Sporting Kansas City II announced today that the club has signed Sporting Kansas City Academy players Alex Cunningham and Cielo Tschantret to MLS NEXT Pro amateur contracts.
Cunningham and Tschantret have inked amateur contracts on a single-game basis, preserving their NCAA eligibility, and will be available for selection on Sunday when Sporting Kansas City II travels to face FC Cincinnati 2 at 6 p.m. CT at NKU Soccer Stadium in Newport, Kentucky. The match will stream live on MLSNextPro.com and fans can follow @SportingKCII on Twitter for updates.
Cunningham, a 16-year-old native of Springfield, Missouri, is coming off a strong performance at the Generation adidas Cup where he helped the Sporting KC U-17s to a 4-1-2 record and five shutouts across seven matches. The defender also added an assist in a momentous victory over Mexican side Atlas FC. Cunningham joined the Sporting KC Academy in 2019 as a U-12 player and was part of the Sporting KC U-14 team that was crowned 2021 US Youth Futsal national champions.
Tschantret, 17, joined the Sporting KC Academy ahead of the 2020-21 season after moving to Kansas City from his native Baltimore, Maryland. The defensive midfielder has represented Sporting at the U-15, U-17 and U-19 levels and earlier this spring made four preseason appearances for Sporting KC II. This marks the first time Tschantret has earned an opportunity to compete in MLS NEXT Pro.
Led by head coach and longtime Sporting Kansas City great Benny Feilhaber, Sporting KC II (2-1-1, 8 points) has prevailed in three straight matches and last Friday claimed an emphatic 4-0 road victory over Real Monarchs with goals from Sebastian Cruz, Lucas Rosa, Ethan Bryant and Pau Vidal.