Sporting Kansas City II announced today that the club has acquired 19-year-old Honduran forwards Keny Martinez and Alenis Vargas on loan from Costa Rican side Fútbol Consultants Desamparados for the 2023 season.
Martinez and Vargas will be added to the Sporting KC II roster pending completion of the immigration process. Both players have spent the 2022-23 season with FC Desamparados in the Costa Rican second division.
Martinez, a striker who has trained periodically with the Honduras U-20 Men's National Team, has over three years of professional experience in Costa Rica. He is a product of the prestigious Academia Internacional de Fútbol Leones, a Honduran soccer academy in San Pedro Sula, the hometown of Sporting KC midfielder Roger Espinoza. Vargas, a versatile winger, is another emerging talent from the Honduran ranks who has multiple years of professional competition under his belt.
Led by second-year head coach and longtime Sporting Kansas City great Benny Feilhaber, Sporting KC II will return to Rock Chalk Park in Lawrence, Kansas, on Sunday to host LAFC2 at 5 p.m. CT. Tickets for the match are only $10 and available at SeatGeek.com.
With Martinez and Vargas slated to join, Sporting KC II has 20 players signed to MLS NEXT Pro professional contracts for the 2023 campaign.
Sporting KC II Roster
(Players under MLS NEXT Pro contracts as of April 3, 2023)
- Goalkeepers (1): Ethan Bandre
- Defenders (8): Mo Abualnadi, Aljaz Dzankic, Coby Jones, Mikey Lenis, Nassim Mekideche, Jahon Rad, Lucas Rosa, Diedie Traore
- Midfielders (4): Ethan Bryant, Josh Coan, Sebastian Cruz, Enzo Mauriz
- Forwards (7): Bakary Bagayoko, Andrew Draper, Keny Martinez, Yeison Mejia, Amadou Traore, Alenis Vargas, Pau Vidal
Transaction: Sporting Kansas City II acquires forwards Keny Martinez and Alenis Vargas on loan from Fútbol Consultants Desamparados (Costa Rica) for the 2023 season.
VITALS
Keny Martinez
Position: Forward
Birthdate: 3/2/2004 (19 years old)
Height: 5-11
Weight: 163 lbs.
Nationality: Honduras
Alenis Vargas
Position: Forward
Birthdate: 12/4/2003 (19 years old)
Height: 6-2
Weight: 176 lbs.
Nationality: Honduras
