Orlando City continue to sign players to help bolster the roster, ahead of their 2026 campaign and the latest one bolsters an area of the field they need desperately need depth in. Instead of an outside transfer, the team goes back to the draft well to sign Nolan Miller out of Michigan.
Michigan made & back line ready 🛡️
We have signed defender Nolan Miller to a first-team contract ✍️
— Orlando City SC (@OrlandoCitySC) February 4, 2026
Orlando City signed Nolan Miller to a one year deal with 3 option years . This is a great deal for the college draft pick and a good depth piece for Orlando City. So let’s get to know Nolan a bit and how he’ll fit in for Orlando City.
Who is Nolan Miller?
Nolan Miller hails from Troy, Michigan but decided to have a different youth career before joining the Wolverines. He played for Vader U17 MLS Next Academy before making the jump over to the Columbus Crew Academy. He played all the way through the U19 Crew team before making the jump to college.
Miller spent 4 years at the University of Michigan and developed into a really sturdy and reliable center back. As a freshman, Miller jumped right into the Wolverines starting line up and played/started all 16 games for Michigan. He also racked up 3 goals off of 12 shots. His sophomore season was a similar story, where he again played and started all 18 games for the Wolverines and played 1615 minutes.
In his junior year he went back to his goal scoring ways where he not only notched two goals for Michigan but he also played and started all 21 games for the club. To end his college career, he played and started in 20 games and he had 2 goals and 2 assists.
According to American Soccer Analysis, Miller has some pretty nice qualities for a center back but only scored him out at a .48 for total role score. His control (.62) and his shooting quality (.64) are serviceable at the MLS level. He doesn’t have any super low scores, he just has a lower floor compared to other center backs measured.
What does it mean for Orlando City?
With Orlando City signing both Nolan Miller and Harvey Sarajian, the club has made a concerted effort to sign their top two draft picks from this year’s draft class. There’s a reason Orlando City took them, but also that they went so high in this draft. Sarajian was a player with tons of athletic skill and upside. Nolan Miller has an immense amount of minutes throughout college and had a good amount of academy minutes before going to college. He is truly a seasoned senior when it comes to draft picks and Orlando knew what they were getting with a guy that had that many minutes.
He fills the very clear hole of center back depth for this team. They currently only have two on the roster and with the news that Robin Jansson is injured, his importance just skyrocketed. He played a very solid, to even good, game against Lexington in the scrimmage amassing 60 minutes and some lockdown defense. Reports have said that he’s training well and really has adapted to the team quickly. It’s a win-win in the short term.
The question becomes: what piece is he in the long term? With rumors that Iago is on his way to Orlando City, he could find himself buried in the depth chart. This will be his moment when he can prove his worth to the team and give himself a chance to fight for a matchday spot weekly. If it doesn’t work out that way, he will easily slide into OCB where he’ll hone his craft and be ready to make that jump when he’s called upon.
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