PHILADELPHIA – The Hometown Boy returns! Leo Burney of the University of Pennsylvania men's soccer team signed a professional contract with the Seattle Sounders FC on Monday night.
 
Burney landed a homegrown contract with the Sounders First Team. Burney, a Seattle native, played for local USL League Two team Ballard FC from 2022-2024, starting 42 of his 43 appearances with three goals and three assists. With Burney on the field, Ballard played to a 31-7-5 record, recording 14 clean sheets and amassing a plus-71 goal differential. He helped Ballard FC win the 2023 USL League Two National Championship and two Northwest Division titles (2023 and 2024), co-captaining the squad during the 2024 campaign.
 
During his Penn career, Burney started in all 69 matches he appeared in, recording 27 points, including 11 goals. The defender earned Ivy League Defensive Player of the Year in 2022 and 2024, First Team All-Ivy all four years of his career, and Second Team All-America honors as a sophomore. Burney has led the Quakers to three straight Ivy League regular season titles and the #1 seed in the 2023 and 2024 Ivy League Men's Soccer Tournaments.