FC Dallas forward Logan Farrington is enjoying a stellar rookie year. No college product has made as big an impact for Dallas in their debut season since Tesho Akindele, the 2014 MLS Rookie of the Year. Akindele was recognized the best player from his draft class after scoring seven goals and adding three assists, while Farrington has recorded four goals and eight assists with the four games to go.
Like Akindele, Farrington used collegiate soccer as his stepping stone to the major leagues, a path that’s becoming less and less common.
“When you aren't playing at a Development Academy or an MLS Academy it is pretty hard to get teams to look at you,” Farrington said. “I had coaches ask me later in my college career, ‘how come I didn’t know about you when you were 17?’”
After an impressive high school career that included a Wisconsin state championship, Farrington stayed close to home to continue his soccer journey at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, where he scored 20 goals in three seasons and earned First-Team All-Horizon League each season.
After his sophomore year, he knew he needed to broaden his horizons and went to play in California for USL League Two side Ventura County Fusion.
“I didn’t know anybody’s name and I got there and I probably looked like a fool at the first training session because I showed up with suitcases,” Farrington said.
After playing two successful seasons and growing in his soccer skills, Farrington reached another turning point.
“I needed to transfer to a team that is competing for a national championship every year,” Farrington said. “Then I ended up committing to Oregon State.”
At Oregon State, he was named the 2023 Pac-12 Player of the Year and Offensive Player of the Year in addition to All-Conference First Team honors.
“Logan was an incredible pick up for us, and you know I think it really benefited him,” Oregon State head coach Greg Dalby said. “He quickly made history here in terms of the impact he had, the goals he scored, and the season he helped our team have.”
Not only did Farrington have his best season with Oregon State, he also helped the team to its deepest postseason run in program history. The Beavers made the 2023 College Cup and overall went 11-6-5 and going 6-1-2 in the final nine games of the year.
“Logan did his job here in terms of being the tip of our sphere as a #9,” Dalby said.
All the hard work paid off; his dream became a reality. Farrington signed his pro contract with MLS right before the draft but still did not know which team would ultimately pick him.
“Third pick came around, I saw Dallas traded up and honestly, I was curious as to who they were trading up for,” Farrington said. “Then I got a phone call and it was André (Zanotta, FC Dallas’ Chief Soccer Officer) calling me saying welcome to Dallas.”
The phone call was a welcome surprise. Farrington had little contact with Dallas prior to the draft but his landing spot couldn’t have been any better.
“We are very pleased and very happy with Logan,” FC Dallas head coach Peter Luccin said. “He is learning fast and he can understand what we are looking for in his position.”
Farrington’s rookie campaign has been up there with the very best in the club’s 29-year history. The 22-year-old’s four goals and eight assists, in just 1,070 minutes means he's contributing a goal every 89 minutes.
“Scoring my first MLS goal against Minnesota, with all the fans there, it’s just surreal. It’s something I always dreamed of, being a forward scoring goals, celebrating with the crowd, with my brothers there…it’s a surreal feeling, something dreams are made of.”
