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Hidden in the announcement, which will rightfully get all the attention, of the stunning moves that Sporting Kansas City made, SKC II announced a slew of roster decisions. As is usual for the USL Championship (though Sporting KC II are set to play in MLS D3 next year), the roster turnover is heavy.
First, the good news. Sporting KC II announced they signed new deals with Jahon Rad (20) and Aljaz Dzankic (19) and are in negotiations to bring back Enoch Mushagalusa (22). J. Rad is the twin brother of Sporting KC center back Kaveh Rad. Mushagalusa led the team in scoring and started to come into his own in 2021. Dzankic is a young and promising CB who didn’t get to show much this past season.
Additionally, the team announced they are working to sign left back Isaiah LeFlore (18) to a pro contract. He was on an SKC Academy deal this past season but featured extensively.
On the other end, SKC II announced that veteran Christian Duke, former US Youth International Danny Barbir and backup goalkeeper Remi Prieur are out of contract. Additionally, the team held options but declined them for Matt Constant, Petar Cuic, Ropapa Mensah, Jamil Roberts and Rojay Smith.
Roberts and Constant were 2021 SKC draft picks but signed with the second team. Petar Cuic had been on loan from Dinamo Zagreb II in Croatia which was set to end at the conclusion of this season, so possibly this was simply a declining of a potential purchase option.
The club also confirmed that three players who have played a portion of 2021 on Academy deals have left for college. Gavin Krenecki, Bailey Sparks and Max Trejo are all off to school and could be eligible for Homegrown deals in the future.
Additionally, the team had seven players on amateur Academy contracts that remain age eligible for 2022 and could be re-signed in the future: Mataeo Bunbury, Daniel Gutierrez, Dylan Hooper, Coby Jones, Michael Lenis, Zion Long and Jayvin Van Deventer.
That leaves just J. Rad and Dzankic officially under contract with Mushagalusa and LeFlore in negotiations. Of course some of the SKC Academy players will no doubt be loaned out and Sporting Kansas City will send first team players down on loan. With the new MLS division three league set to begin play in 2022, the rules will surely be different too, which we’ll find out more on as we approach the start of that league year.