UPDATE: Duke (photo below) played 42 minutes and Leichty played the final 15 minutes in Sporting Kansas City's scoreless draw against the New England Revolution on Friday.
While MLS teams will continue to utilize tools like the SuperDraft, club academies are becoming more important to develop homegrown talent. This is definitely the case with Sporting Kansas City as their 2013 preseason roster includes two recent SKC Academy products, Christian Duke and David Leichty.
SKC's recent homegrown player signings include goalkeeper Jon Kempin and defender defender Kevin Ellis.
Duke (left in picture above) was recently selected in the 2013 MLS Supplement Draft and was in the Academy system from 2007-2009. He recently finished a successful career at the University of San Diego. Leichty (right in picture above) is currently playing for the SKC Academy U-18 team. Both players are from Overland Park, KS.
Christian Duke
Position: Defender
Born: 6/5/91
Height: 5-9
Weight: 155
Hometown: Overland Park, Kan.
Citizenship: USA
College: University of San Diego
David Leichty
Position: Midfielder
Born: 3/28/95
Height: 5-11
Weight: 140
Hometown: Overland Park, Kan.
Citizenship: USA
