Oakland Roots announced they signed former Loudoun United fullback Keegan Tingey to a contract.
Tingey, 25, was another one of Ryan Martin’s most active players with 2,719 minutes in 31 appearances across all competitions. He is a Bay Area native raised in Danville, attending De La Salle before making his way to Stanford to win a Pac-12 championship in 2020.
FotMob lists Tingey as a right back and centerback as his secondary position, while his Wikipedia and Transfermarkt mention him as a left back. With his experience, he could slot into any position along the back line if needed.
With Tingey, Roots answers a primary position of need for Roots following the departure of mid-season acquisition Morey Doner. The fullback roles were a contentious position for Oakland last year, with a swath of different players featuring on both sides, like Doner, Jurgen Damm, Panos Armenakas, Camden Riley, Julian Bravo, Baboucarr Njie, and Justin Rasmussen.
Tingey is the only fullback on the roster other than Ilya Alekseev, who will likely continue as a backup fullback and winger.
So what are Roots getting in Tingey?
Despite being a defender, Tingey was someone who could generate opportunities for Loudoun. Last season, Tingey was credited with 20 chances created, which ranks in the top 14.1 percent of fullbacks. He was one of the most active shooters at his position, with 26 shot attempts and 11 on target, which was No. 1 for fullbacks.
Pressing will be a key part of Martin’s system that he brings to Oakland. Tingey proved successful in that aspect, winning possession in the final third 12 times, which was No. 1 for all fullbacks. He averaged doing so 0.41 times per match, finishing in the top 11 percent. For comparison, Doner won the ball in the final third just 0.24 times per match, while Damm averaged 0.64.
As a distributor, Tingey’s 79 accurate long balls were in the top 4.7 percent, averaging 2.69 per match. He was tasked with crossing the ball at a high rate, recording 11 successful crosses. Doner averaged just 0.91 accurate long balls per match, while Damm had 0.53.
He was heavily involved in Martin’s system with 1,854 total touches, including 45 of them inside the box. Both statistics averaged in the top six percent of players.
He also recorded a 61.1 percent dribble success rate, finishing in the top 17.6 percent of fullbacks. Doner had a lowly 18.5 dribble success rate; Damm fared better at 57.9 percent.
Tingey was a member of the San Jose Earthquakes’ youth academy in 2016 until enrolling at Stanford in 2019. The Earthquakes signed him as a homegrown player in 2023, appearing for their MLS Next Pro side 27 times.
Loudoun United signed him to a contract in 2024, making 66 total appearances for the club.
During his USL Championship career, Tingey has appeared in 66 matches and started 61 times for 5,346 minutes, scoring three goals and three assists.