North Carolina FC is pleased to welcome a former foe in USL League One who should transition easily back to the Championship in defender Shaft Brewer. Brewer becomes the ninth new signing for North Carolina FC ahead of the return to the USL Championship and the club now has 18 players under contract.
ICYMI: Check out North Carolina FC’s schedule for the upcoming 2024 USL Championship season
Get to know the newest member of North Carolina FC with our Quick Kicks series:
Giving a Hoot
Brewer spent the last two seasons with Union Omaha of USL League One with 2,521 minutes over 37 appearances. He helped the Owls reach the playoffs in both seasons and take home the Players’ Shield in 2023. Brewer won 50% of his duels and 60% of his tackles in 2023 while making 19 interceptions and 39 clearances to lead the team to a first-place finish in the regular season.
Youth to Pro
Brewer Jr. started his youth career in 2015 with USL side Sacramento Republic’s academy team, where he was the team’s top goal scorer, before moving to the academy team at FC Dallas. The Sacramento native has 2 goals in 11 appearances for the United States U18 national team and 2 caps for the U20 team. He also spent a season with the RB Leipzig U-19 team.
Pro Path to North Carolina
Brewer made his professional debut with Los Angeles FC during their inaugural season in MLS in 2018. He made five appearances for LA across two seasons while being loaned to Phoenix Rising in the USL Championship throughout that time, where he made nine appearances.
Brewer then spent two seasons with third tier Norwegian club IF Fram Larvik, where he scored three goals and added one assist in 34 PostNord-ligaen and NM Cup appearances. He returned stateside to join with Omaha for the 2022 season.