{{short description|American soccer player}} {{Use mdy dates|date=April 2019}} {{Infobox football biography | name = Darnell King | image = CINvTB 2017-04-19 - Darnell King (34068238262) (cropped).jpg | caption = King playing for Tampa Bay Rowdies in 2017 | fullname = Darnell King | height = {{height|m=1.73}} | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1990|9|23}} | birth_place = Tampa, Florida, United States | currentclub = | clubnumber = | position = Winger, Full back | collegeyears1 = 2008–2011 | college1 = Florida Atlantic Owls | collegecaps1 = 62 | collegegoals1 = 17 | years1 = 2010 | clubs1 = Fort Lauderdale Schulz Academy | caps1 = 3 | goals1 = 0 | years2 = 2012–2014 | clubs2 = Fort Lauderdale Strikers | caps2 = 75 | goals2 = 6 | years3 = 2015–2017 | clubs3 = Tampa Bay Rowdies | caps3 = 81 | goals3 = 1 | years4 = 2018 | clubs4 = San Antonio FC | caps4 = 32 | goals4 = 2 | years5 = 2019 | clubs5 = Nashville SC | caps5 = 21 | goals5 = 0 | years6 = 2020–2023 | clubs6 = Phoenix Rising | caps6 = 97 | goals6 = 4 | years7 = 2025 | clubs7 = Phoenix Rising | caps7 = 1 | goals7 = 0 | manageryears1 = 2024– | managerclubs1 = Phoenix Rising (assistant) | nationalcaps1 = | nationalgoals1 = | pcupdate = January 4, 2024 | ntupdate = }}

'''Darnell King''' (born September 23, 1990) is an American former professional soccer player and current assistant coach of Phoenix Rising FC in the USL Championship.

==Career== King played in forward for Tampa's Gaither High School, setting a school record with 71 points in a season. In 2008, his senior year, King was named to the All-Hillsborough County team.

From 2008 to 2011, King played as a forward for the Florida Atlantic Owls. King was the Owls' leading scorer during his sophomore, junior, and senior seasons.

King participated in the 2012 NASL Combine where he was noticed by Fort Lauderdale Strikers' coaching staff. He was invited to preseason with the Strikers, where he impressed enough to earn his first professional contract. On March 27, 2012, the Strikers announced that King had signed professional terms with the club.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.strikers.com/news/Strikers-Add-Trio-With-South-Florida-Ties |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304072011/http://www.strikers.com/news/Strikers-Add-Trio-With-South-Florida-Ties |url-status=dead |archive-date=March 4, 2016 |title=Oops! Sorry, something went wrong &#124; Fort Lauderdale Strikers |access-date=April 8, 2019}}</ref>

King made his professional debut with the Strikers as a second-half sub against FC Edmonton on April 7, 2012, in the first game of the 2012 NASL season. He played 15 minutes after replacing Leopoldo Morales in the 75th minute.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.strikers.com/news/Strikers-Defeat-FC-Edmonton-1+0 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120410055559/http://www.strikers.com/news/Strikers-Defeat-FC-Edmonton-1+0 |url-status=dead |archive-date=April 10, 2012 |title=News &#124; Fort Lauderdale Strikers |access-date=April 8, 2019}}</ref> On July 2, King started and played 90 minutes in an unfamiliar right back position, and took the throw-in that lead to the opening goal. He started at right back in the Strikers' next match against the Carolina RailHawks, and scored his first goal as a professional in the 31st minute of the 3–3 draw.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nasl.com/index.php?id=488&getGameID=199 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120918215102/http://www.nasl.com/index.php?id=488&getGameID=199 |url-status=dead |archive-date=September 18, 2012 |title=Match Recap &#124; North American Soccer League |access-date=April 8, 2019}}</ref> King ended up primarily playing right back for the Strikers and was named to the 2014 NASL Best XI as a defender.

On December 22, 2014, King returned to Tampa Bay by signing with the NASL's Tampa Bay Rowdies<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rowdiessoccer.com/news/detail/uuid/g62ubvu2hmot1s5axouh6pjpp/rowdies-sign-tampa-bay-native-darnell-king |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141223172655/http://www.rowdiessoccer.com/news/detail/uuid/g62ubvu2hmot1s5axouh6pjpp/rowdies-sign-tampa-bay-native-darnell-king |url-status=dead |archive-date=December 23, 2014 |title=Rowdies NASL: Rowdies Sign Tampa Bay Native Darnell King |access-date=April 8, 2019}}</ref>

On February 6, 2018, King made the move to United Soccer League side San Antonio FC.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.uslsoccer.com/news_article/show/883967?referrer_id=2333971 |title=King Makes Move to San Antonio |date=February 6, 2018 |publisher=Uslsoccer.com |access-date=April 8, 2019}}</ref> King earned a spot on the All-League team at the end of 2018.

