Sources: Owen Pratt Signs with Chicago Fire
L.A. Galaxy goalkeeping prospect Owen Pratt is signing with the Chicago Fire, sources told MIR97 Media. Pratt will begin as a Chicago Fire II player and become a first team Homegrown player in 2027.
Pratt, who was born in 2008 and just turned 17 earlier this month, is one of the Galaxy's top prospects and a highly-rated U.S. youth international. He had been poised to be a future Galaxy homegrown, but swaps their second team for Chicago in a deal set to be announced in the coming days.
Pratt is signing both an MLS Next Pro contract and an MLS pre-contract with the Fire, which will begin for the 2027 season. Though he has never played in the Fire's academy, he will count as a Homegrown player on the roster in 2027, similarly to how Sam Williams is considered as such.
Though this move seemingly comes out of nowhere, several familiar faces in the Fire organization were involved in making it happen. The Fire's Head of Recruitment, Mikey Stephens, joined the club last fall from the Galaxy and was an admirer of Pratt. Additionally, the teenager played under Fire first team assistant coach Tom Heinemann when he was the head coach for the U.S. Under-15 national team, including at the CONCACAF U-15 Championship in 2023, which the Americans won.
Pratt has featured alongside two other current Fire players on international duty; both homegrown star Christopher Cupps and second team midfield prospect Chase Nagle were a part of the U.S. group that traveled to Costa Rica for the CONCACAF U-17 Championship earlier this year. He also played against Fire II's Vitaliy Hlyut at the 2024 MLS Next All-Star Game.
Unless another Homegrown player is signed in the next 16 months, which is possible, Pratt will be the next Homegrown player for the Fire. He is the next in a growing line of young prospects signed in the last 10 months since Gregg Berhalter joined the Fire as Director of Football, following homegrowns Dylan Borso, Robert Turdean, and Christopher Cupps, as well as second team players Vitaliy Hlyut, Darris Hyte, and Brody Williams. Pratt is also indicative of the Fire's aggressive policy in the transfer market, which saw them sign the aforementioned Sam Williams (from New York Red Bulls II via the University of North Carolina) and Brody Williams (from the FC Barcelona Residency in Arizona).
Pratt also joins the long list of talented goalkeepers in the Fire organization, with first team starter Chris Brady chief among them and set to serve as a mentor for the 17-year-old. The new addition is expected to start for Fire II as soon as he is cleared to play, and joins a Fire II goalkeeping room alongside 16-year-old David Molenda and 15-year-old Jason Nemo. First team third keeper Bryan Dowd, 16-year-old Lukas Peterson, and 14-year-old Alex Bayraktarov are also in the pipeline and have trained with the second team this summer.
