The Swope Park Rangers have signed midfielder Wan Kuzain Wan Kamal to a full USL contract, the club announced today. Kuzain has been on the Rangers’ roster on an Academy contract since the start of the 2017 season, but has now signed a full professional contract with the club.
Kuzain had previously committed to play college soccer at the University of Akron, but will now forgo his NCAA eligibility to sign for the Rangers.
“I’m very excited and very happy,” Kuzain said. “I just want to thank the Sporting Kansas City organization and the Swope Park Rangers for believing in me and I’m excited to get to work.”
“I think Kuzain is one of the biggest prospects that we have from our Academy,” Swope Park Rangers head coach Nikola Popovic said. “He shows good intelligence of the game, he’s a fast player and I truly believe that if we give him time to develop and put him in such a competitive environment as the Swope Park Rangers, he will be someone to watch for in the future.”
Kuzain has made two appearances for the Rangers this season, starting the opening two games of the 2017 campaign – wins against OKC Energy FC and Portland Timbers 2 on March 25 and 29. He completed 90.6 percent of his 96 passes across those two games, placing him second on the team in passing accuracy only behind Sporting KC loanee Erik Palmer-Brown’s 92.2 percent.
The 18-year-old joined the Sporting KC Academy in August 2016 after spending several years with St. Louis Scott Gallagher Soccer Club and signed an Academy contract with the Rangers later that month. He’s the fourth player to sign a full USL contract with SPR directly out of the Sporting KC Academy, joining forward Nansel Selbol, who did so in 2016, and midfielders Felipe Hernandez and Will Little who each signed with the club ahead of the 2017 campaign.
The Carbondale, Ill. native made 20 appearances for the Sporting KC U-18s in the 2016-17 U.S. Soccer Development Academy season, tallying four goals. In late 2015, Wan Kamal trained with Dutch Eredivisie club Feyenoord’s Academy, while he has also represented the U.S. U-17 National Team.
VITALS
Wan Kuzain Wan Kamal (COO-zane KUH-mahl)
Position: Midfielder
Born: 9/14/98 (18 years old)
Height: 5-10
Weight: 160 lbs.
Hometown: Carbondale, Ill.
Birthplace: Carbondale, Ill.
Citizenship: USA
Twitter: @LeKuz7
Instagram: @kuzain7
