Confirmed: Sporting KC acquires striker from FC Tulsa

Update: it has now been confirmed. Calheira has signed a two-and-a-half-year MLS contract through the 2027-2028 season with club options for the 2028-2029 and 2029-2030 seasons. Sporting acquired Calheira’s Discovery Priority from Minnesota United in exchange for $50,000 in 2026 General Allocation Money (GAM) and an additional $25,000 in GAM if certain performance-based incentives are achieved.

“Taylor has an impressive goalscoring record at every level he has played from college to MLS NEXT Pro to the USL Championship,” President of Soccer Operations & General Manager David Lee said. “Taylor has consistently shown high levels of performance as he stepped up to a higher level of competition each of the last three seasons and he is now eager to prove himself in MLS. He will provide good instincts around the goal to go along with his clean technical ability and an excellent work rate.”

FC Tulsa has announced they received a club record transfer fee.

Sporting Kansas City appears to be acquiring Taylor Calheira from FC Tulsa in the USL Championship for a transfer fee. This has been reported by Tom Bogert with Joseph Lowery confirming the report. The fee will reportedly be one of the highest in USL to MLS transfers and will include a sell on clause.

The 23-year-old striker helped lead FC Tulsa to the USL Championship final in 2025 and has scored at a high rate at each level he has played.

Calheira was raised in Baltimore, Maryland, and played collegiately at nearby University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC). He notched 32 goals and 16 assists over 61 career games and earned America East Striker of the Year honors in 2022 and 2023. His father was former Brazilian footballer Adauto Neto.

This is a player that President of Soccer Operations & General Manager David Lee was already familiar with. New York Football Club (NYCFC) selected Calheira with the 66th overall pick in the 2024 Major League Soccer SuperDraft when Lee was there. Calheira ended up signing with NYCFC II where he scored 14 goals and 5 assists with the MLS Next Pro side.

Tulsa acquired him via transfer in January of 2025 and it paid off for them. Calheira scored fifteen goals and two assists for Tulsa in the 2025 regular season with another two in the playoffs and four more in the U.S. Open Cup and the USL Cup.

Combined, he has 37 goals across 69 matches as a professional. Calheira was named to the Best XI in 2024 for MLS Next Pro and in USL Championship last season.

Sporting KC is reportedly working on a transfer of veteran attacker Daniel Salloi to Toronto from a roster that is already thin. Calheira would give SKC some immediate depth back. Raphael Wicky has been playing Salloi centrally in combination with Dejan Joveljić in preseason.