Sporting Kansas City II announced today that the club has signed 22-year-old winger Roberto Hategan to an MLS NEXT Pro professional contract ahead of the 2024 campaign.
Hategan joins Sporting KC II following a successful 2023 MLS NEXT Pro season with San Jose Earthquakes II, where he tallied four goals and two assists to help the team finish sixth in the Western Conference and reach the playoffs.
Hategan opened his San Jose scoring account with the lone goal in a 1-0 win over eventual league champions Austin FC II on May 19, then scored his second goal to spark a shootout victory over rivals LA Galaxy II on June 29. The latter half of the season saw Hategan score in separate matches against MNUFC2, including a decisive winner in a 1-0 result on July 29. He finished the year with starts in 13 of 26 MLS NEXT Pro appearances.
Born in Chicago to Romanian parents, Hategan grew up in California and joined the Sacramento Republic Academy as a teenager. While at Sacramento, he represented the United States U-16 and U-18 youth national teams, scoring twice with the U-18s.
At age 16, Hategan became the first Sacramento Republic academy player to sign with the club’s first team. He earned his USL Championship debut on Oct. 15, 2017, and logged his first start for Sacramento the following year in a 3-1 win over San Francisco City FC in the 2018 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup second round.
In 2019, Hategan ventured to Europe for a season with the reserve team of German side FC Nurnberg. He then returned to his family’s roots by signing with Romanian second-division outfit Politehnica Timisoara, where he had one goal and one assist in nine appearances during the 2021-22 season.
Hategan spent the first half of the 2022-23 campaign with Romanian club Unirea Bascov, where he exploded for seven goals in nine matches, before coming back to the United States for the 2023 MLS NEXT Pro season with Earthquakes II.
With the addition of Hategan, Sporting KC II has 10 players under MLS NEXT Pro professional contracts for the 2024 campaign, which will begin in March.
Sporting KC II Roster (as of January 2024):
- Defenders (3): Nati Clarke, Kortne Ford, Coby Jones
- Midfielders (3): Haris Alisah, Ethan Bryant, Sebastian Cruz
- Forwards (2): Roberto Hategan, Pau Vidal
Transaction: Sporting Kansas City II (MLS NEXT Pro) signs Roberto Hategan to an MLS NEXT Pro professional contract.
VITALS
Roberto Hategan
Position: Forward
Born: 4/26/2001 (22 years old)
Height: 5-10
Weight: 155 lbs.
Birthplace: Chicago, Illinois
Citizenship: USA, Romania
Instagram: @robertohategan
