A mere seven days after signing Jack Thompson to their squad, the Pittsburgh Riverhounds have announced another signing: Jack Thompson’s older brother, Nick Thompson.
Nick Thompson was signed by the Riverhounds early Friday afternoon, a day before the Riverhounds faced FC Montreal at Highmark Stadium.
The elder Thompson is a familiar face for head coach Dave Brandt. Thompson played at Messiah College for all four years, but during his freshman and sophomore seasons (2008, 2009) he was coached by Brandt. In his junior year, in 2010, Thompson was named the Common Conference Player of the Year. That same year, he was named to NSCAA Second Team All-American honors.
“Nick is a big, versatile player with really good feet and athleticism,” Brandt said. “He’s been out of the professional game for a couple years, but he is somebody that I know well as a player. I think he can be a really solid contributor to the club here.”
Thompson, a midfielder, scored 54 goals and had 18 assists during his time at Messiah College. Professionally, he most recently played for the Carolina Railhawks in 2011.
Thompson then went on to coach for four years. He started his coaching career as an volunteer assistant coach at North Carolina State in 2011. He then traveled to be a volunteer assistant for Brandt at the Naval Academy in 2012. He got his first contract coaching gig with Gordon College, where he stayed from 2013-14. He then made his way to California Baptist University for 2014 and finished his most recent coaching job at Eastern Nazarene Athletics in 2015.
Thompson’s contact is the same as his brother’s contract — for the 2016 season with an option for 2017. The older Thompson, as well as recent signing Danny Earls, could make their debut Saturday, June 18 against FC Montreal.
