Sporting Kansas City II announced today that the club has signed four players to MLS NEXT Pro professional contracts, pending league and U.S. Soccer Federation approval: forward Tijani Fatah, midfielder Curtez Kellman, defender Cole McLagan and forward Dembakwi Yomba.
Fatah, Kellman, McLagan and Yomba will join Sporting KC II for the team’s first season in MLS NEXT Pro, a new professional league that will kick off on the final weekend of March. With the roster move, Sporting KC II currently has 15 players under professional contract heading into the MLS NEXT Pro campaign.
Sporting KC II Roster as of Feb. 28, 2022
- Goalkeepers (1):Â Ethan Bandre
- Defenders (4):Â Joseph Addo Tetteh, Aljaz Dzankic, Spencer Glass, Cole McLagan
- Midfielders (3):Â Collin Fernandez, Curtez Kellman, Jahon Rad
- Forwards (7):Â Paul Atta Agyei, Bakary Bagayoko, Josh Coan, Tijani Fatah, Rauf Salifu, Julian Vazquez, Dembakwi Yomba
Fatah, 19, was born in Ghana, raised in the Bronx, New York, and arrives in Kansas City after stints with the New York City FC Academy and the Metropolitan Oval Academy. He has spent the early stages of 2022 as a trialist with Sporting KC II, earning starts in preseason scrimmages against Indy Eleven on Feb. 19 and Chicago Fire II on Feb. 23.Â
Kellman, 23, is a native of Georgetown, Guyana, where he played for Georgetown FC and Western Tigers FC as a teenager. He then began his college career in the United States, spending the 2019 season at Eastern Florida State and the 2021 campaign at nearby Daytona State. Capable of playing in midfield and defense, Kellman earned his lone senior cap for the Guyana Men’s National Team in a friendly versus Indonesia on Nov. 25, 2017.
McLagan, 25, was born and raised in Lee’s Summit, Missouri, and starred at Rockhurst High School in Kansas City, where he was an all-state and all-region selection while serving as team captain. He also played club soccer for Sporting Blue Valley prior to embarking on a successful four-year college career at Furman University in South Carolina. McLagan started 54 of 67 appearances for the Paladins, tallying 19 goals and nine assists, and helped Furman win the 2018 Southern Conference title as an NCAA Tournament participant. The right back began his professional journey in 2021 with Greenville Triumph, where he logged nine appearances in USL League One.Â
Yomba, 25, is a well-traveled forward who developed as a youth in the Atletico Madrid Academy from 2014-2015. He turned professional as a teenager with Atletico Madrid C before venturing to the United States, where he had stints at Orlando City B (2016), Reno 1868 FC (2017-2018) and Oakland Roots SC (2019). While at Reno, Yomba notably featured for MLS affiliate San Jose Earthquakes in a friendly against German side Eintracht Frankfurt on July 14, 2017. The attacking player most recently represented KF Laci in the Albanian first division and has started in both of Sporting KC II’s preseason matches this month.
Sporting KC II enters its seventh season in club history under the guidance of first-year head coach Benny Feilhaber and assistant coach Ike Opara. Feilhaber and Opara starred for Sporting at the MLS level last decade and have taken the helm of Sporting KC II in 2022, ushering in a new era in MLS NEXT Pro.
Sporting KC II will open the season at Colorado Rapids 2 on March 27 and will make their debut at Rock Chalk Park in Lawrence, Kansas, with a home opener on April 10 against Houston Dynamo 2. Fans will be able to purchase tickets at SeatGeek.com at a later date and all MLS NEXT Pro matches will stream live on mlsnextpro.com.
Transaction: Sporting Kansas City II signs forward Tijani Fatah, midfielder Curtez Kellman, defender Cole McLagan and forward Dembakwi Yomba to MLS NEXT Pro professional contracts.
VITALS
Tijani Fatah
Position: Forward
Born: 7/17/2002 (19 years old)
Height: 6-0
Weight: 141 lbs.
Hometown: Bronx, New York
Birthplace: Accra, Ghana
Citizenship: Ghana
Curtez Kellman
Position: Midfielder
Born: 3/6/1998 (23 years old)
Height: 6-0
Weight: 160 lbs.
Hometown: Georgetown, Guyana
Birthplace: Georgetown, Guyana
College: Daytona State, Eastern Florida State
Citizenship: Guyana
Cole McLagan
Position: Defender
Born: 8/11/1996 (25 years old)
Height: 6-0
Weight: 170 lbs.
Hometown: Lee’s Summit, Missouri
Birthplace: Lee’s Summit, Missouri
College: Furman
Last Club: Greenville Triumph (USL League One)
Citizenship: USA
Dembakwi Yomba
Position: Forward
Born: 9/4/1996 (25 years old)
Height: 5-7
Weight: 150 lbs.
Hometown: Atlanta, Georgia
Birthplace: Freetown, Sierra Leone
Last Club: KF Laci (Albania)
Citizenship: Sierra Leone, USA
