Sporting Kansas City roster cuts include team captain and former MLS playoff hero
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Sporting KC declined options for key veterans and released six out of contract players.
- General manager David Lee kept four options and left 18 roster spots open for 2026.
- Notable departures include captain Erik Thommy, Logan Ndenbe and Khiry Shelton.
Sporting Kansas City’s 2025 season came to a quiet halt last Saturday.
Now, newly hired general manager David Lee is working to create a more prosperous 2026 for the Major League Soccer franchise. Sporting KC on Thursday announced its end-of-season roster moves, and a few herald serious change for a team that managed to win just seven MLS matches this year.
Among the players who will not be brought back in 2026 are Erik Thommy, the 2025 team’s captain, and mainstays Khiry Shelton and Logan Ndenbe.
Thommy, Shelton & Ndenbe: out
Thommy, a German national, had made 120 appearances for Sporting KC since July 2022, scoring 20 goals and assisting 18 times across all competitions.
Ndenbe, meanwhile, had made 90 appearances on the Sporting KC back line since his January 2022 arrival in Kansas City. He scored three goals here, including two in a 2023 MLS playoff game against St. Louis City.
Shelton appeared in a total of 191 matches in two stints with Sporting KC across all competitions. He scored 15 goals and provided 18 assists during that time.
Of the 17 total Sporting KC roster spots that were up for decision at the end of the season, the club exercised player options for just four. Sporting KC is also negotiating to bring back two other players.
Contract options exercised for 4
The club exercised contract options on Stephen Afrifa, Zorhan Bassong, Jansen Miller and John Pulskamp, while declining options for Tim Leibold, Nemanja Radoja, Ryan Schewe, Shelton and Mason Toye.
Loan spells for Alan Montes and Santiago Muñoz have concluded and Sporting KC will continue to negotiate with Schewe and Muñoz.
In addition, six players are out of contract and will not be brought back: Thommy, Ndenbe, Andrew Brody, Joaquin Fernandez, Memo Rodriguez and Robert Voloder.
Sporting KC competed with just 25 players on its roster for most of the year, five short of the maximum. That leaves 18 open roster spots going into the 2026 season.
The team also has four open “premium” roster spots, with the possibility of adding either another designated player and three U-22 initiative players or four U-22 initiative players.
Sporting KC’s current 2026 roster
So where does all of this leave Sporting KC ahead of the 2026 MLS season?
Well, at present the Sporting KC roster includes just 12 players:
Goalkeepers: Jack Kortkamp, John Pulskamp
Defenders: Ian James, Jansen Miller
Midfielders: Jacob Bartlett, Zorhan Bassong, Jake Davis, Manu Garcia
Forwards: Stephen Afrifa, Dejan Joveljic, Daniel Salloi, Shapi Suleymanov.
Daniel Sperry covers soccer for The Star. He can be reached at sperry.danielkc@gmail.com.