Sporting Kansas City II announced today that the club has signed Sporting Kansas City Academy products Jacob Bartlett and Carlito Saylon to MLS NEXT Pro amateur contracts.
Bartlett and Saylon have inked amateur contracts on a single-game basis, preserving their NCAA eligibility, and will be available for selection on Friday when Sporting Kansas City II travels to face Real Monarchs at 9 p.m. CT at Zions Bank Stadium in Herriman, Utah. The match will stream live on the Apple TV app and fans can follow @SportingKCII on Twitter for updates.
Saylon, a 16-year-old goalkeeper who was born and raised in Michigan, joined the Sporting KC Academy in early 2020. He has competed at the U-15 and U-17 Academy levels while also spending preseason stints with SKC II and the Sporting KC first team over the last two years. He most recently led an SKC U-17 side that posted six wins and five shutouts across seven matches at the 2023 Generation adidas Cup.
Saylon inked his first amateur contract for Sporting KC II last summer and started three matches for the club, posting a 1-1-1 record with 12 saves and a 1.33 goals against average. His high point came in a star-studded performance last September as he made seven saves in regulation and two additional stops in a victorious penalty shootout as SKC II edged St. Louis City 2 on spot kicks after a 2-2 draw.
Bartlett joins SKC II after an impressive preseason showing with the Sporting KC first team in Arizona. The versatile 17-year-old defender, who is the younger brother of St. Louis City SC center back Lucas Bartlett, has represented Sporting at the U-12 through U-19 academy levels. He was a member of the U-14 side that won the 2019 LA Galaxy Cup and gradually rose the ranks as an integral contributor for the U-15, U-17 and U-19 teams that represented Sporting in MLS NEXT and prestigious competitions such as the Generation adidas Cup.
A native of Kansas City, Bartlett played 30 minutes in Sporting's first preseason contest of 2023, a 1-0 loss to the Portland Timbers in January, before logging four preseason appearances with Sporting KC II the weeks that followed.
VITALS
Carlito Saylon
Position: Goalkeeper
Birthdate: 7/20/2006 (16 years old)
Height: 6-0
Weight: 189
Hometown: Brighton, Michigan
Birthplace: Saline, Michigan
Jacob Bartlett
Position: Defender
Birthdate: 10/7/2005 (17 years old)
Height: 6-1
Weight: 155
Hometown: Overland Park, Kansas
Birthplace: Kansas City, Missouri
