Change Can be Hard, but Sporting KC Made the Right Roster Moves

On Thursday, Sporting Kansas City announced their end of season roster moves. There were 17 players that decisions needed to be made on. Of the 17, only four are currently set to be on the roster to start the 2026 season: Jansen Miller, John Pulskamp, Zorhan Bassong and Stephen Afrifa.

That kind of movement is definitely jarring for the fan base. However, these were moves that (mostly) needed to be made.

Aye Aye, Captain!

There were some big names that were let go. Team captain Erik Thommy might be top of the list. It’s the second straight season a team captain has left the squad. Across social media, a majority of the angriest posts were about Thommy. Some called it the worst move in SKC history, which felt a bit hyperbolic.

Credit: Thad Bell

But there is a method to David Lee’s madness. Thommy was the team’s third highest paid player, making over $1.6 million in guaranteed compensation, and he didn’t live up to that. He also turned 31 this summer, which isn’t exactly the age you are looking to keep bringing back veteran players. Especially a player who has struggled with his health and seemingly has no position. He played both winger roles most of this season, but he was a midfielder before that.

Out of a possible 34 games, Thommy started just 14 of them. Can SKC afford for their third highest paid player to not even be an everyday starter?

Yes, he was talented, and a very nice guy. But sports are a business. Could that money be more wisely spent on a player that fits the team better, is younger, has more potential, and who fits how David Lee wants this team to play? Absolutely. And hopefully that will happen.

The St. Louis Killer

Another name that had some fans up in arms was Logan Ndenbe. He has reached legendary status in Kansas City based partially on his performance in the 2023 MLS Cup Playoffs. Eighth seeded SKC played the one seed, St. Louis City SC, and swept them out of the playoffs.

A big part of that was Ndenbe’s two goals in the series. But it wasn’t just the goals. He went on to tear his ACL in the second game and play for 40 minutes on a torn ACL. Legend.

But you don’t keep a player for just that reason. Ndenbe, along with six other defenders (Khiry Shelton, Alan Montes, Joaquin Fernandez, Tim Leibold, Andrew Brody and Dany Rosero) were a part of the worst defense in Sporting KC’s 30-year history. The blame doesn’t lay solely on the defense, but they played a large role in those poor results.

Ndenbe never seemed to be quite the same after his torn ACL. He would miss time and battle for minutes with the also jettisoned Leibold. He showed a fervor to get into the attack, that didn’t always show up when it was time to track back defensively.

And there are economic reasons too. Logan was out of contract and surely would want a raise from his $530,000 in guaranteed compensation. That’s reasonable, but he’s also coming off his U-22 Initiative roster spot. That means, in 2025, he only counted for $200,000 against the salary budget. His full wages would have to count this time around. It’s just not clear he’s bringing enough to justify that.

Robert Voloder is in a similar boat when it comes to his U-22 designation. Not to mention, Voloder, Ndenbe and several others are simply out of contract. Maybe they didn’t want to come back.

Our Positionless Friend

Another name that comes up around this team all the time is Khiry Shelton. The last day has been full of stories of Khiry staying around after the game to talk to any fan who waited for him. Taking pictures, signing autographs and just generally being a really great guy.

But, again, sports are a business. $775,000 for a player without a position doesn’t make sense. He spent all his minutes in 2025 at right back, but he’s not a right back. Remember when he played center back in preseason? That’s not his spot either.

In 2018 he went on a tear for Sporting KC and helped them make the Western Conference finals. He translated that into a trip to the Bundesliga before coming back to KC for the 2020 season where he had a career best five goals, followed by a career best six assists in 2021.

But he was never again that player. It’s simply time to move on. It’s actually the second time David Lee has moved on from Shelton after trading him from NYCFC to SKC back in 2017 when Lee was Technical Director. It was time.

Were There Surprises?

Of course. No two people are ever going to fully agree on every possible roster move. Lee even said while he, Mike Burns and Kerry Zavagnin had “good alignment,” there were a few players where they had “a difference of opinion.”

Lee said there was "good alignment" with Zavagnin and Burns on the roster decisions, but added "of course, there's always one or two or three that may fall into a gray area where you have a difference of opinion."I wonder where those disagreements were. #SportingKC

— Chad Smith (@chadcsmith.bsky.social) 2025-10-24T13:51:45.541Z

Maybe one of those was Stephen Afrifa. The coaching staff likely didn’t rate him, as he only got 133 minutes across nine appearances. Only one member of the KC Soccer Journal staff thought he would stick around. Or maybe it was Mason Toye, a player literally all of us at KCSJ thought would be brought back. Or at least should be.

But those are moves on the fringe. Afrifa is on a league minimum contract. He barely played in 2025 but maybe Lee sees something in the sometimes Canadian international. Maybe it’s trade value to a Canadian club?

And for Toye, maybe he doesn’t fit the way Lee wants the new Sporting KC to play? He is trying to bring back Santiago Munoz, a possession heavy player, a style NYCFC have played for many years.

Things Feel Different this Time

Letting go of big names isn’t a first. Sporting KC are in the middle of a rebuild. Following the 2024 season, another dud of a year, the team moved on from eight players. Of those eight, there were some big names, including Johnny Russell, Tim Melia and Remi Walter.

At the time, people were not pleased with those moves. And maybe the moves were wrong. SKC went on to have the worst season in their history. But those moves also helped clear the way to add some of the foundational pieces the team added this year. Would Dejan Joveljic and Manu Garcia be here if the team hadn’t traded Alan Pulido or made some of these other cuts? It’s impossible to know.

Whatever the case is for the players the team moved on from this year, it felt different. You could absolutely see the prior regime keeping Nemanja Radoja or Tim Leibold or Khiry Shelton when it’s clear they aren’t contributing enough for their compensation level.

David Lee changed all that this week. Hopefully it’s a change for the better. I, for one, am excited to see what happens over these next couple months before players report for preseason medicals on January 10th. It’ll be a very different Sporting KC roster come 2026.