RENTON, WASH. – Sounders FC today announced that it has signed defenders Travian Sousa and Leo Burney. Sousa signs a contract for the 2025 season with club options in 2026 and 2027, while Burney inks deal for the 2025 season with club options in 2026, 2027 and 2028. Sousa has spent the last three seasons with Tacoma Defiance, Seattle’s MLS NEXT Pro affiliate, making 68 appearances with three goals and 10 assists. Burney, a Sounders FC Academy product, recently finished a decorated collegiate career at University of Pennsylvania where he was a two-time Ivy League Defensive Player of the Year. The 24th Homegrown Player in club history, Burney also played for local USL League Two team Ballard FC from 2022-2024, helping the club win the USL League Two Championship in 2023.
“We are excited to add Travian and Leo to the team,” said Sounders FC General Manager and Chief Soccer Officer Craig Waibel. “While both players took a unique route to this point, each are a testament to the development system we have in place here. Both Travian and Leo add a skillset that I’m confident will bolster our roster as we head into the new season.”
Sousa, 23, originally signed with Tacoma Defiance prior to the 2022 season, the inaugural year of MLS NEXT Pro. The Lathrop, California native became a mainstay in the starting lineup, making 27 appearances (23 starts) including playoffs in 2024, scoring a goal against The Town FC (April 25) while adding four assists. From 2022-2023, Sousa made 41 appearances (27 starts) for Tacoma (including postseason), scoring two goals and tallying six assists. Prior to joining Defiance, Sousa played for Hamburger SV in Germany from 2019-2020 before spending the 2021 season with Oakland Roots SC and Sporting Kansas City II.
“Signing Travian and Leo to the First Team is a testament to their hard work and dedication at every stage of their soccer journeys,” said Sounders FC Head Coach Brian Schmetzer. “Both players have shown promising growth and have earned this opportunity. I’m excited to see how they continue to push themselves at this level.”
Burney, 23, is coming off a 2024 season at Penn that saw the Seattle native win the 2024 Ivy League Defensive Player of the Year award, starting 19 of the school’s 20 matches as the Quakers played to a perfect 7-0 record in the Ivy League conference. He scored four goals and added two assists, in addition to being part of a defensive unit that recorded a 0.57 goals against average with five shutouts. His efforts helped the Quakers advance to the Ivy League Men’s Soccer Tournament Final in 2024, falling 3-1 to Princeton. Over his four-year career, he started all 69 of his appearances from 2021-2024, recording 11 goals and five assists. As a sophomore in 2022, Burney scored five goals and added two assists, as he won his first Ivy League Defensive Player of the Year award. Burney was named First Team All-Ivy all four seasons at Penn and a Second Team All-American in 2022.
Burney also played for local USL League Two team Ballard FC from 2022-2024, starting 42 of his 43 appearances with three goals and three assists. With Burney on the field, Ballard played to a 31-7-5 record, recording 14 clean sheets and amassing a plus-71 goal differential. He helped Ballard FC win the 2023 USL League Two National Championship and two Northwest Division titles (2023 and 2024), co-captaining the squad during the 2024 campaign.
Originally joining Sounders FC Academy in 2014, the Seattle native appeared in 22 matches (17 starts) at the U-16 / U-17 level with two goals during the 2017-2018 season, in addition to starting all three of his appearances for Tacoma Defiance. He was also part of the Sounders FC Academy teams that won the 2018 U-17 Generation Adidas Cup in the Premier Division and the 2018 U-17 USSDA National Championship.
Burney becomes the 24th Homegrown Player in team history. His addition marks the ninth Homegrown Player signing on Sounders FC's current roster, joining Josh Atencio, Cody Baker, Reed Baker-Whiting, Jacob Castro, Stuart Hawkins, Danny Leyva, Jordan Morris and Obed Vargas.
Sounders FC finished the 2024 regular season fourth in the Western Conference with 57 points (16-9-9), advancing to the Western Conference Final before falling 1-0 to the LA Galaxy. The club is currently in the middle of preseason preparations for the 2025 season, which kicks off early next year.
TRANSACTION: Sounders FC signs defender Travian Sousa to a one-year contract with team options in 2026 and 2027 and defender Leo Burney to a one-year contract with team options in 2026, 2027 and 2028 on December 11, 2024.
Name: Travian Sousa
Position: Defender
Height: 5-11
Weight: 180
Born: September 19, 2001 in Sacramento, California
Hometown: Lathrop, California
Citizenship: USA
Acquired: Signed to a one-year contract for the 2025 season with club options in 2026 and 2027 on December 11, 2024
Previous Clubs: Tacoma Defiance (2022-2024), Oakland Roots (2021), Sporting KC II (2021), Hamburg SV II (2019-2020)
Name: Leo Burney
Position: Defender
Height: 6-3
Weight: 195
Born: November 2, 2001, in Seattle, Washington
Hometown: Seattle, Washington
Citizenship: USA
Acquired: Signed to a one-year contract for the 2025 season with club options in 2026, 2027 and 2028 on December 11, 2024.
Previous Clubs: Ballard FC (2022-2024)
