Toronto FC II announced today that the club has signed defender Nathaniel Edwards and midfielder Mark Fisher to MLS NEXT Pro contracts. The pair will join the club’s roster pending league and federation approval.
“We are delighted to have Nate join our roster for the upcoming MLS NEXT Pro season,” said Toronto FC II Head Coach Gianni Cimini. “He is a player we have been keeping a close eye on over the past two years. He will offer an attacking threat with his ability to run in behind as well as his dribbling ability in 1-on-1 scenarios.”
Edwards, 21, split his National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) career between Syracuse University and Purdue University Fort Wayne. The Brampton, Ontario native spent his senior year with Syracuse University, where he made 21 appearances and recorded one goal and four assists for the Orange in 2023. The defender was named to the 2023 All-Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Academic Team and College Sport Communicators (CSC) Academic All-District Team as a senior. He also represented Purdue University Fort Wayne, where he made 40 appearances and recorded two goals and an assist through three seasons (2020-2022) for the Mastodons. Prior to his NCAA career, Edwards played for Vaughn Azzuri SC and represented St. Edmund Campion in Brampton, Ontario at the high school level.
“Mark adds leadership to our roster, is versatile from a tactical perspective and offers a strong understanding of tactical concepts,” added Coach Cimini. “He will serve to link play through the thirds of the pitch with the ball and cover ground and win defensive duels off the ball.”
Fisher, 23, spent the past four years at Stanford University, where he registered five goals and eight assists across 63 combined appearances (2020-2023). As a senior and team captain, the Grand Blanc, Michigan native registered a career-high in goals and assists in 2023 and led the Cardinal to its best finish in the NCAA tournament since 2019. The midfielder was also named to the 2023 United Soccer Coaches All-Far West Region First Team and All-Pac-12 Second Team, and earned United Soccer Coaches Scholar All-America and CSC Academic All-American honours in his senior year. As a freshman, Fisher played a crucial role to help the Cardinal win the 2020 Pac-12 Championship and earned Pac-12 Freshman of the Year and College Soccer News All-Freshman First Team honours. During his time at Stanford, he was a four-time Pac-12 Academic Honour Roll recipient (2020-2023) and two-time CSC Academic All-District honouree (2022-23). Prior to the NCAA, the Calgary-born Fisher attended Grand Blanc High School where he earned all-conference, all-district and all-region honours as a freshman.
TRANSACTION: Toronto FC II sign defender Nathaniel Edwards and midfielder Mark Fisher to MLS NEXT Pro contracts.
NATHANIEL EDWARDS
Position: Defender
Height: 5’8”
Weight: 167 lbs.
Birthdate: October 18, 2002 (Age – 21)
Hometown: Brampton, Ontario
Nationality: Canadian
College: Syracuse University & Purdue University Fort Wayne
MARK FISHER
Position: Midfielder
Height: 5’11”
Weight: 166 lbs.
Birthdate: December 14, 2000 (Age – 23)
Hometown: Grand Blanc, Michigan
Nationality: American
College: Stanford University