Recipients of the fourth annual Kevin Gray Player of the Year Awards, presented by Pepsi, were revealed on Saturday in a special ceremony held in the Boulevard Members Club at Sporting Park. The awards, co-sponsored by Sporting Kansas City and Global Sports International, recognize soccer players, coaches and ambassadors in the Kansas City area while honoring the late Kansas City Sports Commission president Kevin Gray.
Female Youth Player of the Year recipient Cristina DeZeeuw is rated the No. 2 player in the Heartland Region by Top Drawer Soccer and earned MSHSAA Class 3 All-State First Team honors in 2014 following her senior season. DeZeeuw -- an Overland Park, Kansas native and Sporting Blue Valley SC defender -- led St. Teresa's Academy to back-to-back state championship appearances and will continue her career at Vanderbilt University in the fall.
Jo Jo Piatczyc won the Male Youth Player of the Year after appearing in 24 games for the Sporting Kansas City Academy U18's during the 2013-14 U.S. Soccer Development Academy season. A Lee’s Summit High School graduate, Piatczyc has twice played in MLS Reserve League games for Sporting KC during the 2011 and 2012 seasons and was recruited to play collegiate soccer at West Virginia University.
In the Adult Player of the Year category, Sporting Kansas City defender Seth Sinovic accepted the award. The Leawood, Kan. native and Rockhurst High School alum was rated the No. 1 left back in MLS by Soccer America after leading all Sporting KC players with 3,733 minutes played in all competition and starting 41 of his 42 appearances in 2013. He scored the game-tying goal in the Eastern Conference Semifinals last year and converted his attempt in the MLS Cup penalty kick shootout. Sinovic's strong campaign saw him earn his first invite to join the U.S. Men's National Team when he participated in the January Camp earlier this year.
Coach of the Year award winner Peter Vermes led Sporting Kansas City to the 2013 MLS Cup title and in doing so became the first individual to win a league championship as a player and manager of the same team. Vermes, the club's technical director since 2006, was selected to coach the MLS All-Stars during the 2013 MLS All-Star Game at Sporting Park and was also inducted into the National Soccer Hall of Fame in 2013. One year ago, Vermes signed a contract extension to remain with the club through 2017.
Sporting Club CEO Robb Heineman adds Ambassador of the Year to a long list of recent honors, including SBJ Forty Under 40, Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year, Kansas City Sports Commission Executive of the Year and a spot on Sports Illustrated's 50 most powerful people in U.S. Soccer. Heineman was instrumental in Sporting Park becoming the first venue to host the MLS Cup, MLS All-Star Game and U.S. Men's National Team in the same calendar year in 2013. Moreover, his vision for the "Soccer Capital of America" has led Sporting Club and U.S. Soccer to jointly explore the development of a National Training and Coaching Development Center in Kansas City, Kansas while also starting construction on a $13.44 million expansion at the Swope Soccer Village in Kansas City, Missouri. Heineman was also at the forefront of securing 13 NCAA championships to be held at Sporting Park and Swope Soccer Village over the next four years.
Visit SportingKC.com/KGA for more information on the Kevin Gray Awards, including the nomination process and past recipients. The 2014 finalists are shown below (winners in bold).
Male Youth Player of the Year
Jo Jo Piatczyc: Sporting Kansas City Academy U18
Matt Lewis: Sporting Kansas City Academy U18
Steven Enna: St. James Academy
Female Youth Player of the Year
Cristina DeZeeuw: Sporting Blue Valley SC, St. Teresa's Academy
Haley Hanson: Sporting Blue Valley SC, Olathe East
Savannah Trujillo: Sporting Blue Valley SC, St. Teresa's Academy
Adult Player of the Year
Seth Sinovic: Sporting KC, U.S. Men's National Team
Matt Besler: Sporting KC, US Men's National Team
Frances Silva: FC Kansas City, West Virginia University, US U-23 Women's National Team
Coach of the Year
Peter Vermes: Sporting KC
Tony Tocco: Rockhurst University
Vlatko Andonovski: FC Kansas City, Missouri Comets
Ambassador of the Year
Robb Heinemann: Sporting Club
