Maximiliano "Max" Trejo (TRAY-hoe) (born April 10, 2002) is a Mexican-American professional soccer player who is the starting goalkeeper for the NCAA Division I (D-I), Big Ten athletic conference member Ohio State Buckeyes men's soccer team.
A native of Mexico City, Mexico, Trejo migrated from Mexico to Miami, Florida, and ultimately landed in Lawrence, Kansas, where he grew up, applied, and was accepted at Sporting Kansas City Academy. This led Trejo to his first appearance as a professional soccer player with Sporting Kansas City II (a team once known as Swope Park Rangers that was a member of the Division II professional soccer league USL Championship (USLC) and is now a member team of Division III pro league team MLS NEXT Pro).
Career
Training and professional play
Trejo was 14 years old when he began training at Sporting Kansas City Academy in 2016 and made his professional goalkeeping debut with Sporting Kansas City II (then known as Swope Park Rangers) in a home match at Children's Mercy Park in Kansas City, Kansas against Bethlehem Steel (later known as Philadelphia Union II) on April 6, 2019 when he was 16 years old. Trejo would go on to start one more match as keeper for the Swope Park Rangers on September 25, 2019 against Loudon United FC at Segra Field in Leesburg, Virginia. Trejo then continued his career by joining Kaw Valley FC.
Ohio State and intercollegiate play
2021
Trejo accepted an offer from Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio, to become a student-athlete, major in sport industry, and play for the Buckeyes men's soccer team. The team's head coach Brian Maisonneuve described Trejo as "an excellent goalkeeper," noting Trejo's "organizational skills are great and he gives confidence to his entire back line. He will have a great collegiate career and more." However, Trejo did not appear in a match during the 2021 season as a freshman and was redshirted.
2022
Trejo was a redshirt freshman for the 2022 Buckeyes men's soccer season, and on September 13, 2022, Trejo served as starting goalkeeper for the Buckeyes making his D-1 debut in a match at the University of Akron with the Buckeyes pulling out a 3–3 draw. In Trejo's second start at keeper, against the eventual 2022 NCAA national champion runner-up, Indiana University, on September 18, 2022, the Buckeyes won the match 2–1 earning Trejo the first victory of his D-1 career and his first home victory at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium (JOMS) In Trejo's third starting appearance, the match ended in a nil-nil draw at Cleveland State University on September 21, 2022, earning Trejo the first shutout of his D-1 career. In Trejo's fourth consecutive start and his final appearance as keeper for the season, the then #13 Ohio State men's soccer team played against the then #9 men's soccer team, the University of Maryland in College Park, Maryland, falling 0–1 from a second half Maryland goal on September 25, 2022. Trejo's official D-I keeping record for the 2022 season had him with 3 saves in 4 appearances (all 3 saves against ranked opponents) and he stood at 1 win, 1 loss, and 2 draws (1–1–2).
2023
Trejo is the starting goalkeeper for the 2023 Buckeyes men's soccer season and a redshirt sophomore. The team played two pre-season home exhibition matches against the University of Oakland on August 15, 2023, and the University of Dayton on August 19, 2023. The first match of the 2023 Buckeyes men's soccer season, and Trejo's first official appearance as the team's starting goalkeeper, was a home contest on August 24, 2023 versus California State University – Northridge (CSUN). The Buckeyes began the season unranked in the pre-season D-1 United Soccer Coaches Top 25 poll. However, Big Ten men's soccer head coaches project the Buckeyes to finish their season as the third best team in the conference (behind #1 Maryland and #2 Indiana) in the Big Ten pre-season men's soccer poll. Trejo is "super excited" and positive regarding the 2023 season, hopeful to be "getting a ring" this season with the team "winning the (Big Ten) conference, maybe winning the (Big Ten) tournament as well."