Sporting Kansas City has acquired 23-year-old forward Taylor Calheira in a transfer from FC Tulsa in the USL Championship, the club announced today. Calheira has signed a two-and-a-half-year MLS contract through the 2027-2028 season with club options for the 2028-2029 and 2029-2030 seasons.
Sporting acquired Calheira’s Discovery Priority from Minnesota United in exchange for $50,000 in 2026 General Allocation Money (GAM) and an additional $25,000 in GAM if certain performance-based incentives are achieved.
Calheira has enjoyed a prolific start to his professional career, tallying 38 goals and 10 assists in 69 matches while representing FC Tulsa in the USL Championship in 2025 and NYCFC II in MLS NEXT Pro in 2024.
“Taylor has an impressive goalscoring record at every level he has played from college to MLS NEXT Pro to the USL Championship,” President of Soccer Operations & General Manager David Lee said. “Taylor has consistently shown high levels of performance as he stepped up to a higher level of competition each of the last three seasons and he is now eager to prove himself in MLS. He will provide good instincts around the goal to go along with his clean technical ability and an excellent work rate.”
Calheira joins Sporting after an impressive debut campaign with FC Tulsa in 2025, recording 21 goals and four assists in all competitions as Tulsa finished atop the Western Conference with a 16-5-9 record and reached the USL Championship Final.
Calheira finished 2025 as the second top scorer in the USL Championship with 17 goals – setting a club record with 15 goals in the regular season and two in the playoffs – while being named to the 2025 USL Championship All-League First Team. Calheira posted a league-high +11.11 Goals Added mark – a statistic that measures a player's total on-ball contribution in attack and defense.
Calheira scored both of his postseason goals in the team’s 3-0 win over New Mexico United in the Western Conference Final before sinking his penalty in the shootout defeat against Pittsburgh Riverhounds in the USL Championship Final.
The Baltimore, Maryland native began his professional career with NYCFC II after being selected in the third round of the 2024 MLS SuperDraft. In his lone season with NYCFC II, Calheira tallied 17 goals and six assists on his way to earning MLS NEXT Pro Best XI honors while playing a pivotal role in the club’s remarkable run to the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Round of 16.
Calheira played collegiate soccer close to home at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County where he recorded 32 goals and 16 assists in 61 career matches. Calheira was named America East Striker of the Year in both 2022 and 2023 after earning America East All-Rookie Team honors in 2020.
Sporting is preparing to kick off the 2026 MLS season with a trip to take on the San Jose Earthquakes at PayPal Park this Saturday, Feb. 21 at 9:30 p.m. CT before returning to KC for the club’s home opener against the Columbus Crew at Sporting Park on Feb. 28 at 7:30 p.m. CT.
With the addition of Calheira, Sporting now has 22 players under contract for the 2026 season. For a full list of the club’s offseason roster moves, visit sportingkc.com/transactions.
- Goalkeepers (4): Stefan Cleveland, Jack Kortkamp, John Pulskamp, Ryan Schewe
- Defenders (6): Zorhan Bassong, Ian James, Wyatt Meyer, Jansen Miller, Jayden Reid, Justin Reynolds
- Midfielders (6): Kwaku Agyabeng, Jacob Bartlett, Lasse Berg Johnsen, Jake Davis, Manu Garcia, Cielo Tschantret
- Forwards (6): Stephen Afrifa, Taylor Calheira, Calvin Harris, Dejan Joveljic, Daniel Salloi, Shapi Suleymanov
Transaction: Sporting Kansas City (MLS) acquires forward Taylor Calheira in transfer from FC Tulsa (USL Championship).
VITALS
Taylor Calheira (cal-HAIR-uh)
Number: 19
Position: Forward
Birthdate: 4/26/2002 (23 years old)
Height: 6-1
Weight: 185 lbs.
College: University of Maryland, Baltimore County
Hometown: Baltimore, Maryland
Birthplace: Mobile, Alabama
Citizenship: USA, Brazil
Instagram: @taylor.calheira