King signed with Nashville SC on December 4, 2018, rejoining former Rowdies teammate Matt Pickens.<ref>{{cite web |title=NASHVILLE SC ADDS ALL-LEAGUE DEFENDER DARNELL KING |url=https://www.nashvillesc.com/news_article/show/973668 |website=NashvilleSC.com |publisher=Nashville SC |access-date=December 4, 2018 }}{{Dead link|date=January 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> He then signed with Phoenix Rising FC on December 18, 2019.<ref>{{cite web |title=Darnell King Joins Phoenix Rising For 2020 Season |url=https://www.phxrisingfc.com/news_article/show/1072570 |website=phxrisingfc.com |publisher=Phoenix Rising Communications |access-date=December 4, 2018 |archive-date=December 18, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191218212223/https://www.phxrisingfc.com/news_article/show/1072570 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Following a 2023 USL Championship season that saw Phoenix win the league, King announced his retirement on January 4, 2024. He transitioned to a coaching role with Phoenix Rising.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Minnick |first1=J. |title=Defender Darnell King to Transition into a Coaching Role with Phoenix Rising FC |url=https://www.phxrisingfc.com/news/defender-darnell-king-to-transition-into-a-coaching-role-with-phoenix-rising-fc/ |website=PHXRisingFC.com |publisher=Phoenix Rising |access-date=4 January 2024}}</ref>

Ahead of Phoenix Rising’s week 4 clash of the 2025 USL Championship season against Monterey Bay, nine players were out with injuries. King was called up to the squad, as he would then come off the bench in the 69th minute after Phoenix were down to nine men. The match ended in a 3-1 loss for Phoenix.

==Career statistics==

''Statistics accurate as of December 4, 2018''

<!-- NOTE: when updating stats, update the infobox too! --> {| class="wikitable" style="font-size:90%; text-align:center;" |- !rowspan="2"|Club !rowspan="2"|Season !colspan="3"|League !colspan="3"|Cup !colspan="3"|Playoffs !colspan="3"|Total |- !Apps !Goals !Assists !Apps !Goals !Assists !Apps !Goals !Assists !Apps !Goals !Assists |- | rowspan="3"| Fort Lauderdale Strikers |2012 |22||1||2||1||0||0||1||0||0||24||1||2 |- |2013 |26||3||1||2||0||1||—||—||—||28||3||2 |- |2014 |21||2||4||1||0||0||—||—||—||22||2||4 |- | rowspan="3"| Tampa Bay Rowdies |2015 |27||1||2||1||0||0||—||—||—||28||1||2 |- |2016 |30||0||2||2||0||0||—||—||—||32||0||2 |- |2017 |24||0||1||1||0||0||2||0||0||27||0||1 |- |San Antonio FC |2018 |32||2||5||3||1||0||—||—||—||35||3||5 |- |Nashville SC |2019 |0||0||0||0||0||0||—||—||—||0||0||0 |- ! colspan="2" | Career total !182!!9!!17!!11!!1!!1!!3!!0!!0!!196!!10!!18 |}

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== *[https://web.archive.org/web/20150108195034/http://www.rowdiessoccer.com/team/roster/player/uuid/zfa3dgzt4r2l1xpmluz3nv1xd/darnell-king Tampa Bay Rowdies bio]

{{Phoenix Rising FC squad}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:King, Darnell}} Category:1990 births Category:Living people Category:American men's soccer players Category:Florida Atlantic Owls men's soccer players Category:Floridians FC players Category:Fort Lauderdale Strikers players Category:Tampa Bay Rowdies players Category:San Antonio FC players Category:Nashville SC (2018–19) players Category:Phoenix Rising FC players Category:Soccer players from Tampa, Florida Category:USL League Two players Category:North American Soccer League (2011–2017) players Category:USL Championship players Category:Men's association football wingers Category:Men's association football full-backs Category:Phoenix Rising FC coaches Category:USL Championship coaches Category:21st-century American sportsmen