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On Friday, just before they’d be needed on the weekend, the Swope Park Rangers announced two new signings from the SKC Academy. They added winger Gyuwon Joshua Chong and defensive midfielder Jahon Rad.
Rad, who is just 17-years-old, is probably a familiar name and there are a couple reasons for that. His twin brother Kaveh Rad is already on an academy contract with SPR. Additionally, Jahon was on a SPR academy contract in 2018 as well and he already made his professional debut.
Rad and his brother moved from the Capital Area RailHawks Academy ahead of the 2016-17 USSDA season. The Rad brothers follow Sporting Kansas City’s tradition of scouting Homegrown territory not assigned to anyone. They are both from North Carolina like Sporting KC’s Gianluca Busio and Jaylin Lindsey.
Chong is just 18-years-old and he’s had two stints with the Sporting KC Academy. Originally he moved to KC from Lynchburg, Virginia in 2013. He rejoined the academy in 2018 and has since made 33 appearances and added seven goals. He’s been on both the U-17s and U-19s since rejoining SKC’s academy.
In between his time with the SKC Academy he played with European Soccer Institute in Kansas. Chong is a Korean American who was born in Seoul, South Korea.
Both Chong and Rad were in the 18 for the Rangers 5-1 loss on Saturday against future MLS expansion club Nashville SC (video highlights). Rad made the start at defensive midfielder with the two primary options, Wan Kuzain Wan Kamal and Ayyoub Allach both out with injuries. Camden Riley has also played that role but was needed at center back with Graham Smith in the lineup with the first team.
Chong was in the 18 but was an unused substitute on Saturday against Nashville. The Rangers are back in action at Children’s Mercy Park on Sunday, May 19, 2019 against Atlanta United 2.
Below is the full Swope Park Rangers roster, not including any loan players from SKC. The average age of the roster as of today is 20 years, one month and six days old.
SPR Roster - 5/13/19
| # | Name | Position | DOB | Prior Club | Joined |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | Name | Position | DOB | Prior Club | Joined |
| 85 | Felipe Hernandez | MID | 6/8/1998 | SKC Academy | 1/6/2017 |
| 49 | Will Little | MID/FB | 4/9/1998 | SKC Academy | 1/6/2017 |
| 77 | Camilo Benitez | Wing | 8/16/1999 | SKC Academy | 2/9/2018 |
| 72 | Justin Bilyeu | LB | 2/3/1994 | New York Red Bulls (MLS) | 5/7/2018 |
| 96 | Wilson Harris | CF | 11/28/1999 | SKC Academy | 7/3/2018 |
| 95 | Rassambek Akhmatov | MID | 5/31/1996 | FC Miami City (USL League Two) | 8/3/2018 |
| 91 | Ethan Vanacore-Decker | FWD | 10/6/1994 | North County United (USL League Two) | 8/10/2018 |
| 98 | Ayyoub Allach | MID | 1/28/1998 | Lierse SK (Belgium) | 1/4/2019 |
| 39 | Jerome Ngom Mbekeli | RW | 9/30/1998 | MFK Vyskov (Czech Republic) | 1/4/2019 |
| 92 | Alexsander Andrade | MID/LB | 9/6/1998 | Athletico Paranaense (Brazil) | 1/31/2019 |
| 43 | Mark Segbers | RB | 4/18/1996 | New England Revolution (MLS) | 2/6/2019 |
| 53 | Killian Colombie | LW | 11/2/1995 | Iona College (New York) | 2/12/2019 |
| 44 | Camden Riley | MID/DEF | 8/20/1996 | University of the Pacific (Cali) | 2/20/2019 |
| 79 | William Opoku Mensah | FWD | 1/3/1996 | Karela United (Ghana) | 3/6/2019 |
| 31 | Brooks Thompson | GK | 6/13/2002 | SKC Academy | 3/7/2019 |
| 60 | Mo Abualnadi* | CB | 2/8/2001 | SKC Academy | 3/8/2019 |
| 64 | Jake Davis* | MID | 1/3/2002 | SKC Academy | 3/8/2019 |
| 80 | Sean Karani* | FWD | 12/14/2000 | SKC Academy | 3/8/2019 |
| 67 | Max Trejo* | GK | 4/10/2002 | SKC Academy | 4/4/2019 |
| 50 | Dylan Hooper* | CB | 11/13/2003 | SKC Academy | 4/4/2019 |
| 48 | Kaveh Rad* | DEF | 6/13/2001 | SKC Academy | 4/4/2019 |
| 47 | Tucker Lepley* | MID | 1/17/2002 | SKC Academy | 4/4/2019 |
| 45 | John Pulskamp | GK | 4/19/2001 | LA Galaxy Academy | 4/5/2019 |
| 54 | Gyuwon Joshua Chung* | FWD | 1/29/2001 | SKC Academy | 5/10/2019 |
| 84 | Jahon Rad* | MID | 6/13/2001 | SKC Academy | 5/10/2019 |