Youth infusion arrives at Sporting KC, with more in the offing through MLS SuperDraft

Sporting Kansas City will have a much different — and younger — look Friday morning.

The club signed three academy products Wednesday afternoon and holds three selections in Thursday’s MLS SuperDraft.

And it’s looking less likely by the day that veteran forwards Erik Hurtado and Gerso Fernandes will return, while midfielder Felipe Gutierez has yet to accept the club’s latest contract offer.

Academy products

Kansas City announced the signing of 20-year-old midfielder Grayson Barber, 16-year-old forward Ozzie Cisneros and 18-year-old goalkeeper Brooks Thompson as homegrown players Wednesday afternoon.

The addition means 10 of 26 players currently on the Sporting KC roster spent some time in the club’s academy. The club’s average age ahead of the draft is now 25.

“They’re going to have an opportunity in the senior team to really work for and earn an opportunity to play on the field,” Sporting KC coach Peter Vermes said Wednesday. “And when they do they have to be prepared and take advantage of those opportunities that they get.”

The eldest of the three, Barber, was a member of the Sporting KC Academy from 2015-17 before spending three seasons in college with Clemson. He notched 13 goals and eight assists in 49 appearances, winning the 2020 ACC championship along the way.

Said Vermes, “We’ve been following him all along, and he’s somebody that we think has taken that path and developed into somebody that we think has a chance to make a real impact with a career in MLS.”

The addition of Thompson adds competition to an already talented goalkeeper department behind starter Tim Melia. The 18-year-old Thompson has spent two seasons with Sporting Kansas City II, notching 26 saves with a 1.17 goals-against average through six games in the shortened 2020 season.

The youngest of the trio, forward Cisneros, 16, will make a big jump. He’ll go straight from the academy to a first-team contract. Despite his age, he has featured for the U-19 Sporting KC academy team and in 2018 and 2019 with the U.S. U-15 Boys’ National Team.

“I’m extremely happy to sign a contract with the first team at Sporting KC,” Cisneros said in an interview with the club. “This been a dream of mine ever since I first joined the Academy and I’m ready to work my hardest for the club.”

MLS SuperDraft

Kansas City could add three more players to its roster via the MLS SuperDraft Thursday afternoon. The only drawback: After a solid 2020 season that included a first-place finish in the Western Conference, Sporting picks 50th, 77th and 82nd.

The club has enough space on its first-team roster for all three picks, but it’s unlikely any of them will make an immediate impact.

“Statistically speaking, the players that get drafted these days, it’s very hard for them to have really significant years in year one,” Vermes said.

More likely, players KC selects will join SKC II, the club’s affiliate team in the USL Championship. Their addition to SKC II will also keep roster spots open for any additional signings the club might bring in during the first transfer window.

With the three academy signings, Kansas City has filled 26 of its 28 roster spots. MLS clubs are also allowed to fill 29th and 30th spots if those two players are homegrowns — which Sporting has plenty of. That means the club has effectively filled 26 of 30 roster spots heading into the draft.

“We have the chance of keeping a close eye on the progression of any players that are also playing with that team (SKC II),” Vermes said. “The distance, it’s 20 minutes away that they have to go and train at the other facility or play a game.

“From an overall keeping a good eye on players in our system (standpoint), it makes it a lot easier when the whole pro-player pathway and structure is right in our backyard.”

Vermes said the club is open to trading up in the draft. But combining the uncertainty about players available with the lack of immediate impact drafted players typically have — plus Sporting’s tendency to draft on position rather than best player available — odds of a trade-up aren’t great.

Senior contract negotiations

The futures of forwards Hurtado and Fernandes, as well as midfielder Gutierrez, are uncertain. The club seems to be looking to continue leaning heavily on Khiry Shelton, Alan Pulido and Johnny Russell, as well as emerging talents Cisneros and Wilson Harris, 21.

Vermes said he doesn’t know if Hurtado has signed with another club or not, a statement that indicates Sporting is likely moving on from the 30-year-old.

Sporting also hasn’t been in touch with Fernandes since the Guinean rejected KC’s initial offer at the end of the 2020 season.

“He didn’t accept our offer, so at this moment he’s not on our team anymore, not on our roster,” Vermes said. “What happens there, I can’t answer.

“It’s not as if we’re in touch with him every day, just because he declined the offer that we provided. At this moment, if they wanted to do something different, they would have to reach out to us. It’s in their court.”

The club remains in negotiations with Gutierrez, who missed the 2020 season following season-ending knee surgery. The club and Guttierez have stayed in touch for much of the offseason, with Sporting hoping to avoid paying him a designated-player salary in order to protect itself in the event the Chilean is unable to return to pre-injury form.

“In regards to Gutierez, we’ve put an offer on the table,” Vermes said. “Our expectation is we’re going to hear sooner rather than later whether he’s a ‘yes’ or a ‘no.’”

This story was originally published January 20, 2021 at 5:01 PM with the headline "Youth infusion arrives at Sporting KC, with more in the offing through MLS SuperDraft."