Fort Wayne Football Club, readying for its first match in professional soccer Saturday, has added forward Ian Abbey to the roster on a 25-day contract.
The addition is pending league and federation approval.
“I’m super excited to be joining Fort Wayne Football Club,” said Abbey, 21, whose résumé includes NCAA soccer in the Big East and Big Ten Conferences, and who has also played in MLS Next Pro. “I’ve been working my whole life to get where I am, and now that I get the opportunity to be here is a huge blessing and I can’t wait to get started.”
Fort Wayne FC faces FC Naples at 7 p.m. Saturday at the Paradise Coast Sports Complex in Naples, Florida, and it’ll be Fort Wayne FC’s first match in USL League One. The match will air on ESPN+.
The addition of Abbey brings the Fort Wayne FC roster to 19 players.
“Ian is a dynamic young winger who has come to Fort Wayne and really impressed the staff and team with his attitude, energy, and performances,” Fort Wayne FC head coach Mike Avery said. “He brings top-level college soccer experience from Rutgers in the Big Ten and Providence in the Big East – two of the best soccer conferences in the country – as well as top level pre-professional experience from his time with Vermont Green in USL League Two and Philadelphia Union II, two of the best development programs in their respective spaces.
“Ian joined us relatively late in the preseason and has earned the opportunity to have a longer look with this 25-day contract. I am excited to see him play in USL League One, and to see how this all unfolds for him as a professional player. Ian is still just 21 and this is a very positive first step in what could be a long career.”
Abbey, a native of Elmer, New Jersey, had three goals and three assists last season in 16 matches for Providence.
He played at Rutgers University from 2022 to 2024, where he was a teammate of Fort Wayne FC goalkeeper Aurie Briscoe. Abbey appeared in 50 matches for Rutgers and had eight goals and seven assists.
As a junior in 2024, Abbey had two goals and team-leading five assists. In 2022, he was named to the Big Ten’s All-Freshman Team after a season that saw him score back-to-back game-winning goals against Michigan and Penn State.
Also in 2022, Abbey played 11 matches with MLS Next Pro’s Philadelphia Union II, the reserve team of Major League Soccer’s Philadelphia Union.
He played last season for the Vermont Green of USL League Two, the pre-professional level in which Fort Wayne FC competed from 2021 to 2025.
Fort Wayne Football Club roster
Ian Abbey, forward, 21 years old
Javier Armas, midfielder, 26 years old
Clarence Awoudor, midfielder, 22 years old
Ryan Becher, midfielder, 24 years old
Aurie Briscoe, goalkeeper, 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
Daniel Oyetunde, forward, 19 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
Jack Thomas, midfielder, 21 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