Following FC Dallas Alumni Abroad: International and Club Contributions

FC Dallas and its Academy have produced some of the U.S.’s top players in recent years, many of whom have left the comforts of home to ply their trade in other soccer leagues. Although they’re no longer with FC Dallas, they’ll always be a part of its history. So, why not check in to see how they’re doing? This is Following FC Dallas Alumni Abroad, presented by MoneyGram.

As of now, we're following six FC Dallas Academy products playing in top leagues abroad: Weston McKennie, Ricardo Pepi, Bryan Reynolds, Chris Richards, Tanner Tessmann and Alex Zendejas. Each month, we’ll check in to see how they’re faring with their new clubs.

Note, you can read about all these players’ FC Dallas careers at the bottom of this article.

FC Dallas Alumni Abroad in February & March

Weston McKennie

Weston McKennie and Juventus only had four league games over the last two months, winning two and losing two to move up to fifth place in Serie A after 30 games played. Having been eliminated from the Champions League and Italian Cup, Juve and McKennie fill focus on qualifying for next season's Champions League by finishing in the top four of their domestic campaign. Internationally, McKennie was called up by U.S. National Team head coach Mauricio Pochettino for semifinals of the Nations League where the U.S. was defeated by Panama. The U.S. and McKennie ended a disappointing campaign by falling to Canada in the third-place match on March 23.

Alex Zendejas

Alex Zendejas featured three times for Club América in Liga MX's Clausura over the last two months, contributing a goal and an assist. He played an addition three times in the Concacaf Champions Cup and scored against Chivas to help América reach the quarterfinal stage where they played to a scoreless draw against Cruz Azul in the first leg. The clubs will meet once again on April 8 to decide who moves on to the region's semifinal.

Ricardo Pepi

Ricardo Pepi is still unavailable for PSV Eindhoven while rehabbing from a knee injury he suffered during a Champions League game against Liverpool in late January. If he doesn't feature again this season, Pepi will end the 2024/2025 campaign with 18 goals and 3 assists over 29 games, by far his best European season to date.

Tanner Tessmann

Tanner Tessmann has slowly earned his place in the Starting XI for Lyon since joining last summer. The 23-year-old midfielder registered eight starts for the French giants over the last two months, helping them reach the quarterfinals of the Europa League and seventh place in the Ligue 1 table. Internationally, Tessmann played alongside Weston McKennie and Chris Richards in the U.S.'s ill-fated Nations League campaign.

Chris Richards

Chris Richards continued to be a rock in central defense for Crystal Palace. The Alabama native made five starts in the Premier League while also helping Palace reach semifinals of the FA Cup with three additional starts since February. Richards and Palace will face Aston Villa next in the FA Cup on April 26 with a chance to reach the final for the first time since 2016. For the U.S. Men's National Team, Richards played 79 in the 1-0 semifinal loss to Panama before leaving with a minor injury.

Bryan Reynolds

Bryan Reynolds helped KVC Westerlo finish 9th in the Belgian Pro League regular season, starting 27 of 30 games. Now in the six-team playoff for a berth to the EUFA Conference League, Westerlo lost 1-0 to FCV Dender in the opening game where Reynolds played all 90 minutes at right back. Next, Reynolds and Westerlo will face Oud-Heverlee Leuven on April 5.

FC Dallas Roots

You’ve read about how these players are doing now. Here’s how they got their starts with FC Dallas.

Weston McKennie is probably FC Dallas’ most well-known export, despite never playing for its first team. Although born in Washington state, McKennie grew up in Little Elm, Texas and developed in the FCD Academy from 2009 to 2016. After turning 18, McKennie signed for German club Schalke 04 where he’d go on to play four seasons before joining 36-time Italian champions Juventus in 2020. Apart from a half-season loan to Leeds United in the Premier League, McKennie has been with Juve for four seasons, winning the Coppa Italia and Supercoppa Italiana. The 26-year-old has been a mainstay for the U.S. Men’s National Team since 2017, earning 49 caps and scoring 11 goals.

Ricardo Pepi joined the FC Dallas Academy in 2016 from its El Paso affiliate club in his hometown. He signed his first pro contract with FCD’s second team, North Texas SC, in late 2018 as its first-ever player. Pepi famously scored a hat trick on his pro debut and went on to sign a Homegrown contract with FCD midway through 2019. Pepi enjoyed a breakout campaign in 2021, becoming an MLS All-Star and winning MLS Young Player of the Year after a 12-goal campaign. He subsequently signed for German club FC Augsburg in FCD’s record outgoing transfer. After one season in Germany, Pepi went on loan to Dutch side FC Groningen where he scored 12 goals and earned a permanent transfer to PSV Eindhoven, one of the Netherland’s biggest clubs. Pepi debuted for the USMNT in 2021 and has been nominated for US Soccer's Male Player of the Year twice.

Chris Richards never played for FC Dallas’ first team, similar to McKennie (although Richards did sign a contract with FCD). An Alabama native, Richards joined the FCD Academy from Texans SC Houston in 2017 and signed a Homegrown contract in 2018. He was then loaned from FCD to FC Bayern Munich as part of the clubs’ now-defunct player development partnership, before joining the German giants permanently a year later. Richards played five games in the Bundesliga for Bayern before joining 1899 Hoffenheim on loan for two consecutive seasons. In 2022, Richards departed Bayern for the Premier League with Crystal Palace. Richards has been a mainstay for the USMNT since his debut in 2020.

Bryan Reynolds joined the FCD youth system as a 12-year-old and signed a Homegrown contract in late 2016, becoming the club’s youngest-ever player at 15 years and 147 days old. In 2019, Reynolds helped North Texas SC win the inaugural USL League Title alongside a handful of FCD Academy products. Reynolds enjoyed a breakout 2020 campaign with FC Dallas, which earned him a transfer to Italian club AS Roma the following year. Seeking more game time, Reynolds went on loan to the Belgian Pro League, first with K.V. Kortrijk and then to KVC Westerlo – where he signed permanently in 2023. Reynolds has played seven times for the United States and scored one goal.

Tanner Tessmann moved from Alabama to join the FC Dallas Academy in 2016 at 15 years old. At 17, Tessmann helped reserve side North Texas SC win the 2019 USL League One title. Although originally committing to play soccer at Clemson, Tessmann decided to go pro at 18 and signed a Homegrown contract in 2020. After one-and-a-half seasons with Dallas, Tessmann secured a transfer to Italy with Venezia where he played three seasons before transferring to Olympique Lyon in France's top division.

Alex Zendejas signed a Homegrown contract with FC Dallas after joining its Academy via its El Paso affiliate club, a path Ricardo Pepi would follow a few years later. Zendejas signed as the club’s 13^th Homegrown in 2012 and went on to make eight appearances. He subsequently joined Mexico’s Chivas Guadalajara permanently before being sent on loan to Zacatepec. In 2020, Zendejas transferred to Necaxa where he enjoyed two successful years before being recruited by Club América, one of the continent’s biggest clubs. A dual national, Zendejas originally represented Mexico internationally before filing a one-time switch to play for the United States.