August 7, 2024 – United Soccer League One (USL1)
Richmond Kickers News Release
RICHMOND, Va. – The Richmond Kickers are pleased to announce the signing of 17-year-old Richmond native Griffin Garnett to his first professional contract on a multi-year deal to represent his hometown club, pending league and federation approval.
The Kickers continue their construction of a modern player pathway under Chief Sporting Officer and Head Coach Darren Sawatzky with Garnett being the third Kickers player to sign professionally after previously featuring for the club on a USL Academy contract. He joins fellow teenagers and Richmond United alumni Landon Johnson and Beckett Howell who signed professional contracts in Fall 2023.
A local kid who used to ride his bike to watch matches at City Stadium when he was younger, Garnett took full advantage of his opportunity as a USL Academy contracted player and asserted himself as an integral member of the first team, starting 19 of 21 matches and playing 1,603 of a possible 1,890 minutes across all competitions while under an academy contract.
His first-ever start for the club was in the 2024 season opener on March 16th in front of over 5,000 fans at expansion-side Spokane Velocity FC. Embodying the mantra of “if you’re good enough, you’re old enough,” Garnett shined in his debut and earned Player of the Match as well as a second-straight start in the club’s Lamar Hunt US Open Cup First Round match against Christos FC.
Garnett has proven to be one of the most versatile defenders in USL League One, pairing adept one-on-one defending with accurate distribution. One of the top distributors in all of USL League One, Garnett currently ranks 6th in the league in total volume of passes. In his 19 appearances across the regular season and league cup, he has won 73 percent of his tackles and 57 percent of his duels while recording an 86.1 passing accuracy along with 45 successful long passes.
Prior to joining the Kickers, Garnett enjoyed a standout season with the Richmond United U17 Boys team in 2023, winning ECNL U17 Player of the Year and finishing as an ECNL U17 Boys National Champion.
Griffin Garnett said:
“I’ve been watching this team since I was four years old. I would walk over to City Stadium with my family. To even think when I was that young that I would be on this field playing for this team, I’d never believe it. It really means a lot to me.
“I remember seeing them play teams like Swansea City and Crystal Palace and thought it was…
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