FC Naples Announces Hometown Signing: Sebastian Joffre
The 25 year old forward is a graduate of Gulf Coast High School
FC Naples made an early Monday morning signing announcement of forward Sebastian Joffre.
Joffre is a native of Boliva, and moved with his family to Naples in 2012 where he graduate from Gulf Coast High School. There, he was named the 2015-2016 NDN Boys Soccer Player of the Year as a sophomore. As a senior, he scored an overtime-winning goal in the 2018 4A state championship game.
Joffre returns to USL League One after spending part of the 2019 season with Orlando City B before moving on to U21 opportunities with English club Crystal Palace and Belgium club RWD Molenbeek. In 2022, he signed with Brazilian top flight club Botafogo, the returned to the senior squad of RWDM.
He joined Real Monarchs of MLS NextPro ahead of the 2024 season, where he had three goals and two assists in 19 matches, mostly as a substitute. His option appears to have been declined in the off-season, putting him back on the radar of FC Naples coach Matt Poland. In the team’s press release, Poland said:
“Sebastian is a player I identified early on as a local talent that I wanted to sign. He has a wealth of experience as a player both domestically and internationally. His ability to play in different systems and positions will be important for us throughout the season.”
With Naples, Joffre will provide some additional experience alongside Jayden Onen and Luka Prpa, possibly slotting into the roster as a winger or a striker. Overall, the offensive squad skews young compared to much of the league, but several have multiple years of professional and/or overseas U21 experience.
Naples now has a roster of 18, meaning we will likely see an additional two or three signings before the season begins. More than likely, the signings will be some defensive midfield depth, and possibly a veteran presence at right wingback.
FC Naples will make its season and home debut on March 8th, hosting Chattanooga Red Wolves at Paradise Coast Sports Complex.
This is an example of why USL League One is such a great resource for this country and deserves to be applauded and supported. Joffre gave up college to go pro but has bounced around abroad, without finding a stable home. Let's hope Joffre finally finds that stability in the USL! (USL Championship now routinely giving out multi-year contracts is another sign of the stability of the USL ecosystem)
Finally, with all older players are being now jettisoned by MLS-Next Pro, it seems inevitable that more and more, domestic players will bypass MLS-NP to go straight from high school or college to the USL....