He's 6-foot-5-inches tall, just 22-years-old and Ohio through-and-through.
Crew SC's freshest Homegrown Player — signed on Dec. 20, 2016 — has represented the Black & Gold for six years. Alex Crognale's seventh year with his hometown club will be one of firsts. It's his first with the First Team, it's his first as a professional and it will be his first at MAPFRE Stadium in his hometown of Columbus.
Crognale is one of 16 players on Crew SC's roster aged 25-or-younger — signaling a youth movement that's evident across Major League Soccer (Crew SC is the second-youngest team in the League based on average age).
Whenever the local product debuts, it will also be a first: the first time his friends, schoolmates, family and complete strangers connected by no more than their hometown have a chance to shout his name and support him in a MLS match. Whether he debuts on Saturday — when Crew SC officially opens the 2017 MLS regular season against the Chicago Fire at 2 p.m. ET, presented by MAPFRE Insurance — or not, it will be a moment of apprehension and appreciation for Crognale.
"It's such an incredible experience to be able to have them all here for every step along the way," Crognale, Gahanna native, says. "All my aunts and uncles and cousins have Crew SC Season Ticket Memberships, but now they're even more excited to be at the tailgates and to come watch me play. It's an amazing. It means a lot and, for me, it makes my job easier knowing that the support is there and is unwavering."
Throughout his life, two things have been undeniably constant: soccer and the support system that's empowered him.
Crognale spent four years in the Crew SC Academy — when it was first being established and developing its own process and developing Central Ohio's youth players — from 2010 to 2013. The aerial-dominant central defender can point out the specific moments that helped shape him as a player and the Crew SC legends that he admired and emulated. There were the cups raised in 2012 and 2013 with the Crew SC Under-19 team, and there was the way that central defender Chad Marshall seemed to never be beaten to a header throughout the 2008 MLS Cup-lifting campaign.
"When I was 13- or 14-years-old, that's when the Crew SC Academy was just coming into effect," Crognale says. "It was new, it was just starting. So playing on a youth team, it was always the dream to make it onto an MLS academy team. That's what I always wanted to do."
"Then, when I was 15, I got that opportunity. From there it was all about training hard and putting yourself in a position to go to college, continue both playing and my education, and to get a scholarship."
Crognale epitomizes the MLS roster mechanism that allowed him to skip the 2017 MLS SuperDraft. He is homegrown. He grew up playing with fellow Crew SC Homegrown Players Wil Trapp and Ben Swanson. According to Crognale's mother, Karen, those relationships are rooted even deeper than on the field. Trapp and Crognale grew up across the street from each other in Gahanna and attended the same high school. Swanson and Crognale's connection stretches back earlier — they were both delivered by the same doctor in 1994 and 1997 (Swanson)
Through four seasons at the University of Maryland, Crognale grew into his towering frame and developed into one of the NCAA's most decorated and prolific defenders. With 11 goals and three assists in just 73 appearances, Crognale captained the Terrapins to three consecutive conference tournament titles. Individually, the 2016 Mac Herman Trophy semifinalist finished his NCAA career as one of the nation's top-15 players. He was the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year, a First-Team All-American and First-Team All-Big Ten in 2016 alone.
But Maryland and the accolades it produced with Crognale was a means rather than an end. It all led back to home; it all came back to Ohio and Crew SC.
"I came back a lot to train with the First Team," Crognale says. "Every chance I had. I wanted to improve and test myself. I wanted to prove myself and, ultimately, I wanted to get minutes with them. The question I asked — and that everyone asked ... they're still asking — is 'Can you make the jump from school to the pros?'
"I took it step by step. I set goals and tried to reach each one."
While at Maryland, Crognale played in front of current Crew SC teammate and goalkeeper Zack Steffen as well. Developing a deep friendship and an on-field chemistry between goalkeeper and center back.
"It's obviously different now," Crognale says about joining Crew SC as a rookie. "I'm with all my teammates day in and day out. But I think that knowing the organization, the coaches and knowing my teammates as friends beforehand has made it a little easier on me."
Saturday's home opener at MAPFRE Stadium is just the beginning for Ohio's own. From Crognale's own mouth, one more goal has been reached, but there's still so much to do.
"I've been lucky so far," Crognale says. "This step, now on the First Team with Crew SC, is bigger. It's about finding the field and then there are more goals to reach."
MAPFRE Stadium's gates will open at 12:30 p.m. ET for Saturday's 2 p.m. ET kickoff — with a beautifully mild 60-degrees forecasted. The first 10,000 supporters in the gates will receive a free MAPFRE Insurance Crew SC key chain, and Saturday will be the general public's first chance to purchase the club's new 2017 Primary Jersey (while limited supplies last).
The 2017 Major League Soccer and Crew SC regular season opens on March 4 against the Chicago Fire at MAPFRE Stadium, presented by MAPFRE Insurance. The full Crew SC preseason and regular schedule can be downloaded and synced on iOS and Android devices.
