Clarence Awoudor, one of the most decorated players in college soccer last season, has been added to the Fort Wayne Football Club roster.
The signing of Awoudor is pending league and federation approval.
Awoudor, a 22-year-old attacking midfielder, is fresh off a stellar season for the University of Central Florida, where he teamed with forward Lilian Ricol, another member of the Fort Wayne Football Club roster. They helped UCF to the first Sun Belt title in program history and the school reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
Awoudor’s accolades last season included making the United Soccer Coaches’ Division I All-America Third Team and the All-Southeast Region First Team, being named to the Sun Belt Conference’s First Team and All-Tournament Team, and setting UCF’s single-season assist record with 15. He played complete matches 17 times and finished with seven goals in 21 matches as a senior.
“I’m really excited to join Fort Wayne FC,” Awoudor said. “It’s an ambitious project with a clear vision, and that’s something that really attracted me to the club. I’m also very happy to be playing with Lilian again. We played together last season at UCF and had great chemistry on the field, so being able to reunite here makes this opportunity even more special. I also played with (midfielder) Javier Armas at Oregon State in my freshman year. I’m looking forward to getting started and giving everything for the team.”
The club now has 15 players in advance of its first professional match, March 7 against FC Naples in Naples, Florida.
Season tickets for the USL League One season are on sale. Fort Wayne FC’s first home match will be May 2 at Fort Wayne FC Park.
Born in Saint-Lô, France, Awoudor finished his U.S. college career with 17 goals and 28 assists in 66 matches over four years, including the one season at Oregon State, 2022, in which he had three goals and two assists in 13 matches and was named to the All-Pac-12 First Team. He was also named to College Soccer News’ All-Freshman Third Team.
In 2023, Awoudor was selected the Sun Belt Conference’s Newcomer of the Year after tallying four goals and four assists in 16 matches for UCF.
“Clarence Awoudor is another top signing for our club as we assemble our first ever roster,” Fort Wayne FC head coach Mike Avery said. “Clarence is an attacking player who fits perfectly within our game model, and one who has demonstrated consistently – and at the highest levels of college soccer – that he will create goal scoring chances.
“Clarence has the ability to play the final ball – a shot, a cross, an incisive pass – with incredible quality. Clarence was an all-conference performer in two of the top soccer conferences in the country – the Pac-12 and the Sun Belt Conference – and was one of 45 players invited to the MLS College Showcase. At just 22 years old, Clarence is in the perfect moment to take his game to the next level, and we believe Fort Waye FC is the ideal place for him to launch his professional career.”
Prior to playing college soccer in the U.S., Awoudor was an academy player for five years with SM Caen, a professional club in Normandy, France.
Fort Wayne Football Club roster
Javier Armas, midfielder, 26 years old
Clarence Awoudor, midfielder, 22 years old
Ryan Becher, midfielder, 24 years old
Tiago Dias, defender, 24 years old
Jeremy Garay, midfielder, 22 years old
Taig Healy, midfielder, 22 years old
Anthony Hernandez, defender, 22 years old
JP Jordan, midfielder, 23 years old
James Musa, midfielder, 33 years old
Michael Rempel, defender, 24 years old
Lilian Ricol, attacker, 23 years old
Bernd Schipmann, goalkeeper, 31 years old
Jayden Smith, defender, 19 years old
Juan Solís, defender, 21 years old
Reid Sproat, defender, 24 years old
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 is building a state-of-the-art, soccer-specific stadium, Fort Wayne FC Park, that will open at Bass Road and I-69 in 2026. 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.