Sporting KC II Sign Midfielder Jake Davis

With the USL Championship set to return in the coming weeks, it was inevitable at that Sporting Kansas City II roster would grow. The club added it’s 19th player for the 2020 season when they announced the signing of United States youth international 18-year-old midfielder Jake Davis.

Davis has played for Sporting KC II (then the Swope Park Rangers) before when he debuted as a pro in 2019 when he was then on an academy contract. This signing will forego his NCAA eligibility to join SKC II. With Sporting II in 2019 Davis made five appearances and added two assists in that time.

He joins a midfield that includes Christian Duke, Camden Riley, Duval Wapiwo, Dillon Serna and 2020 SKC SuperDraft pick Jaret Townsend. With Peter Vermes taking all his healthy bodies to Orlando when the team travels on July 5th, Davis has a strong case to come in and start immediately. He tends to play in one of the two advanced midfield spots, but he has made appearances in multiple positions to get minutes.

Davis is originally from Michigan and joined the SKC Academy in 2017. He lives with a host family but now he’ll be earning a professional wage. As is common practice in the USL, terms of the deal were not disclosed but Davis probably won’t be instantly wealthy. It’s been reported that many USL contracts are between just $8,000 and $32,000 annually, though that number is probably a little dated as they move towards their first Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA). Still, less than 20 players in the whole league make north of $100,000.

The low wages, despite growth, always entails a risk when a player chooses to skip college. Some players, like Wilson Harris (CF) and Kaveh Rad (CB) have committed to universities before ultimately signing pro deals with SKC II. Other promising players like Mo Abualnadi and Sean Karani have headed off to school. It remains to be seen if promising prospect Tucker Lepley, who committed to UCLA, will sign a pro deal or head off to the prestigious university.

Jake Davis though, looks like a promising star who could have a path to the first team through Sporting KC II. He spent a portion of preseason in camp with Kansas City in Tucson, Arizona. That journey will start soon when the USL announces their upcoming abbreviated 15-game schedule for SKC II.

Below are Jake’s vitals, courtesy of SportingKC.com:

Position: Midfielder

Born: 1/3/2002 (18 years old)

Height: 5-10

Weight: 150 lbs.

Hometown: Rochester, Mich.

Birthplace: Rochester, Mich.

Citizenship: USA