Sporting Kansas City II has signed 2020 MLS SuperDraft selection Jaret Townsend, the club announced today. Townsend was selected by Sporting KC in the Third Round of this year’s SuperDraft and will be added to the Sporting II roster pending league and federation approval.
Townsend, 22, spent the first portion of preseason with Sporting KC before joining Sporting II when the USL Championship side’s preseason began in early February. He played 30 minutes for the first team against Phoenix Rising FC trialists, before heading to Sporting II and earning a penalty in a preseason friendly against OKC Energy FC and scoring against Iowa Western Community College.
Townsend started 42 of 75 career appearances in four seasons at the University of Washington from 2016-2019, helping the Huskies reach the quarterfinals of the NCAA Division I Men’s Soccer Championship last month. The midfielder’s standout senior campaign was highlighted by a career-best seven goals, including two in the 2019 NCAA Tournament.
A member of the 2019 Pac-12 Fall Academic Honor Roll, Townsend guided Washington to a 17-4 regular season record and a Pac-12 regular season title last fall. The Huskies advanced to the NCAA Tournament in each of his four seasons in Seattle, posting identical 12-7-1 records in 2017 and 2018 after going 14-7 in 2016.
Raised in Highlands Ranch, Colorado, Townsend competed in the Real Colorado Academy as a youth, where he was coached by current Sporting Kansas City II assistant coach Chris Martinez. He joined the U.S. Soccer Residency Program in Bradenton, Florida, in 2014 and represented the U.S. at the U-17 level. He also played for the Colorado Rapids U-23s in USL League Two (formerly the Premier Development League) in 2017 and Crossfire Premier of the National Premier Soccer League last summer.
VITALS
Jaret Townsend
Position: Midfielder
Born: 1/29/1998 (22 years old)
Height: 5-10
Weight: 160 lbs.
College: University of Washington
Hometown: Highlands Ranch, Colorado
Birthplace: Highlands Ranch, Colorado
Citizenship: USA
Twitter: @jaret_townsend
Instagram: @jarettownsend
