Mc Kinley Tennyson - Professional

Professional

In February 2001, the Columbus Crew selected Tennyson in the 4th round (39th overall) in the 2001 MLS SuperDraft. Tennyson did not sign with Columbus, but moved to Europe where he trained with teams in Germany, Norway, and Sweden. On September 5, 2001, he signed with GIF Sundsvall becoming the first African-American from UCLA to play professional soccer in the Swedish Allsvenskan. On August 17, 2001, the Crew traded the rights to Tennyson to the Los Angeles Galaxy in exchange for a 2002 conditional draft pick. In 2002, Tennyson signed with the Portland Timbers of the USL First Division. That season, Tennyson led the Timbers in scoring with 18 goals and 6 assists in 24 games. This was good enough to lead the USL First Division in points and tied him with Fadi Afash and Eduardo Sebrango as joint goals leader. Tennyson was named to the USL All-Star First Team and earned other league awards. On August 15, 2002, following his successful rookie season, Tennyson signed as a developmental player with the Los Angeles Galaxy. On October 2, 2002, he entered his first game with Galaxy and in Major League Soccer, a playoff game against the Kansas City Wizards. He scored 31 seconds later. Tennyson's fortune continued and the Galaxy went on to win the 2002 MLS Soccer Championship beating the New England Revolution in the final. After unsuccessful negoiations with the Galaxy, Tennyson returned to Portland Timbers for the 2003 USL season. In 2003, his production dropped due to a painful hip injury, which required surgery in the offseason. However, Tennyson still finished with 11 goals and 3 assists in 28 games. In 2004, Tennyson signed a two year contract with the Timbers. Unfortunately, Tennyson could not honor the contract and was forced to retire because of the hip surgery and unsuccessful rehabilitation program. McKinley consulted hip specialist at Santa Monica Orthopaedic & Sports Medicine Group and Orthopaedic Medical Group of San Diego to make his final decision.