Theodore Ku-DiPietro

Theodore "Ted” Ku-DiPietro (born January 28, 2002) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a midfielder for Major League Soccer club D.C. United.

Early life
Ku-DiPietro was born on January 28, 2002, in Oakton, Virginia. He attended Oakton High School in Vienna, Virginia, where he was a standout soccer player. In 2018, as a sophomore, he was named first-team all-state. Ku-DiPietro is of Chinese descent through his mother, and Polish and German descent through his father. "DiPietro" is the last name of his adoptive Italian grandfather.

Loudoun United
Ku-DiPietro played his first professional game with Loudoun United FC, on June 28, 2019, in a 2–1 win over Atlanta United 2. Ku-DiPietro scored his first-ever professional goal in his first season with Loudoun United FC, on September 25, 2019, in the 68th minute of the team's 4–1 win over the Swope Park Rangers. Ku-DiPietro also received his first-ever red card in the same match.

Ku-DiPietro signed his first professional contract with Loudoun on January 7, 2020.

D.C. United
After appearing three seasons with Loudoun, Ku-DiPietro became the 17th homegrown player to sign for D.C. United. In the opening match of the 2023 season, he scored his first goal for the club – the game-winning goal in a 3–2 comeback victory over Toronto. After coming on as a second-half substitute, Ku-DiPietro assisted on Christian Benteke's game-tying goal in the 90th minute before scoring himself. As a result, he was named to Major League Soccer's Team of the Matchday for week one.

International career
Due to having a mix of German, Chinese, Polish and Italian ancestry while being born in the United States, Ku-DiPietro is eligible to play for one of five different national teams, including: the United States, Germany, China, Poland and Italy.

He was called up to the United States U-23 team for the 2023 Pan American Games in Chile, and scored his first international goal as the United States came from behind to beat Honduras 2–1.

Personal life
Ku-DiPietro was born into a family of nine children, and six (including himself) have played soccer at least at the youth level. His older brother, Michael, played for the Marymount Saints men's soccer team before graduating with a Business Administration degree. His younger sister, Hope, signed a letter of intent to play with the George Washington Colonials women's soccer team in the Fall 2023 season.