Jack Kortkamp headed to MLS NEXT All-Star Game

Major League Soccer announced the rosters for the 2025 MLS NEXT All-Star Game, and Sporting Kansas City goalkeeper Jack Kortkamp earned his way onto the West squad. The match features standout stars from MLS Next and will take place in Austin, Texas, on Monday, July 21, at 7:30 p.m. CT. It will be streamed live on MLS’s YouTube channel and MLSsoccer.com.

“It’s a good feat for me, something I’ve been looking at, trying to make for a couple of years now,” Kortkamp told the KC Soccer Journal. “I’m happy to finally be in that conversation and to be named on that list.”

Kortkamp has been a player the club has kept an eye on since he joined the Sporting KC Academy. He has played and shined at each level of development, spanning the U-14 through U-19 levels before signing a Homegrown Player contract in December at just 16 years old.

Since signing the Homegrown contract, Kortkamp has been a bright spot for SKC II, making six starts. He has been called up multiple times to US Youth National Teams and is just one of eight players to be selected for all three U-17 training camps. He was in goal for a 2-0 shutout over Cuba in Concacaf U-17 Qualifiers, earning the US a spot in the FIFA U-17 World Cup in November.

Reflecting on the season so far, Kortkamp responded, “It’s been good, a lot of learning moments, and that’s exactly what I need, being a young goalkeeper. I’ve just been trying to get as many minutes as possible, whether it be Academy, the second team, or possibly the first team. Just take it day by day and try and grow as much as I can.”

Kortkamp has trained with Sporting KC’s first team, their second team, the Academy, and US Youth Soccer teams this year, and he has embraced those chances. “The opportunity to keep training with the first team, that’s helped me grow a lot, and also all of the national team stuff as well.”

“It helps keep me fresh. They’re all pretty close as well, so they have similar styles. So, whether I’m training at the Academy with Carlos (Ortiz), at the second team with Darrin (MacLeod) or the first team with Alec (Dufty), it’s pretty similar sessions, and working pretty similar areas. It’s not a huge change, but it definitely keeps you fresh.”

When asked about his greatest area of growth this year, the answer came easily. “I’d say, just mentally, honestly. With the maturity piece, being around older guys, especially. It’s really helped me, kind of grow up and have a personality to fit those high environments.”

“On the field, just staying calmer in general, it helps with shot stopping, distribution. It helps keep my head clear.”

Watching him in training with the first team or in games with SKC II, it is easy to see not only the quality of his technical ability and the drive to be better, but also the mental aspect of his game.

In a match earlier this year versus Town FC, Kortkamp held the opponent scoreless. In MLS Next Pro, a tie game is decided by a shootout to determine the winner. It’s an opportunity for players on both sides of the ball to get more experience. Town FC won that shootout, but SKC’s young keeper did everything he could to distract the opposition; the gamesmanship displayed was a level not normally seen at his age. He earned a yellow card, but even that took time for the opponent to overthink his next shot.

He came agonizingly close to making a couple of saves in that shootout. Fingertips touching the ball but not redirecting it enough to make the save. It was easy to observe that he was irritated at himself, but he kept his composure. Talking to him after the match, it was also crystal clear that he was determined to be better and make those saves next time and was already dissecting what he could have done better.

Sporting Kansas City has a young group of keepers on the roster. Clear number one and the veteran of the group, John Pulskamp, is just 24. Ryan Schewe is only 23. Kortkamp is only 17 years old now and gaining experience quickly.

Quotes from his coaches

Alec Dufty (Sporting KC Goalkeeper Coach)

“We’ve had a lot of kids come through the Academy, the second team, and the First team. I would say he’s kind of a rare breed with the level of confidence that he has, you don’t notice a drop at all at any level that he goes to. So, it’s been super exciting, not only from the talent level, because that’s clear, but the mindset as well, knowing that he has a super high ceiling that he’s moving toward.”

Darrin MacLeod (Sporting KC II Goalkeeper Coach)

“The first thing that I would speak to is just how much I’ve seen him grow as a person. I think we all I’ve gotten the opportunity to see him grow as a goalkeeper, but as you see him develop through the academy, the second team, and then into the first team. He’s definitely had moments of maturity and different challenges that he’s had to face throughout, and he’s only going to continue to do that. But What’s impressed me the most about him is how he’s developed and met different challenges and grown as a person. And I think that’s what ties into his strengths as a goalkeeper, he’s got a really good mentality to him, which is only going to continue to help him as he develops in his career.”

Kortkamp in goal with fellow Homegrown, defender Ian James in a win over LAFC 2 | Credit: Thad Bell