SPOKANE, Wash. - Spokane Velocity FC today announced the signings of its first two players, both USL veterans.

Midfielder Morgan Hackworth, who spent the past four seasons with USL Championship side San Diego Loyal SC, and defender Derek Waldeck, most recently spent time with USL League One's One Knoxville SC, will be the first to don the Spokane Velocity FC crest, pending league and federation approval.

Morgan Hackworth was with the Loyal for its entire four-season existence. Before signing with San Diego, Hackworth spent the 2019 season with Memphis 901 FC of the USL Championship. The Philadelphia-area product started his college career at Syracuse, where he played for two seasons before transferring to the University of Akron. As a Zip, Hackworth started in 17 games, and in 2018 was on the team that played in the finals of the NCAA College Cup. During his senior season, Hackworth was named Academic All-MAC selection, CoSIDA Academic All-America nominee, and an Academic All-Ohio honoree.

Hackworth, 26, is the son of former soccer player John Hackworth, now an assistant coach and director of coaching with St. Louis CITY SC of Major League Soccer.

Waldeck played in all 30 games for One Knoxville SC in 2023, starting in 29 of them, and was among the team leaders in minutes played, interceptions, tackles won and duels won. Before that, he had a standout season with the Greenville Triumph SC and played 57 games for North Texas SC across USL League One and MLS NEXT Pro play. Waldeck was a star at Stanford University, where he won two NCAA titles, three Pac-12 Championships and was named to the All-Pac-12 First Team in his senior year. While at Stanford, he set the school record for career starts with 89 and sits at No. 8 in career assists with 22.

Waldeck, 25, hails from Santa Clarita, California. He was drafted #66 by FC Dallas in the 2020 MLS SuperDraft.

When Waldeck and Hackworth team up in Spokane in 2024, it won’t be their first meeting. In 2018, Waldeck's Stanford Cardinal, the defending NCAA Champion, faced off against Hackworth's unseeded Akron Zips in the Elite Eight of the NCAA College Cup. The Zips defeated the Cardinal en route to an appearance in the final game against eventual champion Maryland.

"We are excited to welcome both Morgan and Derek to Spokane Velocity FC," said Head Coach Leigh Veidman. "We have two high-character people joining our club who will be instrumental in the locker room in our first year helping lay the foundations for the future of this club and community. On the pitch, they are both extremely hard-working individuals who bring great quality and experience of what it takes to be successful in the USL with both being involved in playoff teams over multiple years."