Sporting KC Signs 15-Year-Old Defender Luca Antongirolami
MLS Sporting Kansas City

Sporting KC Signs 15-Year-Old Defender Luca Antongirolami

Published on July 6, 2026 under Major League Soccer (MLS)
Sporting Kansas City News Release


Sporting Kansas City announced today that the club has signed 15-year-old Academy defender Luca Antongirolami to a contract with Sporting KC II and the Sporting KC first team.

Antongirolami will join the SKC II roster immediately under an MLS NEXT Pro contract before elevating to the Sporting KC first team as a Homegrown Player ahead of the 2027-2028 season on an MLS contract through the 2029-2030 season with club options for the 2030-2031 and 2031-2032 seasons.

"We are delighted that Luca and his family have made the decision to continue his development and begin his professional career with Sporting KC," President of Soccer Operations & General Manager David Lee said. "Luca impressed during preseason and has already played with SKC II this season while being a regular member of the U.S. Youth National Teams, showing a high level of quality for a player his age. He is a left-footed central defender who shows excellent tactical and technical understanding and he is a player we believe has extremely high potential."

"Any opportunity to sign a player from our Academy is a special moment, even more so for players that are born and raised in Kansas City. Ensuring that the most talented players from the KC area have the pathway to play for their local club is a critical part of our pro player pathway, and we owe huge credit to the hard work of the Academy and SKC II staff who continue to develop players that are capable of playing with the first team at Sporting Park."

Antongirolami, a 15-year-old Kansas City native and the son of Rockhurst University associate head coach Giorgio Antongirolami, joined the Sporting KC Academy at the age of 10 in 2021 and quickly rose through the ranks, resulting in appearances for the U-18s throughout the 2025-26 MLS NEXT season before making his professional debut for Sporting KC II in the team's season opener on Feb. 28, 2026 - becoming the second youngest player in SKC II history.

Youngest players to make SKC II debut

Zamir Loyo Reynaga - 14 years and 251 days

Luca Antongirolami - 15 years and 151 days

Ian James - 15 years and 285 days

Gianluca Busio - 15 years and 311 days To date, Antongirolami has started six of eight appearances for SKC II during the 2026 season, helping the team to a pair of wins against Colorado Rapids 2 on May 10 and Real Monarchs on May 29. He was also recently selected to represent the club at the 2026 MLS NEXT All-Star Game and will compete in the showcase event on July 27 in North Carolina.

Antongirolami, who trained with Sporting KC's first team during the 2026 preseason, has competed in two Generation adidas Cup tournaments with the SKC Academy, including captaining the U-16s at the prestigious event this year. Last year, he helped Sporting's U-15s reach the 2025 MLS NEXT Cup Playoffs after a perfect showing at MLS NEXT Flex in May 2025.

Antongirolami has been a regular member of the U.S. Youth National Team setup since 2024, representing his country at the U-14, U-15 and U-16 levels. He notably competed in the 2025 Concacaf U-15 Championship last August before most recently participating at the Vertex Cup with the U.S. U-16s in April 2026.

Transaction: Sporting Kansas City (MLS) signs defender Luca Antongirolami to a contract with SKC II and the first team, joining SKC II immediately on an MLS NEXT Pro contract before elevating to the Sporting KC first team as a Homegrown Player at the start of 2027-2028 season on an MLS contract through the 2029-2030 season with club options for the 2030-2031 and 2031-2032 seasons.

VITALS

Luca Antongirolami (anton-juh-ROWE-luh-mee)

Position: Defender

Birthdate: 10/1/2010 (15 years old)

Height: 6-0

Weight: 165 lbs.

Hometown: Kansas City, MO

Birthplace: Kansas City, MO

Citizenship: USA, Italy

Check out the Sporting Kansas City Statistics

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Major League Soccer Stories from July 6, 2026


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