Our 2024 FC Dallas player recaps continue with Homegrown winger Dante Sealy.
After a strong preseason camp with FC Dallas in Spain, Sealy earned a starting role under former head coach Nico Estevez. After starting and scoring in the season opener (more on that in a second), Sealy went on to start seven more games in a row before struggling to find his place on the roster under interim manager Peter Luccin.
Stat breakdown
Those eight straight starts to begin the season may have been as much due to the strong preseason camp as it was to injuries to guys like Geovane Jesus, Marco Farfan, Paul Arriola or Alan Velasco. Once players like Farfan and Arriola returned to full health, Sealy's role was relegated to the bench.
Once Sealy lost his starting role, he struggled in the moments when he saw the field.

For me, it was his defensive short comings that saw him lose his starting spot. He only won the ball in the opposing third of the field four times. He didn’t track back on defense enough, as he ended up with just 41 recoveries in those 17 matches.
As good as Sealy was to get forward into the attack, he only had 20 shots (seven of those came on target). The majority of his attempts on goal from outside of the penalty area (to be fair, he was one of the primary set piece takers in the early stages of the season).
Highlight
Yeah, we got so excited about his potential season after this goal in the season opener.
This may have been the definition of an overhyped player. Man.
Should we expect him back in 2025?
We always talk about how seeing Homegrown Players being let go is rough. And it is, when you factor all of the time and energy the club has spent putting into the player. Sealy spent years in the academy system before signing a first team contract.
The club thought enough of him to try to give him a spell in Europe on loan. But that didn't pan out for him in the same manner that a loan did for Justin Che or Chris Richards. So, he came home last year, and it appeared that he would do well under Estevez. But once again, it didn't work out for him under Estevez and then again under Luccin.
At the end of the day, it may be time for FC Dallas and Sealy to part ways.
Final thoughts
I’ll admit, I got sucked into the hype for Sealy when the season started. The preseason games I watched either online or in person, he was one of the better players on the field for the team. But for whatever reason, when the bright lights of the regular season were coming down on him, he buckled under that pressure.
Even at 21-years old, I think he still has a bit more maturing to do as a professional before I think any different. His loan in Holland didn’t pan out. His return here ended up being a bit of a mess thanks to a formation shift and a coaching change in 2024.
He’s got the tools to be a good player in this league, but he has to want it more. We didn’t see enough of that hunger from him this season.
Could a different head coach unlock his full potential here? Maybe.
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