Johnny Aye, a 16-year-old from Fort Wayne, will join Fort Wayne Football Club’s roster on an academy contract in time for the club’s match Saturday night at Ruoff Mortgage Stadium.
The roster addition is pending league and federation approval.
Aye, one of the area’s brightest talents, has an impressive résumé that includes a match with Fort Wayne FC last season in USL League Two, a pre-professional tier. When Aye entered an international friendly against Atlas Fútbol Club’s Sub-23 roster on June 28, 2025, at age 15, he became the youngest player to take the field in the Fort Wayne FC’s five seasons of play at that level.
Now Aye becomes the youngest player to join Fort Wayne FC since it ascended to the fully professional ranks of USL League One. As an academy player, Aye signed a special contract that allows him to train and compete with professionals while retaining his eligibility to play high school and eventually college soccer.
“I just want to say I’m grateful for this opportunity,” Aye said.
The Autumn Gold & Black have two other academy players: Nico Burns, 17, who made his professional debut against Union Omaha in a Prinx Tires USL Cup match on June 6, and Tyson Hagaman, 19.
“Johnny Aye is a player who has been around our environment for a couple of years and someone we believe has a bright future,” Fort Wayne FC head coach Mike Avery said. “Opportunities like this help Johnny expedite his development because they provide him with a structured, supportive, and challenging environment.”
At 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Fort Wayne FC will play its final USL Cup match of the year against Detroit City FC. The match pits the hottest team in USL League One – Fort Wayne FC is on an 11-match unbeaten streak – against a club from the higher-level USL Championship division.
Aye, a midfielder whose full name is John Smake Aye, is preparing to enter his junior year at Northrop High School. He spent the last two seasons at North Side High School and was a First Team All-Conference selection in the Summit Athletic Conference.
Aye spent seven years playing locally for Fort Wayne United and spent one season, his U-14 year, in the Indy Eleven Academy system. Good performances with Fort Wayne United in 2022 eventually led to an invitation to play in the Elite Academy League in Spain and he also had trials in the Netherlands with PSV Eindhoven.
He also played for the U.S. Youth Futsal National Team in 2022 and 2026, which took him to Argentina and England, respectively.
“Johnny is a technically sound player who reads the game very well, and these qualities fit with the style of play we favor with our club,” Avery said. “Fort Wayne is a soccer community that is producing a lot of talent, and it is a priority for Fort Wayne FC to help showcase these players, so this is a good fit for all involved.”
Aye joins Reid Sproat, Tiago Dias, Aurie Echevarría, Anthony Hernandez and Emerson Nieto as players who were on the club’s USL League Two roster and now the USL League One roster. Sproat and Nieto are also from Northeast Indiana.
Tickets for Saturday’s match are on sale now. Fans are reminded that the Ruoff Stadium parking lot is for prepaid customers only.
Fort Wayne FC will return to USL League One action on Wednesday, when the club faces defending-champion One Knoxville SC in Knoxville, Tennessee. On July 18, Fort Wayne FC plays host to Greenville Triumph SC at Ruoff Mortgage Stadium.
About Fort Wayne Football Club
Fort Wayne Football Club, founded in 2019, is a professional soccer club playing its first season in USL League One in 2026. The club plays home matches at Ruoff Mortgage Stadium, which opened May 2, 2026, and is a soccer-specific venue. In pre-professional USL League Two, Fort Wayne Football Club won division titles in 2023, 2024 and 2025. For more information, visit FortWayneFC.com.
About United Soccer League
Founded in 1986, the United Soccer League (USL) is the largest and fastest-growing soccer organization in the United States, impacting more than 200 communities nationwide. The USL is the first and only organization to offer a comprehensive youth-to-professional pathway for both men and women under one ecosystem. This structure includes four men’s leagues: the newly announced, top-tier professional Division I league, the USL Championship (Division II), USL League One (Division III), and USL League Two (pre-professional). The women’s pathway includes the top-tier USL Super League (Division I), which debuted in 2024, and USL W League, the country’s leading pre-professional women’s league. The USL also oversees USL Academy, a progressive talent development platform, and USL Youth, a premier national youth platform.