Sporting Kansas City announced today that former player and MLS Cup champion Jacob Peterson has joined the club’s technical staff as Scout, Player Recruitment.
Peterson will play a prominent role in the scouting and recruitment of players to Sporting Kansas City, reporting to Manager and Sporting Director Peter Vermes and working in close tandem with Brian Bliss (Technical Director and Vice President of Player Personnel) and Sead Karaselimovic (Director, Scouting & Player Recruitment).
In addition to serving as a scout, Peterson will continue his color commentary duties for Sporting’s regional match broadcasts on 38 the Spot, the Sporting KC app and SportingKC.com. He will be in the booth for the third straight season alongside play-by-play announcer Nate Bukaty and sideline reporter Aly Trost.
Peterson, who enjoyed a 12-year professional playing career in Major League Soccer, amassed 15 goals and 10 assists in 135 competitive appearances for Sporting from 2012-2016. A fan favorite known for his versatility and tireless work rate, Peterson helped Sporting to the 2013 MLS Cup, the 2012 and 2015 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup titles and playoff appearances in each of his five seasons at the club. He scored an MLS career-high six goals during his final campaign in Kansas City, also netting the club’s 2016 Goal of the Year in a 3-0 win over the eventual MLS Cup champion Seattle Sounders FC.
A native of Portage, Michigan, Peterson recorded 25 goals and 17 assists in 267 career MLS matches, including stints with the Colorado Rapids (2006-2009), Toronto FC (2010-2011), the San Jose Earthquakes (2011) and Atlanta United FC (2017). As a youth, he represented the United States at the U-17 and U-20 levels—notably competing at the 2005 FIFA U-20 World Youth Championship—and won consecutive NCAA national titles at Indiana University in 2003 and 2004.
