Independence add MLS draft pick Ndiaye to 2023 roster

UNC WILMINGTON ATHLETICS

Bachir Ndiaye, a 2022 draft pick by Major League Soccer side Miami CF, has signed with the Charlotte Independence. Ndiaye grew up in Jacksonville, N.C. and played at UNC Wilmington.

The Charlotte Independence have signed a midfielder with North Carolina connections.

The Jacks added Bachir Ndiaye of Jacksonville, N.C., for the 2023 season. Ndiaye, a Dakar, Senegal native who was drafted by Inter Miami CF in the 2022 MLS SuperDraft, played collegiately at UNC Wilmington, where he earned All-Atlantic first team recognition from the United Soccer Coaches.

“I am very excited to start my professional career with Charlotte Independence,” Ndiaye said in a statement. “It’s such a great club with an amazing background. I can’t wait to get started in blue.”

“We are delighted to be the first stop on Bachir’s professional career,” Independence coach Mike Jeffries said. “Bachir is a physical central midfielder – a very capable ball winner with clever passing ideas and the ability to break down defenses on the dribble. He impressed us during his trial and continues to show why we believe he has a ceiling every day at training.”

Ndiaye, who played at Louisburg College before transferring to UNCW, scored six goals and tallied three assists with the Hurricanes. In three seasons at UNCW (2020-22), Ndiaye tallied 2,434 minutes in 36 games played and in 2022, was named to the Colonial Athletic Association all-tournament team.  

Ndiaye played high school soccer at Northside High in Roanoke County, Virginia and earned a 3A all-state. He moved with his family to North Carolina in 2016.
The Independence kick off the USL League One season against the Richmond Kickers on March 18 at American Legion Memorial Stadium.

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