St Louis CITY2 signs forward Emil Jääskeläinen and goalkeeper Colin Welsh to MLS NEXT Pro contracts. Jääskeläinen (pending receipt of his P-1 visa) and Welsh are both signed through the end of the 2025 season with club options for 2026. Jääskeläinen, who was selected in the first round (7th overall), joins CITY2 from University of Akron, while Welsh, selected in the third round (67th overall), joins from Western Michigan University.
"We are thrilled to welcome Emil and Colin to the club," said CITY2 Head Coach, David Critchley. "Both players bring a tremendous amount of talent and potential to our team, and we are excited to see them develop within our system. Their signings mark the beginning of what we believe will be a successful journey with the club, and we can’t wait to see the impact they’ll make both on and off the field."
Jääskeläinen is the son of Jussi Jääskeläinen, a former professional player who made over 436 appearances in the English Premier League and earned 58 caps for his country Finland. Jääskeläinen attended University of Akron where he started all 21 games for the Zips in 2024 and had an NCAA-best 23 goals, eight assists, and 54 points. He led the nation in game-winning goals (6), goals per game (1.10) and points (2.57). Jääskeläinen was selected as the unanimous BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Year, First-Team All-BIG EAST selection, and 2024 MAC Hermann Trophy Finalist.
Welsh grew up in Overland Park, Kansas, and attended Western Michigan University. Welsh started in all 20 of his appearances for WMU, recording 11 wins which tied him for third most in single-season program history, as well as earning four shutouts. During the 2024 season, Welsh had a 0.99 goals-against average, 0.795 save percentage, and tallied 78 saves. Overall, Welsh posted an 11-3-6 record for Western Michigan University in 2024. Before joining WMU, Welsh made 36 appearances for University of Memphis.
Both Jääskeläinen and Welsh trained with the first team in preseason camp before linking up with CITY2.
TRANSACTION: St Louis CITY2 signs forward Emil Jääskeläinen and goalkeeper Colin Welsh to MLS NEXT Pro contracts. Jääskeläinen and Welsh are signed through the end of the 2025 season, both with club options for 2026.
Player Information
Name: Emil Jääskeläinen
DOB: March 16, 2001
Position: Forward
Height: 6’3”
Weight: 190 lbs
Hometown: Bolton, England
Player Information
Name: Colin Welsh
DOB: April 12, 2003
Position: Goalkeeper
Height: 6’2”
Weight: 205 lbs
Hometown: Overland Park, KS
