Sporting Kansas City is his hometown club. He’s finally realizing his MLS dreams

On a historically frigid Wednesday in February, Sporting Kansas City took the field. Among the starting lineup was a 19-year-old making his professional debut.

Just months earlier, he had been playing ... in college.

That 19-year-old, Jacob Bartlett, is an Overland Park native. Across the way, as Bartlett made the first appearance of his pro career, stood three giants of the game who have combined for nearly 3,000 career appearances.

Bartlett had a unique connection to one.

Bartlett’s earliest soccer memories began on Saturdays in Overland Park. While playing 3v3 kids soccer, he said in an interview with The Star, there was a prize for scoring goals.

“I remember I got a Messi jersey,” Bartlett said. “I think I wore it until it tore in half.”

As a defensive midfielder, receiving yellow cards in games is to be expected. And what do you know, his first yellow card came in his first game.

Who did he foul to receive it? Lionel Messi.

“That was a pretty surreal experience,” Bartlett said. “Looking back at that, it’s pretty incredible I get to say I made my debut against Messi. You couldn’t write it any better.”

Bartlett held his own. And now, after 15 appearances in all competitions since his first-team debut, Bartlett more than holds his own.

“I think every week you kind of get a sense of, ‘All right, I can play here,’” Bartlett said.

He’s played more than he expected to already. But once you learn Bartlett’s story, you understand why it’s come so fast.

Homegrown in Kansas City

Bartlett is the youngest of four siblings, all of whom have played Division I college soccer. Three of the four have realized their pro-soccer dreams.

His oldest brother, Alec, played in the USL for Charlotte Independence. Lucas was taken sixth overall in the 2022 MLS SuperDraft; he has played for FC Dallas, St. Louis City and is now under contract with D.C. United. Grace, who is approaching her senior year at Grand Canyon University, could end up going pro herself.

You can imagine how competitive a simple family game night might get. However, one thing that helped Jacob develop was watching his oldest brother Alec’s career path.

“He’s probably one of the hardest workers I’ve ever seen,” Jacob Bartlett said. “To be honest, he had one up-and-down path throughout his whole career. But he never stopped grinding.”

Jacob credited Alec with helping set the tone for the rest of the siblings, who have also had to follow suit and work hard for their opportunities.

“I don’t think people fully understand what it takes,” Bartlett said. “The amount of work, the amount of hours, the amount of dedication, the sacrifices, missing family time, missing friend time.

“… Lucas, Alec, my sister, they kept me on the right path the whole time and helped me understand that if I truly want this, this is what has to happen.”

Sporting KC’s Center of Excellence

In 2016, Sporting Kansas City launched the Center of Excellence as part of its pre-academy training for players age 11 (now 12) and under.

“When we started in 2016, we really set a high standard in terms of expectations for the players and the reason why they’re there,” Sporting KC academy director Declan Jogi told The Star. “The message was always, ‘You’re here because you want to be a pro, not because you want to be in the Center of Excellence.’”

In doing so, Sporting KC upholds a standard at the center that mirrors the professional ranks, including classic uniform requirements like the height of a player’s socks.

The training sessions themselves are fast-paced, intensive and involve a significant amount of technical work. Jogi says the expectations are high.

“They should put maximum effort, maximum energy and maximum focus at all times when they’re there with us,” Jogi said. “That was an environment we created. Some players thrived in it, and some players didn’t.”

Bartlett said his time in the center was formative, teaching him the discipline it takes and details of what a pro’s life is actually like.

“I think when I joined the academy initially,” Bartlett recalled, “there’s a standard of maturity and discipline you have to follow from such a young age that ... not only helped me on the field but off the field immensely.

“I think I grew up very fast because of the standard they try to keep each kid to.”

Jacob Bartlett’s path

Once Jacob joined the academy, it wasn’t a straight line to success. Players like Jake Davis, Gianluca Busio and even Ian James and Jack Kortkamp all played up in their age groups. At 14, they featured with the Under-16s or U17s.

Bartlett never played up an age group. Jogi called Bartlett’s path a “slow burner.”

“(He) came to work every day, worked really hard, put maximum focus, maximum effort, maximum energy every day,” Jogi said, “every time he was at the facility.”

Bartlett was still plenty talented.

“He thrived on the technical elements of the game and he loved the technical work. And he threw himself into it,” Jogi said. “I think you see that now on the field: The first touch and his passing ability is elite. It’s exceptional.”

Bartlett, too, was undersized for a while. But in 2023, he grew into his body a bit more and was invited to preseason training with the first team. He doesn’t think he was much of a prospect at that moment but saw it as an opportunity.

The academy’s saying, according to Jogi, is that opportunity is not a lengthy visitor, and it comes when you least expect it.

“I saw it as an opportunity to show what I can do,” Bartlett said. “... I tried to make the most of it. Go in there, work my butt off, do everything I could. Stay after, get in early, and I would say that by the next preseason (2024) I started playing on the second team. ... I think that’s where it started to pick up for me.”

It did. Bartlett made the impression, and by the next preseason (after a year at Notre Dame) he was offered a homegrown deal.

He got that call from his parents — revealing Sporting was presenting him with a pro contract — during finals week.

Their advice?

“If this truly is what you what you want to do ...” Bartlett recalled hearing. “Obviously, you’re going to finish school. That’s for sure. But if this is what you want to do, we fully support your decision no matter what.’”

Bartlett said there wasn’t a wrong decision, because he had the backing of his family. But he felt his choice was a no-brainer.

“This is what I’ve been chasing since I first started playing soccer,” he said. “And for it to be on the table, I had to take it.”

After he said yes to the contract, he hung up the phone and went to “The Grotto” at Notre Dame. The Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes is a rock cave used as a space for prayer and meditation, as well as outdoor mass at the Catholic university.

Bartlett said his faith helps him stay centered and grounded. He said a few prayers and had a special moment.

Months later, he tackled Messi, picked up a yellow card and got his career off to a running start.

Making the Sporting KC first team

With Kerry Zavagnin holding the interim manager role, Bartlett hasn’t missed a game yet.

Even in Sporting KC’s emotional 3-3 draw with New England a few weeks back, Bartlett played despite being sick most of the week.

He put in a strong performance, winning almost all of his duels and making the necessary tackles while completing 39 of 44 passing attempts.

He followed that up with another stellar game in Houston, credited with 16 defensive actions while completing over 80% of his passes again.

Zavagnin has seen Bartlett’s growth — and expects more to come.

“He’s a very cerebral player,” Zavagnin said. “He takes on information extremely well, and when you have that piece, or that idea of understanding the game and learning from your mistakes, your progression is a lot quicker. And we’ve seen that.”

Along with some of the other rising homegrown talent and recent additions, Bartlett is seen as part of an emerging young core at Sporting KC.

Other names include goalkeeper John Pulskamp, fan favorite Jake Davis and young defender Jansen Miller.

“I couldn’t feel better about the names that you just mentioned,” Zavagnin said. “I know a strong core is the key to sustaining long-term success and making a run at it in this league. So to have that comfort, knowing that you have a strong group of young players who are available week in and week out, sets you up for success.”

This story was originally published June 12, 2025 at 3:02 PM.