Year after year, an influx of young and promising talent joins Major League Soccer through the Homegrown Player mechanism. This trend has become particularly clear at Sporting Kansas City, where the likes of Gianluca Busio, Felipe Hernandez, Jaylin Lindsey and Daniel Salloi have all made legitimate first team impacts under Manager Peter Vermes.
As all 27 MLS clubs prepare for the 2021 campaign, it's a safe bet to bank on another crop of newly signed homegrowns to take their first steps as successful professionals.
That brings us to MLSsoccer.com's Charles Boehm, who on Monday identified five new Homegrown Players to keep an eye on in 2021. Among those five is Grayson Barber, a versatile 20-year-old attacking player who developed in the Sporting KC Academy from 2015-2017, played three years of college soccer at Clemson University, then returned to Sporting and inked an MLS contract in January.
"I find it hard to gauge the full extent of Barber’s upside at this stage, but the South Carolina kid looks about as pro-ready as anyone in this year’s crop, thanks in large part to three NCAA seasons at Clemson, a proven talent incubator where he put up good numbers for title-chasing teams," Boehm wrote.
"He’s slated as a wing option in Sporting’s 4-3-3, where defensive work rate and reliable service to striker Alan Pulido are key metrics. Barber’s got the engine and the audacity on the ball to provide both. With Peter Vermes’ depth chart looking a little thin in those spots, a good preseason might just push him into the mix. And anyone who can conjure up a play like this is worth keeping an eye on, IMHO."
In three seasons at Clemson, Barber amassed 13 goals and 18 assists in 49 appearances, including 10 goals and nine assists during a standout sophomore campaign that resulted in All-ACC Second Team honors.
Barber made his preseason debut on Saturday, logging 30 minutes of action as Sporting posted a 4-0 win over Phoenix Rising FC at Wild Horse Pass in Chandler, Arizona.
“I’ll always remember Grayson being an incredibly competitive player here in our academy," Vermes said in January. "Then he went to a very good program at Clemson and we kept an eye on him. (Technical Director) Brian Bliss and I were looking at game film of his and I said, ‘Man, he’s taken his game to another level.’ I can see his skillset having an impact in MLS.”
