Tayvon Brown who of late has created quite a buzz has now inked his first pro deal. Tayvon informed "I'm very excitied to sign with New York CIty FC. I'm a Bronx kid and this is my hometown team, so to start my professional career in New York City is a dream come true." There is now a quartet of Academy products on the first team, although one, Joe Scally of Lake Grove is signed elsewhere. NYCFC Sporting Director David Lee had this to say "Tayvon's been in in our Academy for the past few years and has really developed over the last 18 months and we couldn't be more excited for him to join our First Team and be with us for the future." Gray has been key with the the NYCFC Academy since 2017 and the U-17's. In 2019 he was also a big part of the U-19 team as they reached the pinnacle again, as the first team to go back-to-back with USSDA Titles. Sam Pugsley, Academy Dir. for NYCFC stated "Tayvon's pathway to professional soccer is a great success story. Over the years, with Rodrigo Marion & Matt Pinklington's coaching, guidance and leadership on the field day-to-day, he really matured and got to the point he's at today". Gray was of course among the 5 Academy players in pre season go to Abu Dhabi and would train with the first team often throughout the season. With the U-17 USNT, Gray started a pair of games in the just completed World Cup in Brazil.