Midfielder Dru Yearwood on Trial with Sporting KC

Sporting Kansas City are still building their roster, despite the season being nearly 25 percent over. On Tuesday, the KC Star’s Daniel Sperry confirmed former Nashville SC and New York Red Bulls midfielder Dru Yearwood is on trial with Sporting KC.

Confirmed that Dru Yearwood is the trialist with #SportingKC. Yearwood spent the last few seasons with Nashville SC.

Came to MLS with RBNY. 25-years-old, can play the six or eight. Won't take an INTL slot if signed.

— Daniel Sperry (@sperrydaniel94) April 15, 2025

Yearwood is currently out of contract after making 25 appearances for Nashville in 2024. Before that he spent four years in the Red Bulls system. Despite only being 25 years old, Yearwood also has another five years in English football making 53 appearances for Southend United (currently in the 5th division) and two more for Brentford (currently in the Premier League).

Potentially part of the reason Yearwood remains out of contract is related to his compensation. In 2024, he made $597,250 in guaranteed compensation. However, he was initially signed under the U-22 initiative, meaning he was only hitting the cap at around $200,000. Yearwood joined Nashville via trade from the Red Bulls for $75,000 in 2024 General Allocation Money (GAM) with up to an additional $75,000 available based on performance. He was out of contract after 2024.

Fit with Sporting KC

Despite being English, Sperry confirmed there would be no international roster spot required if Yearwood signed. Sporting KC have just a single international spot remaining. A slot likely being saved for a potentially larger move over the summer.

In terms of where he lines up in the midfield, Yearwood has primarily played as a central midfielder but has the ability to play in the defensive midfielder spot too.

Sporting KC are lacking a ton of depth in the midfield, as has been evidenced early in the season. Currently the team has Jake Davis, Memo Rodriguez and Zorhan Bassong as players that play that 8/6 hybrid role. They also have Jacob Bartlett and Nemanja Radoja, who are more in the mold of a true 6 (defensive midfielder) and Manu Garcia in that 8/10 hybrid attacking role.

One player that isn’t listed as a midfielder anymore is Erik Thommy. He’s played exclusively on the wing in 2025, though he was the team’s “attacking midfielder” for most of the last couple seasons.

Considering there are only 26 players on the roster, having only six midfielders for three spots is relatively thin. As Jake Davis has been needed at right back, it’s been even more of an issue. Davis and Garcia feel like the only ‘write-it-in-pen’ starters, as the other spots have been more fluid.

In his 2024 report card from Broadway Sports Media, Yearwood earned a “C” for his 29 appearances with the club. They mostly saw him as a net positive who was tasked with filling the massive shoes of Dax McCarty, which he didn’t quite live up to. His move off the U-22 initiative was cited as the reason the team would likely move on since his cap hit would inflate to a huge degree.

In Sam McDowell’s fantastic interview with co-manager owner Mike Illig this week, Illig referenced the team being near adding a player “this month.” It’s unclear if Yearwood is the player Illig had in mind when he made that comment.

If he were to sign, the team still has four open roster spots, so he’d leave plenty of space. The primary transfer window closes next week on April 23rd, but with Yearwood being out of contract and already in the US, that deadline seemingly wouldn’t apply to him.

Signing Dru Yearwood is unlikely to be the move that turns the season around, but he could be a role player that helps the team solidify its midfield.

The KC Soccer Journal will bring you more on this and all things Sporting KC as we learn of them.