Sporting Kansas City II has signed Academy players Daniel Gutierrez and Coby Jones to Academy contracts, the club announced today. Both players will retain their NCAA eligibility while being registered to compete in USL Championship matches with Sporting II.
Gutierrez, 17, joined the Sporting KC Academy in the summer of 2018 and has been playing up with the Under-19 squad during the current MLS Next season. The Oklahoma City native, who can play either as an attacking midfielder or as a winger, has spent significant time training with SKC II, making appearances for the side during the 2021 preseason.
On the international stage, Gutierrez has been a regular member of the U.S. Youth National Teams, earning several call-ups to the U.S. Under-15 and Under-17 National Teams.
Jones, also 17, is a marauding left back who can also play on the wing. He first linked up with the SKC Academy in early 2016 and has since risen from the U-13 squad to the U-19s. Born in Topeka but raised in Olathe, Kansas, Jones helped the SKC Academy U-13s win the 2017 Kansas State Cup, assisting the game-winning goal in the final.
Jones was a member of the U-13 squad that led Sporting to a fourth-place finish at the Concacaf U-13 Champions League in Mexico City in July 2016.
Both Gutierrez and Jones came through the Sporting KC system in the same age-group as current Homegrown players Ozzie Cisneros and Kayden Pierre.
Sporting KC II returns to action tomorrow night when the team travels to take on OKC Energy FC at Taft Stadium in Oklahoma. The game is set to kick off at 7:30 p.m. CT on ESPN+.
VITALS
Daniel Gutierrez
Position: Forward
Born: 5/16/2004 (17 years old)
Height: 5-5
Weight: 125 lbs.
Hometown: Oklahoma City, Okla.
Birthplace: Oklahoma City, Okla.
Citizenship: USA
Twitter: @Dannyguti91
Instagram: @dannygutierrez91
VITALS
Coby Jones
Position: Defender
Born: 8/15/2003 (17 years old)
Height: 5-8
Weight: 145 lbs.
Hometown: Olathe, Kan.
Birthplace: Topeka, Kan.
Citizenship: USA
Instagram: @cobyjones9
