Sporting Kansas City Announces Acquisition of Olathe, Kansas Native Michael Thomas
January 18, 2012 - Major League Soccer (MLS)
Sporting Kansas City News Release
Sporting Kansas City announced Wednesday that the club has signed midfielder Michael Thomas. The 23-year-old Olathe, Kansas native joins Sporting Kansas City after spending the last two seasons with Ljungskile SK of the Swedish Superettan.
Per club policy, terms of the agreement will not be disclosed.
"I'm extremely happy to be joining Sporting Kansas City," Thomas said. "It sounds cliché but it truly is a dream come true to be playing for your hometown club. I can't wait to get started."
"We've been aware of Michael for a long time and followed his progress closely at Notre Dame," Sporting Kansas City Manager Peter Vermes said. "When we found out about his possible desire to return to MLS, we thought it would be a great opportunity for us to add another local product to our team."
Thomas attended St. Thomas Aquinas High School where he helped lead the Saints to three state titles while being named to the 2005 NSCAA/adidas Boys High-School All-America team.
Following the conclusion of his high-school career, where he spent time in the same club soccer setup as current Sporting Kansas City defenders Seth Sinovic and Matt Besler, Thomas went on to join Besler at the University of Notre Dame. Thomas started 81 matches for the Fighting Irish, scoring 19 goals and contributing 13 assists while earning first-team all-BIG EAST honors in hissenior season.
Thomas was drafted by the Earthquakes with the 19th overall selection in the 2010 MLS SuperDraft before opting tosign with Halmstads BK of the Allsvenskan, Sweden's top division.
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