17-year-old Brandon Dayes thriving with Louisville City FC

'From a maturity standpoint, he's well beyond his years.'

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — Under normal circumstances, Brandon Dayes would be finishing his junior year at St. Xavier High School. But he’s proven to be well beyond a typical 17-year-old.

Dayes spent the last two years making appearances for Louisville City FC on an academy contract, beginning as a 15-year-old, allowing the son of two former Division I soccer coaches to maintain his amateur status.

In December, just before he turned 17, Dayes signed his first pro contract with the club and has been a regular in the lineup this season, learning from two of the best in the USL in fellow defenders Sean Totsch and Kyle Adams.

"I'm playing in between Sean and Kyle right now, making it a lot easier on me," Dayes said. "They talk to me. They direct me. They're getting me a lot better in the technical aspect of things. They're so good to me, and I'm so grateful to have them on my side."

The feeling is mutual.

"Brandon's athleticism helps us out a lot," Adams said. "It bails us out. He cleans up a lot of our mistakes in the back for me and Totsch. He's still growing and getting a lot better every day, and hopefully we can help him get there."

Louisville | Kentucky | Indiana | Eric Crawford

"From a maturity standpoint, he's well beyond his years," interim coach Simon Bird said. "He's just a delight to be around in the locker room. The guys love him. On the field, tactically, he's shown incredible improvement."

Dayes was also a standout basketball player, a key contributor as a freshman and sophomore on one of the state's top teams at St. Xavier. So it wasn’t an easy decision last year to leave the game — and his teammates, coaches and school — to go all in on soccer.

"Yeah, that was really hard," Dayes said. "It's a brotherhood over there and some bonds that you'll hold for the rest of your life. It was really hard walking away from that, but our bonds are still really strong, and I'm still really close with them. Ultimately, I saw this pathway and thought I really want to do that. I want to be here. I want to succeed here."

And he is on a pathway to success. Dayes scored his first professional goal last Friday. That came soon after his first U.S. national team call-up, playing with the U-18 team at an event in Portugal.

"You know, I want to take it day by day and play at the highest level I can," Dayes said.

And how high can that be?

"I think the sky's the limit. I really do," Bird said. "He's got every attribute you'd want. We talked about his ability on the pitch, but off the pitch he's a sponge. He wants to learn. He wants to soak in information, and that's a really important asset. He's humble. His feet are grounded. He's got a good family around him and good teammates around him. I think he can go a long way."