Hartford Athletic Sign Former USL MVP Hadji Barry
The addition of the 2021 Golden Boot winner has been rumored for some time, and now it's official
Hartford Athletic announced the signing of forward Hadji Barry. Barry arrives following the sale of Mamadou Dieng to Minnesota United, and is also the fourth addition that Brendan Burke has made in recent weeks, alongside defenders Baboucarr Njie, Owen Presthus, and goalkeeper John Berner.
Barry previous played for Burke in Colorado Springs during the 2021 and 2022 seasons, where he racked up numerous individual accolades, including the Golden Boot and the USL MVP in 2021. He also played alongside current Latic Michee Ngalina there, with the two combining for 63 goals and 21 assists across the two seasons.
Born in Conakry, Guinea, Barry moved to the United States as a teenager, living in Rochester, New York, where he attended high school and then Monroe Community College. He later attended the University of Central Florida, where he scored 12 goals in 33 appearances across two seasons for the Knights.
Upon completing his college career, he was drafted 13th overall by Orlando City in the 2016 MLS SuperDraft. Over the following two seasons, he made a handful of appearances in MLS without scoring a goal, as well as with Orlando City B in the USL, where he scored 14 times in 28 appearances. He also received his first Player of the Week award in 2017, following a week in which he scored three times across two games against Ottawa Fury and Charlotte Independence.
After departing Orlando City at the conclusion of the 2017 season, Barry signed with Swope Park Rangers, as Sporting Kansas City II was then known. It was a breakout season for the forward, who scored 17 goals in the regular season as Rangers ran to the Western Conference semifinals in the playoffs, before falling to Phoenix Rising. Barry was named to the USL all-league second team for his performance that season as well.
At the conclusion of 2017, he signed with Ironi Kiryat Shmona of the Israeli Premier League on what was originally announced as 2.5 year contract. After 14 appearances in which he scored three times, however, he parted ways with the Israeli side to return to the USL Championship, this time joining Ottawa Fury. In a further 17 appearances across all competitions, he scored six times, including a hat-trick against Hartford Athletic.
Following the 2019 season, when Ottawa Fury ceased operations, Barry moved to North Carolina FC. The pandemic-shortened 2020 season was not a good one as he scored only one goal and was largely out of the lineup by the end of the season.
Following NCFC’s decision to drop down to League One for the 2021 season, Barry was again in need of a new club. After taking some time to contemplate his options, he joined Colorado Springs Switchbacks towards the end of January and never looked back.
Over the 2021 season, Barry scored 25 goals, tying what was at that time a single-season record for the USL Championship, and racked up a number of honors in addition to the Golden Boot. Named the league MVP for that season, he was by default an all-league first-teamer, and claimed one Player of the Week win alongside four additional Team of the Week honors and two Player of the Month wins as well.
Barry remained with the Switchbacks for the 2022 season, and while he wasn’t quite as dominant, he still scored 16 league goals, was named to the Team of the Week twice, and was an all-league second-team selection. His contributions came in a shortened season, as he did not play for Colorado Springs after September 17th, missing their final four regular season games as a move to Future FC of the Egyptian Premier League was concluded.
Terms of that deal were not disclosed, but at the time, it was announced as the largest fee received for a player in USL Championship history. The move started with a bang, with Barry scoring on his debut but then things went downhill, and he missed an extended period of time after undergoing knee surgery. Another goal on his return to action in 2024 was promising, but he ultimately parted ways with the club at the conclusion of the 2023-24 season.
Barry had been available since then, and a move to Hartford was initially rumored in the past offseason, with his name coming up as a potential replacement if Mamadou Dieng was sold before the beginning of the 2025 Championship season. With Dieng remaining in Hartford — and funds apparently limited — Burke’s additions at forward went in a different direction.
The sale of Dieng to Minnesota less than two weeks ago reignited speculation, however, with Burke strongly hinting that Barry would be brought in to reinforce the attack. After a victory in El Clamico, Burke said that he was hoping to wrap up a move for a veteran forward in the coming week, and while that didn’t quite come to pass, Barry is now under contract and should be available to take the pitch for the Latics soon.
Hartford Athletic return to action on Wednesday night when they host Indy Eleven in a game that was rescheduled from earlier this year.