Sporting Kansas City has signed 19-year-old midfielder Jacob Bartlett as a Homegrown Player, the club announced today.
Bartlett has signed a three-year MLS contract through 2027 with club options in 2028 and 2029, making him the 22nd Homegrown Player to emerge from the Sporting Kansas City Academy and the club’s third homegrown addition this offseason after 16-year-olds Ian James and Jack Kortkamp joined Sporting last month.
Bartlett begins his professional journey after climbing the youth ranks in the Sporting KC Academy, competing at the U-12 through U-19 levels, and representing Sporting KC II as an amateur player during the 2023 and 2024 MLS NEXT Pro seasons. He is the first Homegrown Player to emerge from Sporting’s Center of Excellence, an elite training program for potential academy-level players under the age of 12.
A defensive midfielder who can also play along the backline, Bartlett returns to Kansas City this winter after spending last fall at Notre Dame University, where he played 16 matches for the Fighting Irish as a freshman.
Sporting’s first Homegrown Player born and raised in the Kansas City area since Cam Duke in 2019, Bartlett joined the Sporting KC Academy as an 11-year-old in 2017 after playing for affiliate club SPORTING Blue Valley and training in the Center of Excellence. He was part of the Sporting KC U-14 team that won the 2019 LA Galaxy Cup and placed second at the 2020 US Youth Futsal National Championships. Bartlett ascended to the U-15, U-17 and U-19 squads as a standout performer over the next three years, helping the U-19s to a 2023 UPSL regular season division title in addition to competing at marquee events including the Generation adidas Cup and MLS NEXT Fest.
Bartlett has trained extensively with Sporting’s first team for the last two seasons, including extended preseason stints with the MLS club in 2023 and 2024. He signed his first amateur contract with Sporting KC II in early 2023 and earned his MLS NEXT Pro debut that April with a start in central defense against FC Cincinnati 2. The 2024 MLS NEXT Pro campaign saw Bartlett log seven consecutive 90-minute outings from March to April, helping the team go 4-2-1 during that stretch while playing as a holding midfielder, center back and right back. He tallied his first assist for the team in a 4-1 home win over MNUFC2 on April 28.
Ahead of the 2024 college soccer season, TopDrawerSoccer tabbed Bartlett a top-50 prospect nationally and the No. 2 player in the Heartland Region. In his debut season with Notre Dame, Bartlett played in 16 of the team’s 17 games, making nine starts, and opened his scoring account with a sensational left-footed strike in a 2-1 victory at Louisville on Sept. 6.
Bartlett comes from an accomplished soccer family as the third sibling to reach the professional ranks. Alec Bartlett, his oldest brother, played for the USL’s Charlotte Independence in 2016. Lucas Bartlett, his other brother, is entering his fourth MLS season and his second year with D.C. United after previous spells with FC Dallas (2022) and St. Louis City SC (2023). His sister, Grace Bartlett, plays collegiately at Grand Canyon University.
Off the field, Bartlett has volunteered with multiple charities and organizations benefiting underserved communities, including TurnStyles, Uplift and Nelnet Community Engagement.
Sporting’s roster will continue to take shape in the buildup to the 2025 season, which kicks off Feb. 18 with a monumental showdown against Lionel Messi and Inter Miami CF in Round One of the Concacaf Champions Cup at Children’s Mercy Park. Sporting KC season tickets, half-season ticket plans and other ticket packages are available at SportingKC.com.
Sporting KC Roster as of Jan. 9, 2025
- Goalkeepers (3): Jack Kortkamp, John Pulskamp, Ryan Schewe
- Defenders (7): Joaquin Fernandez, Ian James, Tim Leibold, Logan Ndenbe, Dany Rosero, Khiry Shelton, Robert Voloder
- Midfielders (6): Jacob Bartlett, Zorhan Bassong, Jake Davis, Nemanja Radoja, Memo Rodriguez, Erik Thommy
- Forwards (4): Stephen Afrifa, William Agada, Daniel Salloi, Alenis Vargas
Transaction: Sporting Kansas City signs midfielder Jacob Bartlett as a Homegrown Player.
VITALS
- Jacob Bartlett
- Number: 16
- Position: Midfielder
- Birthdate: 10/07/2005 (19 years old)
- Height: 6-2
- Weight: 162 lbs.
- Hometown: Overland Park, KS
- Birthplace: Kansas City, MO
- Instagram: @jacobxbartlett
Sporting KC Homegrown Players from SKC Academy
(age at signing in parentheses)
- 2010 – Goalkeeper Jon Kempin (17)
- 2011 – Defender Kevin Ellis (19)
- 2013 – Defender Erik Palmer-Brown (16)
- 2016 – Forward Daniel Salloi (19) *
- 2017 – Midfielder Gianluca Busio (15)
- 2017 – Defender Jaylin Lindsey (17)
- 2018 – Defender Matt Lewis (21)
- 2018 – Forward Zach Wright (22)
- 2018 – Midfielder Wan Kuzain Wan Kamal (19)
- 2018 – Forward Tyler Freeman (15)
- 2019 – Midfielder Cam Duke (18)
- 2019 – Midfielder Felipe Hernandez (21)
- 2020 – Forward Wilson Harris (20)
- 2021 – Midfielder Grayson Barber (20)
- 2021 – Forward Ozzie Cisneros (16)
- 2021 – Goalkeeper Brooks Thompson (18)
- 2021 – Defender Kaveh Rad (19)
- 2021 – Defender Kayden Pierre (18)
- 2021 – Midfielder Jake Davis (19) *
- 2024 – Defender Ian James (16) *
- 2024 – Goalkeeper Jack Kortkamp (16) *
- 2025 – Midfielder Jacob Bartlett (19) *
* Denotes current Sporting KC player
