The Houston Dynamo have acquired midfielder Marlon Hairston in a trade with the Colorado Rapids, the club announced today. Houston agreed to send Colorado $125,000 in General Allocation Money (GAM) in 2019 and $50,000 in GAM for the 2020 season.

Just 24 years old, Hairston has already played in 95 games with 68 starts for the Rapids since joining the league as the 12th overall pick in the 2014 MLS SuperDraft. Last year, he earned a call-up to the U.S. Men’s National Team’s annual January training camp before rejoining the Rapids, where he saw action in 15 games with 13 starts for the Rapids in league play and notched two assists. Hairston also played every minute for the Rapids in their two Scotiabank Concacaf Champions League matches against Toronto FC.

“Marlon is a young and talented player who at just 24 years old has already played close to 100 league matches and has valuable playoff, and Champions League experience,” said Dynamo Senior Vice President and General Manager Matt Jordan. “We are confident that his quality as a player and his ability to play a variety of positions, combined with his strong mentality, will be important as we face a demanding 2019 schedule.”

The Jackson, Mississippi native was named the Rapids’ Young Player of the Year in 2016 when he set career highs with three goals and six assists in 21 appearances, helping Colorado finish with the second-best record in Major League Soccer. He also saw action in all four of the Rapids’ playoff games that year as the Rapids advanced to the Western Conference Championship.

“Marlon is a very young and talented player who has made an impact in his short career for the Colorado Rapids. He is very athletic, he is very technical, and he has the ability to play in different positions,” said Dynamo Head Coach Wilmer Cabrera. “We are looking forward to bringing him in because he has many of the qualities that we value in our locker room and the competitiveness that we will need throughout the season for our team.”

Hairston became a regular selection in 2017, playing in all 34 games and starting a career-high 29. He was on the pitch for more than 2,600 minutes and tied a career high with three goals to go along with four assists.

Hairston entered MLS after playing two years at the University of Louisville. As a freshman, he earned Big East rookie team honors, then followed that up by earning first-team All-AAC accolades in 2013 after leading the Cardinals to the inaugural American Athletic Conference championship.

With the addition of Hairston, the Dynamo now have 25 players under contract for the 2019 season.

TRANSACTION: The Houston Dynamo acquire midfielder Marlon Hairston in a trade with the Colorado Rapids. Houston will send Colorado $125,000 in General Allocation Money in 2019 and $50,000 in General Allocation Money in 2020.

PLAYER PROFILE

FULL NAME: Marlon Hairston

DATE OF BIRTH: March 23, 1994 (24years old)

HEIGHT: 6’0”

WEIGHT: 157

BIRTHPLACE: Jackson, Mississippi

HOMETOWN: Jackson, Mississippi

PREVIOUS CLUB: Colorado Rapids (MLS)

FIFA NATIONALITY: United States

HOUSTON DYNAMO PLAYERS CURRENTLY UNDER CONTRACT

GOALKEEPERS (4) No. Name Pos. MLS Exp. Age Ht. Wt. FIFA Nationality 1 Tyler Deric GK 10 30 6-3 185 USA 18 Chris Seitz GK 11 31 6-3 236 USA 23 Joe Willis GK 8 30 6-5 200 USA 26 Michael Nelson GK 1 23 6-4 180 USA

DEFENDERS (8) No. Name Pos. MLS Exp. Age Ht. Wt. FIFA Nationality 2 Alejandro Fuenmayor DF 1 22 6-1 170 Venezuela 7 DaMarcus Beasley DF 10 36 5-8 145 USA 14 Adam Lundkvist DF 1 24 5-9 145 Sweden 16 Kevin Garcia DF 2 27 6-0 185 USA 20 A.J. DeLaGarza DF 10 31 5-9 150 Guam Erik McCue DF 0 17 6-3 185 USA/Sweden Chris Duvall DF 5 27 5-10 165 USA Kiki Struna DF 0 28 6-2 185 Slovenia

MIDFIELDERS (9) No. Name Pos. MLS Exp. Age Ht. Wt. FIFA Nationality 5 Juan David Cabezas MF 2 26 6-0 175 Colombia 8 Memo Rodriguez MF 2 22 5-8 145 USA 10 Tomás Martínez MF 2 23 5-9 145 Argentina 24 Darwin Cerén MF 5 28 5-10 165 El Salvador 25 Eric Bird MF 2 25 5-9 175 USA 27 Boniek García MF 7 34 5-9 150 Honduras Matías Vera MF 0 23 5-7 155 Argentina Tommy McNamara MF 5 27 5-9 170 USA Marlon Hairston MF 5 24 6-0 157 USA