Heralded 15-year-old soccer player signs homegrown pro contract with Sporting KC
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Signed to SKC II deal converting to first-team homegrown in 2027, through 2030-31.
- Debuted for SKC II at 14 years, 251 days; rose from U-14 to U-18 and first-team.
- Dual-national called by Mexico and U.S.; drew interest from clubs like Chivas, América.
Sporting Kansas City has a major prospect coming up through its youth academy. On Thursday, the team announced a move that secures his future in KC as the 15-year-old begins his pro career. Sporting KC has signed Zamir Loyo Reynaga to a deal with Sporting KC II, its second-level squad, that becomes a first-team homegrown contract in the 2027 season. This keeping him under contract with the Major League Soccer club until the 2030-31 seasons, with an option for 2031-32.
Sporting KC president of soccer operations and general manager David Lee said in a team news release that when he first arrived in Kansas City and was evaluating the talent within the club’s system, it became “clear we had a player in Zamir with special talent and high potential.”
Loyo Reynaga debuted with SKC II at age 14 and was regularly playing at the U-18 academy level. He joined Sporting KC for the first phase of preseason training in Florida, too.
He is currently in Cyprus with the U-15 U.S. Youth National Team.
“Zamir is a left-footed attacking midfielder with excellent technical ability and high game intelligence,” Lee said. “He experienced our first-team environment and adapted well to the demands during preseason. Zamir is an example of the tremendous work happening in our Academy, from identifying talent to developing players and young men.”
A dual-national prospect
Loyo Reynaga is eligible to represent both the United States and Mexico as a dual-national prospect and has attended youth training camps with both national teams. The nature of being a dual-national will likely eventually lead to a tug-of-war between the Mexican and U.S. soccer federations for his services.
He represented Mexico at the U-15 level in July, was called up to the U.S. Youth National Team in September and will represent the U.S. again this month.
Multiple sources told The Star that several of Mexico’s largest clubs were vying for Loyo Reynaga’s signature on a future professional contract. Recently, clubs like Chivas and América have done what they can to bring Mexican-American players south of the border.
One example is the transfer of Brian Gutierrez, whose pro debut with the Chicago Fire at age 17 was overseen by former Fire coach (and now Sporting KC’s new head coach) Raphael Wicky. Gutierrez committed to the Mexican National Team just a month after his transfer from Chicago to Chivas for $5 million.
How Loyo Reynaga got to Kansas City
Loyo Reynaga is the youngest player to debut for SKC II, doing so at 14 years and 251 days of age.
That beats out Ian James and Gianluca Busio’s debuts by more than a full calendar year. Loyo Reynaga turned 15 on Jan. 20 of this year.
A native of Las Vegas, Loyo Reynaga joined the academy in 2023 and lived with a host family in the club’s residential program. Quite a few of Sporting KC’s homegrown players have also done this in recent years. He starred in multiple youth tournaments at the U-14 level before being promoted to the U-16 level and excelling at the 2025 Generation adidas Cup, one of the largest international youth tournaments in the world. He was later elevated to U-18 and eventually began training and playing with both Sporting KC II and the Sporting KC first team.
Daniel Sperrry covers soccer for The Star. He can be reached at sperry.danielkc@gmail.com.
This story was originally published February 5, 2026 at 11:11 AM.