Sporting Kansas City II has signed 18-year-old midfielder and Sporting KC Academy product Cielo Tschantret to an MLS NEXT Pro professional contract, the club announced today.
Tschantret has logged nine MLS NEXT Pro appearances as an amateur player for Sporting KC II in addition to starring for the Sporting KC Academy at the U-15, U-17 and U-19 levels since moving to Kansas City in 2020 from his native Baltimore, Maryland.
In his MLS NEXT Pro debut for SKC II on April 23, 2023, Tschantret wasted no time finding the back of the net with an acrobatic volley as part of a 90-minute performance in a narrow 3-2 road loss at FC Cincinnati 2. He earned his second start for the club four months later and made an even bigger impact, heading home the match-winning goal in the 62nd minute of a 2-1 victory at Austin FC II to receive MLS NEXT Rising Star of Matchday 24 honors.
Tschantret finished the 2023 MLS NEXT Pro campaign with two goals in six matches. In the early stages of the 2024 season, he has appeared three times and started twice for a Sporting KC II side led by third-year head coach and 2024 Sporting Legends inductee Benny Feilhaber.
Tschantret, the son of Sporting KC Academy U-19 head coach Lee Tschantret, has spent almost four years in the club’s youth ranks. At the U-15 and U-17 ranks, he competed in high-profile competitions including the Generation adidas Cup and the MLS NEXT Academy Playoffs. In 2023, he was part of the dominant Sporting KC U-19 side that won a United Premier Soccer League division title and advanced to the round of 16 of the UPSL Playoffs last fall.
Transaction: Sporting Kansas City II signs midfielder Cielo Tschantret to an MLS NEXT Pro professional contract.
Cielo Tschantret (CHELL-oh tuh-SHAN-tret)
Number: 52
Position: Midfielder
Birthdate: 02/22/2006 (18 years old)
Height: 6-0
Weight: 155 lbs.
Hometown: Baltimore, Maryland
Birthplace: Baltimore, Maryland
