Position: Goalkeeper
Age: 23
Key Stat: 83.4% pass completion rate in 2024.
Alex Rando was presented a Homegrown contract from his childhood club just over a year ago, but he has yet to play for the New York City FC First Team. But after 17 appearances for NYCFC II in 2024, he continues to show impressive upside being a part of a quality goalkeeper union already.
A solid 2024
Although NYCFC II were unable to make it past the first round of the 2024 MLS NEXT Pro playoffs, bowing out to eventual finalists Philadelphia Union II with a 1-0 scoreline, the 23-year-old established himself as one of the better keepers in the league.
Standing at 6’4”, Rando’s stature provides an advantage to produce saves in the highest percentile of MLS Next Pro, and his 4.3 saves per 90 minutes was third-best in the league per FotMob — that’s good enough to place him in the 99th percentile. Just as impressive, his 68 saves put him in the Top 10 in the league despite making limited starts.
Good with his feet
The most important stat produced from last season came not from his hands, but his feet: Rando’s 83.4% pass completion rate is among the best in the league.
His passing ability allows him to place outfield players in the best position. In today’s game, a keeper able to facilitate and spark play going into the attacking third can benefit your squad on multiple levels. It also makes him an archetypal New York City goalkeeper, somebody who is expected to help generate an attack through his distribution, vision, and accuracy.
A change in 2025?
He was considered the club’s fourth-string goalkeeper for all of last season – he made just one First Team roster last year, when he was an unused sub in the Leagues Cup group stage penalty kick win over Querétaro FC. That isn’t going to change any time soon. The recent arrival of former Toronto FC keeper Greg Ranjitsingh might freeze Rando and Tomás Romero out as the two goalkeepers for NYCFC II for another season.
Could Rando be loaned out to another team for the season, and continue to improve his game while playing every day for a USL Championship side? It’s possible considering his impressive showings last season, and what he could gain from competing against more experienced competition. It wouldn’t be his first time playing in the USL Championship, as he made 27 appearances in the league for Las Vegas Lights FC in 2021.
If Rando stays in New York, the NYCFC Academy product could contribute to an NYCFC II team that made an impressively deep run in the US Open Cup last year, and that made the playoffs for the first time in the team’s history. Will he be a part of a Baby Blues squad that lifts silverware? Or will he continue his apprenticeship at a Division II club? Either way, he is one to watch.
Whichever path Rando takes this year, his continued development is likely going to be very important to NYCFC. As much as it pains me to type this, we have to be preparing for the eventual Life After The Iceman. Ugh.