Sporting KC Announces Offseason Roster Moves
Published on October 23, 2025 under Major League Soccer (MLS)
Sporting Kansas City News Release
Sporting Kansas City announced on Thursday several roster moves ahead of the 2026 season.
Sporting has exercised 2026 contract options for the following four players: Stephen Afrifa, Zorhan Bassong, Jansen Miller and John Pulskamp.
Sporting has declined 2026 contract options for Tim Leibold, Nemanja Radoja, Ryan Schewe, Khiry Shelton and Mason Toye, while loan spells for Alan Montes and Santi Munoz have ended. Sporting is continuing to negotiate with Schewe and Munoz.
In addition, the following six players are out of contract and will not return to the club: Andrew Brody, Joaquin Fernandez, Logan Ndenbe, Memo Rodriguez, Erik Thommy and Robert Voloder.
The following eight players enter 2026 with guaranteed contracts at Sporting: Jacob Bartlett, Jake Davis, Manu Garcia, Ian James, Dejan Joveljic, Jack Kortkamp, Daniel Salloi and Shapi Suleymanov.
With today's announcement, Sporting currently has 12 players under contract for the 2026 season:
Goalkeepers (2): Jack Kortkamp, John Pulskamp
Defenders (2): Ian James, Jansen Miller
Midfielders (4): Jacob Bartlett, Zorhan Bassong, Jake Davis, Manu Garcia
Forwards (4): Stephen Afrifa, Dejan Joveljic, Daniel Salloi, Shapi SuleymanovSporting's roster will continue to take shape in the buildup to the 2026 MLS campaign. For a full list of the team's offseason roster moves, visit SportingKC.com/news/tracker. The calendar of Major League Soccer's offseason roster-building events is listed below.
2025-26 MLS Offseason Events and Roster Mechanisms
Wednesday, Dec. 10 - Saturday, Dec. 13: MLS College Showcase
Wednesday, Dec. 10: Free Agency opens (12 p.m. CT)
Thursday, Dec. 11: Re-Entry Process, Stage 1 (12 p.m. CT)
Thursday, Dec. 11: End-of-Year Waivers (4 p.m. CT)
Wednesday, Dec. 17: Re-Entry Process, Stage 2 (4 p.m. CT)
Thursday, Dec. 18: 2026 MLS SuperDraft
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