Sporting KC signs forward from Blue Valley Northwest. Learn more about him

For the third time in five months, Sporting Kansas City has plucked a player from its academy to bolster the roster.

Sporting KC signed forward Zach Wright to a homegrown contract, the club announced Wednesday.

Wright, 22, has spent the past four years playing collegiately for North Carolina after joining the Sporting KC Academy Under-18 team. He attended Blue Valley Northwest as a senior.

He had 15 goals and 28 assists over his four seasons at North Carolina. He was twice a second team All-Atlantic Coast Conference selection.

The signing — which falls two days before Sporting KC picks twice in the first round of the 2018 MLS SuperDraft — is a one-year guarantee, with team options for 2019, 2020 and 2021.

“Zach showed a lot of improvement at North Carolina after playing for the academy,” Sporting KC director of player personnel Brian Bliss said in a statement. “We are excited for him to start competing with the team during the preseason.”

In the immediate term, Wright figures to provide depth for the Sporting KC front line and potentially see extended playing time with its affiliate, the Swope Park Rangers.

He is the seventh homegrown signing in team history but the third recently. Sporting KC signed forward Gianluca Busio and defender Jaylin Lindsey — both teenagers —to homegrown deals last summer.

All three players are expected to join Sporting KC for preseason, which commences next week in Scottsdale, Ariz.

This story was originally published January 17, 2018 at 1:39 PM with the headline "Sporting KC signs forward from Blue Valley Northwest. Learn more about him."