Why Can’t Sporting KC be the Next Seattle Sounders?

On Sunday night, the Seattle Sounders won the 2025 Leagues Cup with a 3-0 victory over Inter Miami. Despite Miami being loaded with superstars, including Lionel Messi, the Sounders rolled with a lineup of misfit toys and lifted a trophy at the end of the night.

Part of the reason for that is head coach Brian Schmetzer. Since Peter Vermes was relieved of his job earlier this season, Schmetzer became the longest active tenured coach in MLS. And the Sounders have lifted their fair share of trophies since Brian Schmetzer has taken the helm.

He coached them to two MLS Cups (2016, 2019), two more finals where they came up short (2017, 2020), this Leagues Cup title and they are the only MLS team to win the CONCACAF Champions League (2022).

But something was different about the team that won on Sunday. Schemtzer started five guys under the age of 25.

Sporting Kansas City actually have the league’s seventh youngest team. Younger than Seattle’s squad based on MLS league minutes played. Being young is not enough. It’s about getting the right guys and coaching them up. And you can find them in your academy, in the draft, from your second team and elsewhere. It’s about the right mix.

That is a strategy Sporting KC are just recently, as least partially, employing. Hopefully gone are the days of signing aging or recently injured European players on free deals. Teams have to scout well, develop their own talent (both in the academy and second team) and even draft well.

The Leagues Cup Lineup

Where did Seattle get their players? This very young lineup is not filled with stars. Nor was the bench.

Our @LeaguesCup Final Starting XI! 👊

📰: https://t.co/RyCuMfvFmY | #SEAvMIA pic.twitter.com/w1m9dCeGT6

— Seattle Sounders FC (@SoundersFC) August 31, 2025

Sure, Pedro de la Vega was a massive signing for a rumored $7.5 million. Yeimar had a transfer fee and was signed on a Targeted Allocation Money deal. And Jesus Ferreira came over on a TAM deal from FC Dallas.

But what about the rest of them?

Team captain Cristian Roldan was the 16th pick in the 2015 MLS Draft. Sporting KC picked twice ahead of that, selecting 10th (Connor Hallisey) and 12th (Saad Abdul-Salaam).

His brother, Alex Roldan, was also a draft pick, arriving with the 22nd pick in the 2018 draft. SKC picked twice ahead of that as well, selecting 13th (Eric Dick) and 18th (Graham Smith).

None of Kansas City’s draft picks are still on the team. Or even in MLS.

Goalkeeper Andrew Thomas arrived through college as well. Due to the pandemic, he wasn’t in the 2021 draft but was acquired for $50,000 in General Allocation Money through waivers.

But it’s not just the draft, it’s the academy too. Reed Baker-Whiting and Paul Rothrock moved from the Sounders Academy to the Tacoma Defiance (USL/MLS Next Pro). Jackson Ragen took a long path from the academy through college and eventually back to Tacoma.

Osaze De Rosario, who scored the game winning goal, was just moved up from the Defiance earlier this season after bouncing around the world looking for a home, despite only being 24.

Homegrown star Obed Vargas signed straight to the first team, but he put in his time with Tacoma as well.

And that’s just the starters. Off the bench? Another Homegrown (Danny Leyva), another Defiance player (Georgi Minoungou) and another draft pick (Kalani Kossa-Rienzi). Sporting KC picked their backup goalkeeper, Ryan Schewe, one spot ahead of Kossa-Rienzi.

Those players are out there to be found. Someone just has to find them.

ECS Tifo: “Success is Built Not Bought.” #SoundersFC pic.twitter.com/pOOMWE7gXC

— Aaron Levine (@AaronLevine_) September 1, 2025

What Aren’t Sporting KC Doing like Seattle?

First off, they may not have the staff in place to acquire the right players. By all accounts, Sporting Director, Mike Burns, is nearly flying solo. There is no Assistant Sporting Director that we know of. The scouting department has been reported to have a single domestic scout. Internationally, it’s likely off-staff scouts that can work for multiple clubs. Peter Vermes wore every hat for far too long, and it’s taking time to rebuild without him. The interim status of Zavagnin and the lack of a CSO are surely playing a part as well.

Another area of opportunity is around Sporting KC’s use, or lack thereof, of SKC II. Sure, they send some of their draft picks and Homegrown talent down on loan, but even that is inconsistent. Often, those players are asked to sit the bench with the first team and miss chances at valuable minutes. There are also first team guys out of favor, like Stephen Afrifa, that could be learning in MLS Next Pro.

Sporting KC II have no players signed from outside the academy that have made the leap to the first team actively on the roster. It’s been done before, but most of those guys barely played when they moved up and they are all long gone.

As for players moved from the Academy to second team deals, then to first team deals. There are only two: Jake Davis and John Pulskamp. Most of the players we see join from the Academy, are off the roster within a couple seasons. Despite some of them showing real promise.

The draft, as was referenced previously, hasn’t produced for Kansas City in a long time. Not since the days of Matt Besler, Graham Zusi, Roger Espinoza and Dom Dwyer have guys been regular contributors. Jansen Miller, the eighth pick this season, could be changing that. The aforementioned Schewe has yet to play in MLS and Afrifa hasn’t been consistent. All the other draft picks are gone, or at best on second team deals.

What are SKC starting to do like Seattle?

Davis and Pulskamp are regular starters on the first team, after progressing from the Academy through the second team. The team needs more guys on that path. Or coming directly from the Academy to the first team. Their budget charges are very low before they earn raises, and it’s one of the most economical ways to build a roster.

Ian James and Jack Kortkamp skipped straight to the first team and could end up being successful moves. They are still incredibly young, and by all accounts, new-ish Academy Director Declan Jogi has a lot of very young talent in the pipeline that could join them in the years to come.

That’s sort of where the similarities end. That’s not enough guys filling out the middle or bottom of the roster.

What’s Next

Success won’t come overnight, but Seattle is a team to be admired. When they lifted the Leagues Cup on Sunday, it ended a three-year drought without a trophy. That’s the longest such drought since Seattle came into MLS!

They’ve never stopped being competitive.

Sporting KC can hardly say the same over these last few tough years. They haven’t won a trophy since 2017 and haven’t even been competitive for most of the seasons since 2022.

But with investment in the staff, scouts, players, the second team and a continued investment in the Academy, maybe Sporting KC can find that success. As we discussed last week, they have to get the Chief Soccer Officer and subsequent coaching hire right first.

They’ve got to put one foot in front of the other. There may be stumbles along the way, but the CSO step needs to come first and soon. Then, if they get that right, the rest can potentially fall into place.