15-year-old from Shawnee signed by Sporting KC

Sporting Kansas City announced Tuesday that the club has signed 15-year-old forward Tyler Freeman as a homegrown player.

Freeman, who has inked an MLS contract through 2022 with an option for 2023, will be added to the Sporting KC roster ahead of the 2019 season.

A native of Shawnee, Kansas, Freeman becomes the second-youngest signing in club history and the ninth-youngest MLS player ever at 15 years and 266 days.

“This is an exciting day for Tyler Freeman, his family and for Sporting Kansas City,” Sporting KC manager Peter Vermes said. “Our decision to sign Tyler demonstrates the investment we have made in our professional pathway, and it’s great to see a young attacking player take a big step forward at our club. We look forward to helping him reach his potential, and we believe that he has an incredible environment, culture and support system around him that will propel his future in the direction of being a successful player at Sporting KC.”

Freeman entered the Sporting KC Academy in 2014 at age 11 and has represented his hometown club at the U-12 through U-19 levels. He is also a United States youth international, having competed for the U-14, U-16 and U-17 national teams over the last two years.

Freeman made an immediate impact upon joining Sporting KC’s youth ranks, leading the U-12s at the 2015 Generation adidas Cup in Frisco, Texas – where he scored a brilliant goal that garnered coverage from ESPN – before winning Kansas State Cup titles in 2015 and 2016 with the U-13s.

In August 2016, Freeman propelled the Sporting KC U-13s to a fourth-place finish at the CONCACAF U-13 Champions League in Mexico City, scoring three goals at the marquee club tournament. He spent most of the 2016-17 U.S. Soccer Development Academy season with the Sporting KC U-14s, also playing periodically for a U-16 side that reached the Development Academy quarterfinals for the first time.

The 2017-18 campaign saw Freeman score four goals in 19 league appearances for the Sporting KC U-17s, who qualified for the Development Academy playoffs with a third-place finish in the Frontier Division. He has featured for both the U-17s and U-19s in the early stages of the 2018-19 Development Academy season.

On the international stage, Freeman earned his first selection to the U.S. U-14 Boys’ National Team for a training camp in November 2016. The following June in Zagreb, Croatia, he led the U.S. U-14s with a team-best four goals in friendlies against Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and club team Dinamo Zagreb.

Freeman has enjoyed a breakthrough year at the international level. He competed for the U.S. U-16s in April at the prestigious Torneo Delle Nazioni in Italy, contributing to a pair of group stage wins over Macedonia and Croatia before scoring in a 1-1 semifinal draw against Slovenia that the U.S. lost on penalties.

He started in the third-place match against Japan and guided the side to a 2-1 victory. Freeman then received his first call to the U.S. U-17 Men’s National Team in August for a Costa Rica training camp where he was the youngest player on the 23-man roster. He scored in his U-17 debut on Aug. 7 to help the Americans to a 2-2 draw against hosts Costa Rica.

Freeman is the 10th homegrown player in Sporting KC history and the second-youngest to sign an MLS contract behind current midfielder Gianluca Busio, who was 15 years and 89 days when he officially joined the club in September 2017.

Major League Soccer established the homegrown player initiative in 2007, allowing teams to promote youth academy players to professional contracts. These players must meet homegrown player criteria, including participation in the club’s youth system and residence in the team’s homegrown territory.
– Story from Sporting KC

Missing person found dead

Jesus Gonzalez, 74, who was reported missing, has been found dead, according to a Kansas City, Kansas, Police Department spokesman.

Gonzalez’ remains were discovered on Sept. 27 in the 3200 block of North 38th Street, police stated. The body was positively identified as Jesus Gonzalez.

Gonzalez suffered from dementia and other medical conditions that required medication, according to the police spokesman.

Police had conducted a search for Gonzalez with the K-9 search-and-rescue teams on July 16, the spokesman stated.

He was last seen leaving a residence in the 3000 block of North 34th Street, according to the spokesman.

KCKCC’s Clark two shots back in Porto Cima Golf Invitational

by Alan Hoskins, KCKCC

A strong performance by Garrett Clark wasn’t enough to get Kansas City Kansas Community College better than a fifth-place tie at the halfway mark in the 2018 Porto Cima Invitational Monday.

A freshman from Kansas City, Kansas, Clark’s 3-over par 75 had him in a tie for fifth place and just two shots out of first heading into the final round in the tourney played at Porto Cima at the Lake of the Ozarks in Sunrise Beach, Missouri.

However, no other Blue Devil finished in the top half of the 40-man field. Garrett Scott tied for 24th at 83 with Cameron Riley another stroke back in a tie for 27th at 84. Both are freshmen.

Sophomore Zach Miller was alone in 30th at 85 with Evin Wheaton in a tie for 35th at 89. The Blue Devils were the only community college in the seven-team field.

Missouri Valley took the halfway team lead with a 305, four shots ahead of second place William Penn at 309. Culver-Stockton at 312 and Seminole State at 314 were also still in contention. KCKCC and Evangel were tied for fifth at 327 with Baker seventh at 339.