FC Cincinnati has officially announced the signing of forward Corey Baird through the 2025 season, with the deal including a 2026 option.
Baird, 27, is a forward with considerable experience in Major League Soccer and brings FCC a player they can count on to play significant minutes when called upon.
“We’re excited to bring Corey to Cincinnati,” Chris Albright, FC Cincinnati general manager, said. “He is a player with a versatile skillset and an eye for goal who will be a valuable addition to our attack. He’s a proven winner with great character, and we’d like to welcome him and his family to the club.”
Baird has made a total of 157 appearances in MLS since joining the league in 2018, totaling over 10,000 minutes. In that time, he has scored 28 goals and tallied 23 assists, the latter of which is a significant number for a forward.
“I couldn’t be more excited to join FC Cincinnati and meet the fans and my teammates,” Baird said. “It’s really exciting to join a club with one of the best fanbases and the best stadiums in the league, and I can’t wait to challenge for trophies this year. My first game of the season was at TQL Stadium last year, and the place was rocking. I’m looking forward to being on the other side of things and have those fans on our side.”
Baird’s MLS career began in 2018 after signing as a homegrown player for Real Salt Lake. He made 31 appearances for RSL that MLS regular season, scoring eight times and assisting five times.
Following two more seasons with RSL, Baird was traded to LAFC for the 2021 season. However, a short seven months later, he was traded again to the Houston Dynamo where he stayed until FCC came calling.
During his time in Houston, Baird continued his trend of scoring a small amount of goals but assisting more than one might think. In the 2023 season, he scored eight times but assisted six times, also appearing in all 34 regular season games for the Dynamo.
The stats show this a little bit, but it seems that Baird offers something a little different in a striker, bringing a lot more passing prowess rather than a stupendous goalscoring record.
Recommended for you
