On Tuesday, defender Matt Besler was named the best soccer player of all-time from the state of Kansas by TopDrawerSoccer.com and it's that type of national notoriety that earned the Sporting Kansas City captain a spot on the "20 in their twenties" list in this month's edition of Ingram's magazine. The business publication annually features the next generation of prominent personalities in the Kansas City area and selected Besler as one of two professional athletes for this year's recognition along with Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Chase Daniel.
"In some ways, 27-year-old Matt Besler is the personification of soccer's growth in Kansas City over the past decade. He graduated from Blue Valley West High School in 2005, where his senior season ended with a Class 5A state championship. That was a year before the current owners of Sporting Kansas City bought the pro soccer team from founder Lamar Hunt. Before those two dots could be connected, Besler went on to become an All-American defender at Notre Dame, as well as Academic All-American -- the first player in Notre Dame's history to earn both accolades. The hometown boy came full circle when Sporting, then known as the Wizards, drafted Besler with the eighth pick in 2008. Since then, he's become a household name in Kansas City soccer circles, winning the team's Defender of the Year honors three times and playing on the U.S. team in the FIFA World Cup earlier this year.
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In 2012, Sporting Kansas City's Chief Revenue Officer Jake Reid was amongst those honored in the "20 in their twenties" series. Readers can recommend candidates for next year's class (those younger than 30 as of Sept. 1, 2015 are eligible) by submitting a nomination to editorial@ingrams.com.
