Michigan football adds former professional soccer player in transfer portal

Michigan football landed its second specialist out of the transfer portal on Friday in former Texas State kicker Beckham Sunderland. The 6-foot-1, 170 pounder went 1-for-1 on extra points and also kicked off in 2024. He has two seasons of eligibility remaining.

Previously, Sunderland was a goalkeeper for Major League Soccer’s FC Cincinnati. He also spent time on the reserve team FC Cincinnati 2. The reserve squad competes in the MLS Next Pro league, which “completes the pro player pathway from MLS NEXT to MLS first teams”, according to its website. 

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New chapter 〽️ Go Blue! Thank you Jesus!

“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” -Romans 8:28

Special thanks to @KornblueKicking for all of his help along the way! Best in the business! pic.twitter.com/nGXBtJswuA

— Beckham Sunderland (@becksun39) February 7, 2025

Texas State K transfer Beckham Sunderland commits to Michigan

Former UCLA long snapper Trent Middleton was the first specialist to join the Wolverines through the portal in January. Sunderland could kick-off next season, but he’ll have to wait at least one year to be the place kicker with Dominic Zvada returning for the final time.

Here is the career summary from Sunderland’s profile on MLS.com:

“Beckham Sunderland signed as a Homegrown Player on October 14, 2020, the first Homegrown Player signing to the first team in FC Cincinnati history. Sunderland joined the FC Cincinnati Academy in the program’s inaugural 2019-20 season, where he made a combined nine starts in net for the U-16/17s in the U.S. Soccer Development Academy season. Prior to joining FC Cincinnati, Sunderland spent time in the Portland Timbers and Chicago Fire FC academies.”

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