Toronto FC announced today that the club has added defender Themi Antonoglou (Homegrown contract) along with Kobe Franklin, Paul Rothrock, and Steffen Yeates (short-term loan agreements from Toronto FC II). Per MLS rules, the short-term agreements allow clubs to sign players on loan from their MLS NEXT Pro affiliate for MLS, U.S. Open Cup, Concacaf Champions League, Canadian Championship and exhibition matches.
Antonoglou, 20, having signed the maximum four short-term deals with Toronto FC, now becomes the 30th player in club history to sign for the first team from the Toronto FC Academy. He made his first team debut when he came off the bench against New York City FC on April 24, 2022. In three seasons (2019, 2021, 2022) with Toronto FC II, Antonoglou has appeared in 25 matches and registered four goals. He made his professional debut when he started against Richmond Kickers on August 17, 2019. He originally joined the Toronto FC Academy in January 2015.
Franklin, 18, recently made his debut with Toronto FC when he came off the bench against FC Cincinnati on May 4, 2022. He has made 28 appearances and recorded three goals and six assists with Toronto FC II. He joined the Young Reds on May 13, 2021, and made his professional debut on May 22 against North Texas SC. After an outstanding season with the Young Reds, Franklin finished in the top three in two categories of the 2021 USL League One Awards: Young Player of the Year and Defender of the Year.
Rothrock, 23, joined Toronto FC II on May 18, 2021, and made his debut with the Young Reds against FC Tucson. He has scored seven goals and appeared in 17 games for TFC II. He was originally selected 64th overall (third round) by Toronto FC in the 2021 MLS SuperDraft presented by adidas in January.
Yeates, 22, was recently called up to the First Team and made his debut with Toronto FC when he came on in the 64th minute against FC Cincinnati on May 4, 2022. He has made a combined 29 appearances with Toronto FC II over three seasons (2018, 2021 and 2022). Before returning to TFC II in 2021, he spent two seasons playing collegiate soccer at the University of Connecticut (2018) and Oregon State University (2019). With UConn, Yeates appeared in 17 games, scoring one goal while adding one assist. At Oregon State, Yeates made 14 appearances, scoring two goals in seven starts.
