Sporting KC signs homegrown defender from Rockhurst High School

Sporting Kansas City locked up another player from its proverbial backyard.

The club signed defender Matt Lewis to a homegrown contract Monday. The deal spans only one guaranteed season, with yearly club options for 2019, 2020 and 2021.

Lewis, 21, attended Rockhurst High School before playing four seasons with Fordham. He is the eighth homegrown signing in Sporting KC history and the second this month. Forward Zach Wright joined the team as a homegrown player last week.

“Matt is a former academy player who continued to develop and improve throughout his successful college career at Fordham,” Sporting KC director of player personnel Brian Bliss said in a news release.

Lewis will join Sporting KC for preseason camp, which commenced Monday in Scottsdale, Ariz. In the immediate term, he will serve as a depth piece, with a potential assignment to play with the Swope Park Rangers this summer.

He started 84 matches at Fordham, the most in program history. Lewis recorded five goals and four assists in his final two seasons, and last season he helped Fordham reach the Elite Eight for the first time. He was the Atlantic 10 defensive player of the year as a senior.

His roots trace back to the Sporting KC Academy, securing his homegrown status. Wright, who was born in Kansas City, was the captain for the Sporting U-18 team during the 2013-14 season. He was a finalist for the academy’s youth player of the year in 2014.

This story was originally published January 22, 2018 at 4:27 PM with the headline "Sporting KC signs homegrown defender from Rockhurst High School."