American defender Donovan Pines has joined Barnsley of England’s third-tier League One, leaving Major League Soccer’s D.C. United after four seasons.
The 25-year-old agreed to a 1 1/2-year contract that includes a team option for 2025-26, the club said Saturday. Terms were not disclosed.
Pines played at River Hill and the University of Maryland before signing with D.C. United in 2019 as a homegrown player. The 6-foot-5 center back, who is the son of unversity president Darryll J. Pines, made 21 league appearances last year and matched his career high with three goals. His base salary was $200,000, according to MLS Players Association data.
Pines and D.C. United engaged in contract talks during the summer, according to The Washington Post, but “D.C. is going through a lot of changes at the moment,” Pines’ agent, Mike Senkowski, said in October. “We had some level of engagement in the summer, but it seems their focus is on the GM/coaching search, which is fair to them.”
Ally Mackay was hired as D.C. United general manager in November, and Troy Lesesne replaced Wayne Rooney as coach on Wednesday, two months after Lesesne was fired by the New York Red Bulls.
Pines has played twice for the United States, both in the group stage of the 2021 CONCACAF Gold Cup.
Baltimore Sun staff contributed to this article.