Sporting KC II announces schedule and roster for the 2023 preseason presented by Central Bank

Sporting Kansas City II announced today the club’s schedule and roster for the 2023 preseason presented by Central Bank as the club gears up for their second MLS NEXT Pro campaign.

Head coach Benny Feilhaber and assistant coach Ike Opara will open preseason camp at Swope Soccer Village on Wednesday before hosting USL League One side Union Omaha in a closed-door friendly at Swope Soccer Village on Saturday, Feb. 18 at 2 p.m. CT. Omaha last made the journey to Kansas City for a duel with the first team in the 2022 U.S. Open Cup Quarterfinals in which Sporting came out victorious thanks to a pair of braces from Sporting KC Academy Products and former SKC II players Daniel Salloi and Felipe Hernandez.

Following the home match against Omaha, SKC II will head south to face FC Tulsa from the USL Championship on Saturday, March 4 at 1 p.m. CT. The two teams last faced off in the 2022 preseason but have a shared history after squaring off in USL Championship on 13 occasions since 2016.

Traveling further south, SKC II will stay in Dallas from March 5th through the 9th and play a pair of matches against Richmond College and fellow MLS NEXT Pro Frontier Division foes North Texas SC. The contest against Richmond College is set for Monday, March 6 while the match against North Texas will take place Thursday, March 9. SKC II and North Texas squared off three times in the inaugural MLS NEXT Pro season a year ago.

To conclude preseason, Sporting KC II will host the Kansas City Roos Men’s Soccer Team at Children’s Mercy Victory Field on Saturday, March 18. SKC II closed the 2022 preseason in similar fashion, welcoming the Roos to Swope Soccer Village almost exactly one year ago.

SKC II starts preseason with a roster full of top Sporting KC Academy prospects and a core of MLS NEXT Pro players including 2022 returnees Bakary Bagayoko, Josh Coan and Jahon Rad. Newcomers Mo Abualnadi, Yeison Mejia and Nassim Mekideche enter camp after participating in the 2023 Sporting KC preseason presented by Children’s Mercy. Six trialists will also join SKC II for preseason including Academy products Sebastian Cruz and Roman Knox.