Alex Freeman, the youngest player and only Floridian on the U.S. World Cup team, was always one of the fastest and most athletic kids growing up in Plantation and Parkland.
His father, Antonio, was an All-Pro wide receiver and member of the 1997 Super Bowl champion Green Bay Packers, so, naturally, Alex played wide receiver (and running back) on his pee wee football team. He also was a gifted guard on the basketball court and dabbled in tennis.
But dribbling a soccer ball was always his favorite pastime.
His stepfather, Jake Hinkle, signed him up for a rec soccer league when he was four years old, coached him, and thus began a love affair that eventually landed Freeman on the Orlando City first-team roster at age 18.
Three years later, in January 2026, Spain’s Villarreal, one of La Liga’s best teams, acquired Freeman from Orlando for a $4 million transfer fee. He is the only American on the team and one of just a few in the club’s 103-year history.
Friday night, at age 21, the speedy, versatile defender makes his World Cup debut as Team USA opens against Paraguay at SoFi Stadium (renamed Los Angeles Stadium per FIFA rules). Kickoff is at 9 p.m., and the game will be shown on FOX and Telemundo.
Freeman spoke with the Miami Herald earlier this week from training camp in Irvine, California, shared his memories of South Florida and discussed his meteoric rise to La Liga and the U.S. national team.
“Obviously, growing up, people around me, not my dad, but other people always thought, `He’s going to play football,’’’ said Freeman, who is 6-3 and has great leaping ability, which translates on the soccer field, as well. “It was always my choice. My dad was always open for me to do my own thing.
“When it got to the point where I chose soccer, he was skeptical at first because it was different from football. But he right away gave me the support I wanted, and I was able to take anything I wanted from him in the professional sports aspect, such as health and habits and I put that into my future and have that advantage against my peers.”
When Freeman found out two weeks ago that he made the 26-man U.S. squad, one of the first phone calls he made was to Javier Carrillo, his former youth coach at Weston FC.
Carrillo, now the director of player development at Orlando City, was instrumental in Freeman’s ascent and the young player gives him credit every chance he gets.
Freeman attended American Heritage School and initially tried out for Inter Miami’s youth academy when he was 15 but did not make the cut. Carrillo knew Freeman well from Weston FC and recruited him to go play in Orlando City’s academy.
It was 2020, in the middle of the COVID pandemic, many club teams had suspended play and Freeman was dying to get back on the field.
His mother, Rochelle Hinkle, hesitated at the idea of sending her 15-year-old son three hours away to live with a host family, during COVID, no less, but eventually warmed up to the idea.
“That’s still a little painful, even to speak about it because he was still so young, and we were in the middle of the pandemic,” Hinkle said Thursday morning before she and her husband boarded a flight to Los Angeles to see the Team USA opener. “It was hard. But, when a kid tells you that he’s ready for this, that he wants to bet on himself and you see his talent, this was a great opportunity.”
The Hinkles would have preferred Alex stay closer to home but decided to help him pack his bags and chase his dream.
“Unfortunately, he didn’t get selected by Inter Miami, so Orlando was only a few hours away and the family we met had another son already on the team, so all the pieces fell together where I knew I could see him often and support him and watch his games,” Rochelle Hinkle said. “It was a hard decision, but the right choice at that time.”
Freeman said it was an extremely difficult decision for him, too, but he felt strongly that he could not pass up Orlando’s invitation.
“No one wants to be away from family, especially at a time like that, when COVID was spreading very fast and everything was on lockdown,” Freeman said. “I didn’t make the Inter Miami team and then everything was shut down, we only played a few months with Weston, and then Orlando wanted to give me a chance.
“It took awhile to convince my Mom and my whole family to let me move up there, it was a risk, but I felt it was a chance that wouldn’t come again.”
He said leaving home so young forced him to mature in a hurry.
“It gave me the opportunity to grow up as a young adult at 15, 16, be able to do things on my own, adapt to a new environment and make decisions,” he said. “You have to be very, very focused, boost yourself and have confidence and resilience to be at your best every day.”
Freeman had planned to play college soccer, and committed to Louisville, but opted out and took the professional route once he began to excel in Orlando.
It was in Orlando’s academy that Alex transitioned from winger and forward to right back. He won an MLS Next Cup U-17 championship in 2021, then signed a homegrown deal in 2022. He spent three seasons with Orlando City B and played his first match for the senior team on April 29, 2023.
Freeman quickly became a standout defender. His field vision and positional awareness were rare in a player of his age, perhaps developed in part by his love of chess.
In 2025, he was named an MLS All-Star, voted the MLS Young Player of the Year, and selected to the MLS Best XI after recording six goals and three assists. Also last year, Freeman made his debut for the U.S. men’s national team. He made 13 appearances and scored his first two international goals in a 5-1 friendly win against Uruguay in Tampa in November.
A few months later, Freeman’s family was packing up their son as he moved overseas to Spain.
“I miss him more, of course, but going to play for a team in La Liga, other than the Premier League it is the next biggest league in the world, Alex is breaking barriers for American players,” Hinkle said.
Freeman said that same adaptability and laser-focus that helped him adapt in Orlando has made his transition to Spain easier.
“I’m even farther away from my family now, have been there five or six months, and it’s going really well,” he said. “The weather’s amazing. The people are amazing, the food, the housing. It’s kind of like Florida, but in Europe. I understand Spanish, but I need to learn to speak more. When I get back I’ll start classes to adapt to their culture.”
For now, his mind is on the World Cup. Freeman said the intensity has picked up in practice as the opening game approaches.
“We’re about to play the biggest tournament of our lives and everyone wants a starting spot,” he said. “We have to prove to coaches why we deserve to be on the field. It makes each one of us so much better, knowing we’re competing in practice every day.”
He is thrilled that his mother, father, stepfather and younger soccer-playing brothers Joshua, 14, and Tyler, 15, will be able to attend at least a few of the first-round matches.
His proud mother said she was overwhelmed with emotions as she headed to the airport.
“It’s hard to articulate how we actually feel,” she said. “We’re super proud of him. He’s dedicated so much time and energy to this sport, and now it’s paying off.”
Miami Herald sportswriter Michelle Kaufman has covered 14 Olympics, six World Cups, Wimbledon, U.S. Open, NCAA Basketball Tournaments, NBA Playoffs, Super Bowls and has been the soccer writer and University of Miami basketball beat writer for 25 years. She was born in Frederick, Md., and grew up in Miami.
