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Sporting Kansas City added another teenager to the team. The club announced they have signed 15-year-old forward Tyler Freeman as a Homegrown Player. Freeman is the tenth Homegrown Player signed from the Sporting KC Academy and will be officially added to the roster prior to the 2019 season. Freeman’s contract will run through 2022 with an option for 2023.
At just 15 years and 266 days, Freeman becomes the second-youngest signing in team history and ninth-youngest in MLS. Fellow Academy product, Gianluca Busio was 15 years and 89 days old when he signed last season.
Freeman, a native of Shawnee, Kansas entered the Sporting KC Academy in 2014 at age 11. His play with the Sporting KC Academy earned Freeman several calls to represent the United States at the U-14, U-16 and U-17 levels.
”This is an exciting day for Tyler Freeman, his family and for Sporting Kansas City,” said Sporting KC Manager Peter Vermes via press release. “Our decision to sign Tyler demonstrates the investment we have made in our professional pathway, and it’s great to see a young attacking player take a big step forward at our club. We look forward to helping him reach his potential, and we believe that he has an incredible environment, culture and support system around him that will propel his future in the direction of being a successful player at Sporting KC.”
The player pipeline that Peter Vermes has envisioned seems to be picking up speed with two Homegrown Players signed last year and four this year. Daniel Salloi has become a regular in the starting lineup for Sporting KC while Jaylin Lindsey, Kuzain and Busio have all been needed and contributed valuable minutes for this year.
All-Time Sporting KC Homegrown Players
- 2010 - Goalkeeper Jon Kempin
- 2011 - Defender Kevin Ellis
- 2013 - Defender Erik Palmer-Brown
- 2016 - Forward Daniel Salloi *
- 2017 - Midfielder Gianluca Busio *
- 2017 - Defender Jaylin Lindsey *
- 2018 - Defender Matt Lewis
- 2018 - Forward Zach Wright
- 2018 - Midfielder Wan Kuzain Wan Kamal *
- 2018 - Forward Tyler Freeman