PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
2014 (Crew/Dayton): Made one appearance -- a substitute appearance -- in the midfield during the Crew’s 2014 season before being placed on season-ending injured reserve on July 18 surrounding a hip surgery ... made two appearances -- including one start -- for the Dayton Dutch Lions of USL-PRO on a game-by-game loan ... appeared for Dayton against the New York Red Bulls Reserves (March 30) and then started against Sacramento Republic FC (May 25) ... missed the Crew matches at Sporting KC (May 4), at Houston (May 7) against Vancouver (May 10) and at Portland (May 17) with a left groin strain ... made his MLS debut in a substitute appearance in the match at Toronto FC (May 31) ... was placed on season-ending injured reserve on July 18 with a left hip impingement/labral tear with surgery on July 23 ... Baiden did not make an appearance in the 2014 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.
COLLEGE EXPERIENCE
Baiden (pronounced: “Fee-fee” “BAY-den”), the holding midfielder, recorded two goals and four assists in 76 games played – including 63 starts – during his college career at University of California Santa Barbara. A 2013 preseason All-American, Baiden was named to the All-Big West Second Team following his senior season and was the only holding midfielder listed in Top Drawer Soccer’s list of top 10 midfielders in the country. As a junior, Baiden earned All-Big West First Team honors for his defensive play in the UCSB midfield.
YOUTH AND CLUB EXPERIENCE
Born in Accra, Ghana, Baiden played with the Santa Barbara Soccer Club U-19 Gold squad and was a finalist at the 2010 National Cup. He assisted in leading the club to the 2009 OC Classic Kickoff Championship, the 2009 Nike Harvest Cup finals, the 2008 Hawaii International Cup Championship and the 2008 Copa Real Cup finals.
Baiden played at Dunn School in Los Olivos, Calif. and was named his club’s Most Valuable Player in his final three seasons.
ACQUIRED
Baiden was selected with the fourth pick of the Third Round (42nd overall) in the 2014 MLS SuperDraft, agreed to terms on Feb. 14, 2014.
PERSONAL
Baiden is the son of Anna Baiden and Jones Mensah. He studied sociology in school and would eventually want to go back and study more economics as he loves numbers and math. Born in Ajumako, Ghana, he is the only member of his family here in the U.S. after playing at The Right to Dream Academy in Ghana in 2007. During the summer of 2013, he spent two and a half weeks at an orphanage helping underprivileged kids, discussing soccer and hard work. His favorite book is The Bible and enjoys reading the news and fiction as well. In his spare time, Baiden enjoys talking to his family, hanging out with friends and watching comedy movies. His go-to flick is “The Other Guys.” A fan of Steven Gerrard, Baiden supports Liverpool as his favorite non-MLS club. Baiden’s favorite type of music is Ghanaian music and his favorite vacation destination would be Hawaii. His favorite soccer memory is from his freshman year of college facing UCLA in front of 18,000 fans and winning 1-0 with the crowd storming the field. Baiden speaks Twi (Ghanaian language) as well as English fluently.