bulls with 6 tallies and was named the team’s 2020 Offensive Player of the Year.
Five games into the 2021 season, the club sold Brian to the Vancouver Whitecaps. He saw action in 27 games for Vancouver and led the club with a dozen goals in MLS play, including a hat trick against the San Jose Earthquakes in October. In 2022, Brian scored the Caps’ only goal in the Canadian Championship against Toronto FC. That was enough to send the game to penalty kicks, and Brian was one of five players who scored against three goals for the Reds. The rest of the year was devoid of major highlights. Vancouver missed the playoffs with a losing record and Brian totaled a mere 7 goals.