Second-year midfielder Connor Hallisey was selected by Sporting Kansas City with the 10th overall pick in the 2015 MLS SuperDraft out of the University of California. A former member of the United State Under-18 Men's National Team, he started eight of 17 appearances in all competitions with one assist during his rookie season in Kansas City. He started 18 of 23 appearances during his sophomore campaign, recording a goal and two assists.
2016: Started 18 of 23 appearances in all competitions, recording one goal and two assists (1633 minutes played). MLS regular season: Started 12 of 17 appearances and recorded one assist (1072 minutes played). Tallied his first assist of the season to Dom Dwyer in a 2-1 loss to the Colorado Rapids on April 13. Open Cup: Started two matches (210 minutes played). Started and played 120 minutes in a 2-1 extra time win over Minnesota United FC on June 15. Started and played 90 minutes in a 3-1 fifth round loss at the Houston Dynamo on June 29. CONCACAF Champions League: Started and played 81 minutes in a 2-2 draw at Central FC on Aug. 16. Started and played 90 minutes in a 3-0 loss at Vancouver Whitecaps FC on Aug. 23. Started and played 90 minutes in a 2-1 loss to Vancouver on Sept. 13. Started and played 90 minutes in a 3-1 win over Central FC on Oct. 19, scoring the first professional goal of his career and adding the game-winning assist to Nansel Selbol. MLS Cup Playoffs: Did not feature.
2015: MLS regular season: Started six of 13 appearances and recorded one assist (516 minutes played). Made his MLS debut in second half stoppage time of a 4-4 draw at Houston on April 25. Played 33 minutes in a 0-0 draw at Seattle on May 23. Made his first professional start and recorded his first MLS assist in a 4-0 win over FC Dallas on May 29. MLS Cup Playoffs: Did not feature. Open Cup: Started two of four appearances. Started and played 68 minutes in a 1-0 fourth round win over Saint Louis FC on June 16. Played 15 minutes as a second-half substitute in a 6-2 fifth round win over FC Dallas on July 1. Started and played 54 minutes in a 3-1 quarterfinal win over the Houston Dynamo on July 21. Played 26 minutes as a second-half substitute in a 3-1 semifinal win over Real Salt Lake on Aug. 12.
COLLEGE: Hallisey played four seasons at the University of California (2011-2014), recording 12 goals and 19 assists in 72 career matches. As a senior in 2014, he was an NCAA Division I Men’s Second Team All-American as a senior, starting 19 games with nine goals and 12 assists. He was named to the 2014 Capital One/CoSIDA All-District 8 Team, earned All-Pac-12 first team honors, landed a Pac-12 All-Academic second team nod, and was a MAC Hermann Trophy Semifinalist.
The midfielder started all 21 games in 2013 for the Bears and posted a pair of goals and three assists as a junior. He appeared in 15 games as a sophomore, contributing two assists, after earning All-Pac-12 Honorable Mention honors his freshman year with a goal and two assists.
