Belief is the way for Sporting Kansas City’s Jacob Bartlett

In the 2^nd half of Sporting Kansas City’s Wednesday night home match versus Charlotte FC, holding midfielder Jacob Bartlett is placed into the backline as the center back in a three-back system by Interim Head Coach Kerry Zavagnin as they fight to overturn a 1-0 deficit.

The move means that Sporting can play more vertically with attacking midfielder Manu Garcia dropping deeper to spray the ball around. But it also means Bartlett will be the point-man defending counterattacks that break through Sporting’s man-oriented defense up front. Basically, the 19-year-old is the head fireman tasked with dousing attacking hot spots, in a game that Kansas City needs to win.

The tactical switch tells a story: A remarkable story. A story of belief.

Asked in the locker room after the match about being given the positional responsibility, Bartlett nearly shrugged off the significance. “Nearly” because the Overland Park, Kansas, native feeds on being supported. And he has been eating well.

“Having the full trust of the coaching staff and the players means the world to me and gives me loads of confidence going into [the challenge],” he said. “So, for me, it’s no problem with the reassurance everyone gives me.”

As an 11-year-old, Bartlett joined the Sporting KC Academy in 2017 after playing for affiliate club SPORTING Blue Valley and training in the Center of Excellence, Sporting’s high-level supplemental program for ages 12 and younger. Bartlett progressed through the academy, joining Sporting KC II in early 2023 after training extensively with the first team. The 6’2” 161lbs holding midfielder signed a homegrown contract with Sporting Kansas City before this season.

In the first half of Wednesday night’s match, the learning continues. Bartlett shines in moments, blushes in others as he strives to fulfill what is a cut and dried (though diverse) role – to shield the back four from attackers running at them with momentum and space, to win the ball in midfield, and to feed the attackers in front of him, mainly playmaker Garcia:

• In the 6^th minute, Bartlett commits pressure to a player only to be caught between a passing sequence that easily sidesteps his efforts. On the ball, he shows good composure on the ball under pressure in the 12^th
• In the 16^th minute, Bartlett steps up to go with an opposing midfielder and forces the Charlotte goalkeeper to play a hopeful long ball out of the back. Conversely, he unnecessarily chooses to help a back mark and leaves an opposing midfielder open to orchestrate an attack in the 24^th

To read the play and respond in his vital defensive midfielder role takes a lot of running and more than a lot of perception. Witness Bartlett’s heat map from Wednesday per whoscored.com:

Jacob Bartlett Heat Map v Charlotte FC 6/25/2025 per whoscored.com

“There are so many talented 10s and 8s and forwards in this league,” said Bartlett in reference to his growth in reading play. “Every game is different; every player has different traits in their game that are tough to deal with. I have great midfielders and defenders [in this club] who help me and push me to be the best. Each game, the confidence and belief in myself grows, and I get better.”

A valid criticism when watching Bartlett’s play is his propensity to be conservative on the ball – going square or back with the ball, instead of forward.

The eye test is evident in Bartlett’s numbers found at fbref.com:

• 80^th percentile (better than 79% of midfielders) amongst MLS midfielders in pass completion rate
• 84^th percentile in interceptions made
• 5^th percentile in progressive passes
• 1^st percentile in progressive carries

The 34^th minute Wednesday night brings a case-in-point moment.

Receiving from Garcia in the inner left channel just into the middle third of the field, Bartlett has ample space forward. Pep Biel of Charlotte FC pressures to Bartlett’s left. A big touch forward and Bartlett cuts out Biel and can attack. However, Bartlett looks forward, then touches right to swing the ball wide. Those two seconds are enough for Idan Toklomati to creep up from behind and strip Bartlett. The resulting attack puts Charlotte up 1-0.

“I hate to give the ball up, but I can’t go back and change it,” Bartlett stated. “So, you have to move on to the next thing. That is my mentality going into everything.”

Bartlett’s mindset is more than a calm in the chaos that comes with playing hundreds of matches in his career, it is a belief, forged, partially, by a balance of direction and letting lessons sit.

“I don’t need to tell a guy when he is giving the ball away and they scored a goal… It’s more about the understanding of where his positioning is and some of his decision making within the course of the game,” said Zavagnin in the press conference after the match. “You also have to let players make mistakes, and a 19-year-old that makes mistakes is hard enough on himself.”

It is indeed a tribute to Bartlett that he internalizes the lesson with little apparent worry about himself.

Yet, reality propagates concern for a 19-year-old. The sure wear and tear of playing 21 games in all competitions (almost all starts) for a player who has never played that heavy of a schedule has a definite impact. For his physical well-being, Bartlett lauds Sporting’s training and strength staff. For his mental well-being, well, that ask conjures a large smile from the rookie.

“My support system with my family and friends, as well as the staff here, is out of this world. They keep me level-headed and onto the next,” he stated.

Each match brings new challenges for Bartlett as Saturday night’s 1-1 home draw with Real Salt Lake did. But each match is also a chance to grow.

“Offensively, I would like to contribute more,” he said when asked how he would like to improve, “whether that be carrying the ball farther, breaking lines more, really anything I can do to help the team.”

A Bartlett who can bring more to the attack brings Kansas City up a notch or two as they battle to reach a playoff spot in this re-building season.

No one should be blindly anoint Bartlett as a future star midfielder for Kansas City at this point. Only time will tell if his presence becomes a commanding one. Adding bulk to his frame, reading play more instinctively, confronting attackers more decisively, and winning more aerial duels are necessary to get there. But all should recognize the remarkable position Bartlett has been placed in, and the remarkable character and ability that has earned him the opportunity.

“I don’t need work with Bartlett on intensity, commitment, or determination, in fact, if there is anything it’s about pulling him slightly back,” Zavagnin said.

What has Bartlett shown himself during his journey more than halfway through his first MLS season?

“That I can do it,” he said. “It’s the belief within myself and that others give me in my support system that I can play in this league and in this team. I tell myself that every day, and try to go into work with that mentality giving it everything I have.”

After the whistle blew to finalize Sporting Kansas City’s thrilling 2-1 comeback win over Charlotte FC Wednesday night, Bartlett, a relatively unsung hero in the match, raised his arms in victory before bowing his head and crossing his chest.

Are you living the dream I asked. “I’m very blessed,” he stated. “I thank God every day for it.”

Whether by divine design of a loving God or dogged determination inspired by continual support, or both, Jacob Bartlett’s story is a story of belief forged by trust and support, fueled by commitment and determination. And it is forever.