Sporting KC Select Defender Franky Martinez in 3rd Round

In the third round of the 2019 MLS SuperDraft, Sporting Kansas City selected central defender Franky Martinez out of the University of Massachusetts Lowell. He is a native of Englewood, New Jersey and played high school soccer at the Academies at Englewood. Before coming to Massachusetts, he played for Iona for his freshman season. He stands 6’1” and weighs 165 pounds.

Over three seasons at UMass Lowell he played in 40 games with 34 starts. He had a single assist over his UMass career. In 2014 as a freshman at Iona he played in 18 games (all starts) and scored a goal. He played for USL League Two side the Boston Bolts during the 2018 season. He only appeared in three games for 181 minutes.

Martinez, if he follows the path of other third and fourth round picks for Sporting KC, is unlikely to even make the team or the Swope Park Rangers. Maybe this year we’ll see players who are interested in signing with the B-Team right away to at least give themselves a shot at making the first team down the road. It will be interesting to see if he at least flies out to Arizona where training started today in Scottsdale.

Center back highlights are pretty thrilling so here you go.