Orlando City B Player Spotlight: Tommy Redding

At the end of July Tommy Redding was loaned to the Wilmington Hammerheads because there were so few opportunities for the club’s first Homegrown Player to get playing time.

Shortly thereafter, Redding was recalled to Orlando and mostly relegated to the bench for the rest of the season.

But in 2016, Redding won't have to travel more than 570 miles to get consistent playing time. The addition of Orlando City B allows Redding the ability to travel less than an hour, where he will be one of the staples of the new USL club in Brevard County.

"For me, it's really exciting," Redding after the announcement of OCB. "This year has been really tough for me and a lot of the younger players, just because we haven't been able to play as much. This next season, having this USL team here — new place, new environment — it's going to be awesome."

Most casual fans know Redding from his nasty collision with Rafael Ramos in his first start on Oct. 3 that caused both players to be stretchered out and left Redding with a concussion. But Orlando City fans know him as one of the building blocks of Orlando City’s future.

Redding, an Oviedo product, signed with Orlando City in March 2014, rather than go to college or sign with another team overseas. Before that, he played at IMG Academy and with the U.S. U-17 national team before moving on to play for the Chicago Magic-PSG.

Redding has made appearances with each of the U.S. U-17, U-18 and U-20 teams, and is considered by some to be one of the best young players in the country.

At 6-foot-2, Redding has a big enough body to thrive as a center back in MLS, but lacks the field experience to keep up with elite-level strikers in the league, which is where his spot on Orlando City B comes into play. Redding will likely be playing on the same back line as left back Mikey Ambrose and center back Kyle Callan-McFadden, and the trio have had almost a month to get some chemistry together, and that will only get better, which will benefit them and the team next season.