| Position: | Midfielder |
| Height: | 6’0″ |
| Weight: | 170 lbs |
| Age: | 29 |
| DOB: | 12/23/1991 |
| Hometown: | São Paulo, Brazil |
| Previous Club: | Philadelphia Union |
| Pronunciation: | lee-o fr-nan-dez |
Leo Fernandes first signed with the Tampa Bay Rowdies on January 18, 2017, making him the longest tenured Rowdies player on the roster.
Fernandes, has notched 12 goals and 16 assists for the Rowdies as a perennial threat down the left side of the midfield.
Fernandes arrived in Tampa Bay after spending the previous four seasons with Major League Soccer’s Philadelphia Union. Born in Brazil but raised in New York, Fernandes attended Stony Brook University before being drafted with the 62nd overall pick in the 2013 MLS Supplemental Draft by Philadelphia. He played for amateur sides Brooklyn Knights and Reading United while in college.
Fernandes made his first team debut for the Union in 2013 before being sent on loan to the USL’s Harrisburg City Islanders, making 10 appearances for the Islanders in 2013 and 2014. Fernandes was loaned to the NASL’s New York Cosmos in 2015 and immediately became an impact player for New York, scoring eight goals in 28 appearances. He was voted NASL Young Player of the Year in 2015.
In 2016, he split time between the Union and Bethlehem Steel in the USL.
