The Houston Dynamo have signed midfielder Tommy McNamara, the club announced today. Houston selected McNamara in the second stage of the MLS Re-Entry Draft on Dec. 18, giving the club the exclusive right to negotiate contract terms with him for the 2019 season.

McNamara, 27, has made 92 career appearances in MLS regular-season play and has started 72 matches. After starting in six matches for Chivas USA as a rookie, McNamara joined New York City FC in the 2014 MLS Expansion Draft and has spent the last four seasons in the Bronx. McNamara recorded 13 goals and 12 assists for NYCFC.

“Tommy joins our club in the prime of his career with a strong desire to contribute to the success of the Houston Dynamo,” said Dynamo Senior Vice President and General Manager Matt Jordan. “His strong mentality, high soccer IQ, and ability to play a variety of positions in the attacking third will strengthen our group as we prepare for a busy 2019.”

The West Nyack, New York native helped NYCFC advance to the postseason in each of the last three seasons, finishing in the top three of the Eastern Conference standings in each season. He enjoyed his most productive season in 2016 when he set career highs in appearances (30), starts (28), minutes (2,229) and assists (nine) and tied a career-high with five goals.

“I had the opportunity to select Tommy in the draft in 2014 because he was a very smart and talented player,” said Dynamo Head Coach Wilmer Cabrera. “He is even more mature now and we believe he can make a positive impact with the Dynamo. We also think his professionalism and dedication will be a great addition to our locker room.”

As the head coach of Chivas USA in 2014, Cabrera selected McNamara with the 20th overall pick in the 2014 MLS SuperDraft. McNamara started his collegiate career at Brown University and earned a bachelor’s in economics from the Ivy League institution before transferring to Clemson to obtain his master’s degree. In his lone season with the Tigers, he led the team with seven goals and had eight assists, earning first-team All-ACC and NSCAA All-South honors.

With the addition of McNamara, the Dynamo now have 24 players under contract for the 2019 season.

TRANSACTION: The Houston Dynamo sign midfielder Tommy McNamara.

PLAYER PROFILE

FULL NAME: Thomas Liam McNamara

DATE OF BIRTH: February 6, 1991 (27 years old)

HEIGHT: 5’9”

WEIGHT: 170

BIRTHPLACE: West Nyack, New York

HOMETOWN: West Nyack, New York

PREVIOUS CLUB: New York City FC (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 (8) 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