Sporting KC signs rising 15-year-old dual national defender to homegrown contract
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Sporting KC signed 15-year-old Luca Antongirolami to an SKC II contract through 2030.
- Antongirolami’s SKC II contract becomes a first-team homegrown deal in 2027 season.
- The 6-foot defender joined the Sporting KC Academy at age 10 and debuted for SKC II.
Sporting Kansas City is preparing another teenage star for the highest ranks of American professional soccer.
On Monday, the team announced the signing of 15-year-old defender Luca Antongirolami to a contract with Sporting KC II, its second-level squad. He’ll be under contract through 2030, with club options to sign him over the next two seasons. The pact becomes a first-team homegrown contract in the 2027 season.
Antongirolami is the second-youngest player to debut for SKC II, first appearing with the team in February. Sporting signed its youngest SKC II debutant, Zamir Loyo Reynaga, to a similar contract in February.
The signings of the two youngest SKC II debutants in club history signify Sporting’s emphasis on developing standout youth to ultimately play for the first team. Academy products Gianluca Busio, Jake Davis and Ian James, among others, are examples of players who successfully made it from the academy to SKC’s starting XI.
Antongirolami, who holds American and Italian citizenship, joined the Sporting KC Academy at age 10 in 2021 and quickly rose through the program. The Kansas City native appeared for the U-18 team throughout the 2025-26 MLS NEXT season before making his SKC II debut.
A 6-foot central defender, Antongriolami started six of his eight appearances for SKC II this season and was also tabbed for the 2026 MLS NEXT All-Star Game. In a statement, Sporting KC president and general manager David Lee described him as a “left-footed central defender who shows excellent tactical and technical understanding” and a player with “extremely high potential”.
He’s captained SKC youth teams in tournaments and plays regularly for the U.S. Youth National Teams, recently appearing at the Vertex Cup with the U-16s in April. Antongirolami also trained with Sporting KC’s first team during the 2026 preseason and has competed in two Generation adidas Cup tournaments with the SKC Academy, including as a U-16s captain at the prestigious youth event this year.
Last year, he helped Sporting’s U-15s reach the 2025 MLS NEXT Cup Playoffs. Antongirolami’s father, Giorgio, is a former soccer pro and has been on the Rockhurst University men’s soccer coaching staff since 2000.
“We are delighted that Luca and his family have made the decision to continue his development and begin his professional career with Sporting KC,” Lee said in a statement. “Luca impressed during preseason and has already played with SKC II this season while being a regular member of the U.S. Youth National Teams, showing a high level of quality for a player his age.”
