Connor Maloney’s preseason was a story of two jerseys.

The second came with a number — 31 — after Maloney had gone more than a month without a number as an unsigned Crew SC draft pick.

Maloney, a third-round selection in the MLS SuperDraft out of Penn State, was signed by the Crew during last month's preseason trip to Charleston, South Carolina, as was goalkeeper Logan Ketterer.

Maloney's jersey number was confirmation that the 21-year-old had earned his way onto an MLS roster and made it farther than most third-round draft picks. Of the 20 players selected in the third round this year, Maloney is one of just three on an MLS roster.

But the contract, and its accompanying jersey number, came after Maloney had received a gift of another jersey, perhaps a more impactful one.

Around the end of the Crew’s preseason training trip to Brazil, Crew coach and sporting director Gregg Berhalter gathered his team and handed a Sao Paulo FC jersey to Maloney, recognizing him as the player whose effort went above and beyond during the grueling training camp.

“No one expected him to probably win that award, but we gave it to him because he did just that,” Berhalter said. “It’s a good lesson for everyone because in sports you’ve got to earn everything you’re given, and this was a guy that certainly earned his place.”

Maloney's status as a reserve outside back with two game-day rosters made and one MLS appearance is one that Berhalter acknowledges he didn’t expect the newcomer to achieve.

“We told him coming into preseason, ‘Listen, you’re going to have a hard time making the team,’ and he proved us wrong,” Berhalter said. “He’s done extremely well, and now it’s about ‘Can he maintain that level and, when he gets an opportunity, can he perform?’”

What Maloney lacks in size — he's 5 feet 6, 145 pounds — he makes up for in drive.

“I’m not the tallest guy obviously, so that hurts, but you’ve got to have that fearless mentality, especially coming into a training situation like this and games like this where guys are going to come at you no matter what, and they’re going to come at you hard,” Maloney said.

Penn State men’s soccer coach Bob Warming said that’s how Maloney has played since Warming recruited him out of Bishop McDevitt High School in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

“Connor brings it every single day,” said Warming, who also coached Crew midfielder Ethan Finlay at Creighton.

Part of Maloney’s fearlessness stems from his ability to adapt to change, Warming said. The coach moved Maloney, a forward in high school, to right back, a position he had never played, early in his freshman year. Maloney learned the movements required of a fullback — he said he watched a lot of film of right back Dani Alves, who was playing for Barcelona at the time — and went on to finish second in the Big Ten with seven assists in 2013 before moving to forward later in his college career.

Maloney nearly came on for Harrison Afful in the Crew’s season opener against Chicago, and he played the second half of a 3-1 loss to Houston. He’s quick and can deliver a cross but acknowledged a couple of weeks ago that “my defending’s got to get a little bit better.”

He said he’s working on it, and in his young career, that effort is not in question. It’s why Maloney has earned two important jerseys this year.

“It’s all about mentality at the end of the day,” Maloney said. “You’re tired, and you just have to keep going, you know?”

aerickson@dispatch.com

@AEricksonCD