Starts: 10
Minutes: 880
Age: 28
Key Stat: His 10 starts and 880 minutes played were the lowest numbers he put up since joining the First Team in 2019
When Keaton Parks plays, he can be counted on to be one of the better midfielders on the field. Big Bird is one of the most underrated players in Major League Soccer, a towering but still technical box-to-box midfielder who calmly absorbs pressure and distributes the ball cleanly.
Unfortunately, we'll never know how the 2025 season could have unfolded for Parks. The 28-year-old made just 10 starts this year, playing in only 14 games total – that's the fewest number of appearances Parks has made since he fought his way onto the First Team in 2019 under Domé Torrent. The midfielder was hampered by what was first thought to be a foot injury, but that was later determined to be a complication relating to the blood flow issues that sidelined him in 2021 and 2022.
Keaton made his last appearance for the team in May, then underwent surgery in July. He looked to be back in training during the postseason, giving hope to his return next year. But the fact remains that a player who established himself as an essential starter for New York City FC was mostly absent in 2025, making this easily the most frustrating year in the Texan's playing career.
A strong start, a season cut short
First, the good news. Keaton's three goal involvements (one goal, two assists) compare favorably to his previous years at NYCFC: He had four goal involvements in 2024, four in 2023, two in 2022, five in 2021, three in 2020, and two in 2019. Considering that Parks only saw 880 minutes total in 2025, and played for about one-third of the season, it's not unreasonable to guess that he could have put up career-best numbers this year.
But the fact remains that Keaton's season was cut short.
At first, the team reported it was a foot problem. Details were scarce, but after going the full 90' (or close to it) in eight of the first 10 games of the season, he was subbed off in the 26th minute of the 1-0 win over FC Cincinnati on May 4. Parks ended that match looking frustrated and upset as he sat on the field and pulled off his right shoe.
He went on to make three more appearances, all off the bench, before the club's medical team put him on the injured list again. But it would take another two months before it was determined that his discomfort was related to the blood flow issues that had hindered him twice before. Keaton underwent surgery in July, and didn't see the playing field again in 2025.
Hudson River Blue Staff
About that Nashville game...
Keaton's departure was a somber moment for the club, and the fans. The towering 6' 3" midfielder is as popular in the dressing room as he is in the stands, not only for vital role in the team's attractive, possession-based attack, but for the vibes he brings — and for his on-again, off-again mullet.
His final game of the 2025 season vs Nashville SC put his importance on display. When Keaton came on at the half, NYCFC were losing 2-0 on the road after the goal machine known as Sam Surridge scored twice. But New York City left Music City with a well-earned 2-2 draw behind a Hannes Wolf brace, with both assists provided by Parks.
The opening goal was a peach. As Abe Shire wrote in his Game Recap, "Just nine minutes after entering the game, Parks set up Wolf for New York City’s first goal by progressing the ball into the Nashville penalty box, then laying off a well-placed pass that Wolf buried with a left-footed shot."
Keaton Parks assists Hannes Wolf's first goal of Matchday 17 | Courtesy Apple TV
Keaton didn't just provide the final touch to put Wolf through to goal, he played an instrumental role in the buildup. It starts when Wolf feeds Keaton the ball, who one-twos it with Maxi Moralez before laying it off to a Wolf springing into open space.
The game-tying goal owes a little to luck. A corner kick is headed high into the air by a Nashville defender. Keaton does well to use his body to get under the ball and nod it towards the goal, where Wolf is ready to poke it past the goalkeeper. Still, the equalizer never would have happened without Keaton bodying the Nashville defense, and trusting Wolf to find a way to capitalize on the loose ball.
Keaton Parks assists Hannes Wolf's second goal of Matchday 17 | Courtesy Apple TV
Two assists against Nashville on the road in the closing 45 minutes of a game: How unfair that Keaton's last game of the 2025 season was his best. What might have been, under different circumstances, a return to form and possibly a career year, instead was his goodbye.
More to come
Will Keaton be back? We can only hope that will be the case, and we will monitor his appearances when preseason gets underway in the coming year. In the meantime, we're compelled to give the midfielder an incomplete for the 2025 season.
It's not because Keaton performed poorly when he was available — far from it. But his 45' in Nashville could have been the game that started him on the path to an A+ year, maybe a four-goal, 10-assist campaign that saw him develop chemistry with an attack spearheaded by Alonso Martínez, and with a midfield that improved with the addition of Aiden O'Neill, and then was supercharged after the arrival of Nico Fernández Mercau.
Just imagine a stacked midfield featuring Maxi Moraelz, Nico, O'Neill, Andrés Perea, Parks, and Jonny Shore. It would allow Head Coach Pascal Jansen to rotate starters when the team played on short rest, or switch up tactics depending on the opposition. That could yet happen in 2026, once Parks and Perea are rehabilitated. But that remains a what-if for now, just like Keaton's 2025 season.
