Sporting KC signs three Sporting KC II players to short-term loans ahead of Tuesday’s Open Cup home match
Sporting Kansas City announced today that the club has taken three players on short-term loan from Sporting Kansas City II ahead of Tuesday’s home game of the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup against Tulsa Athletic: defender Mo Abualnadi, midfielder Ethan Bryant and midfielder Sebastian Cruz.
Sporting will begin their hunt for a record-breaking fifth US Open Cup title in Tuesday’s third round when they host Tulsa Athletic of the fourth tier of the National Premier Soccer League. Kick-off at Children’s Mercy Park is scheduled for 7:30pm CT and tickets are available at SeatGeek.com, including a buy and get one offer that includes entry to both the Open Cup game and Sporting’s home MLS game against CF Montreal grants Saturday.
A native of Overland Park, Kansas, Abualnadi developed at Sporting KC Academy from 2017-2019 and recorded four USL championship appearances for Sporting KC II in spring 2019 before beginning a four-year collegiate career with the Atlantic Coast Conference. He spent two seasons each at Notre Dame (2019-2020) and Pittsburgh (2021-2022) and made 59 appearances in central defense, including two goals and two assists. Abualnadi trained with Sporting KC’s first team in the 2023 pre-season and returned to Sporting KC II in February. The 22-year-old has featured in two of the club’s first five MLS NEXT Pro games this season.
Bryant joined Sporting II ahead of the 2023 MLS NEXT Pro campaign after winning USL League One Young Player of the Year as a Key Contributor for the Richmond Kickers in 2022. The Texas native began his professional career as a 16-year-old with San Antonio FC in the USL Championship, becoming the youngest player in club history in 2018 before briefly playing for Belgium’s KSV Roeselare in 2019. He then returned to San Antonio in 2020, was loaned to Richmond in 2021 and joined the club permanently in 2022, scoring three goals and five assists in the past year. The 21-year-old has scored in four appearances for Sporting KC II this season.
Cruz, who had three stellar seasons at Cal State Fullerton with a total of 17 goals and 13 assists in 56 starts from 2019-2022, returned to Kansas City this spring after developing at the Sporting KC Academy from 2016-2018. He represented Sporting at the U-16 through U-19 levels and also played seven games during the 2019 USL championship campaign with Sporting KC II. As a junior last fall, Cruz became the first Cal State Fullerton player to directly win the Big West Midfielder of the Year, and became the program’s first player to be named to United Soccer Coaches’ All-Far West Region First Team. With six assists and a team-high of eight goals, Cruz finished second in the Big West Conference goalscoring list as the first team pick of any conference. The 22-year-old has earned four starts for Sporting KC II this season, recording one goal and one assist.
Transaction: Sporting Kansas City (MLS) sign defender Mo Abualnadi, midfielder Ethan Bryant and midfielder Sebastian Cruz on short-term loans from Sporting Kansas City II (MLS NEXT Pro).
Mo Abualnadi (AH-bwahl NAH-dee)
number: 60
Position: defender
Born: 8/2/2001 (22 years old)
Height: 6-1
Weight: 165 pounds.
Hometown: Leawood, Kansas
Place of Birth: Overland Park, Kansas
Citizenship: USA, Jordan
Colleges: Notre Dame, Pittsburgh
Instagram: @moabualnadi
Ethan Bryant
number: 39
Position: Midfielder
Born: 08/20/2001 (21 years old)
Height: 5-11
Weight: 130 pounds.
Hometown: Longview, Texas
Place of birth: Longview, Texas
Citizenship: United States
Instagram: @ethan\briant\
Sebastian Cruz
Number: 98
Position: Midfielder
Born: 7/31/2000 (22 years old)
Height: 5-7
Weight: 150 pounds.
Hometown: Fresno, California
Place of Birth: Fresno, California
Citizenship: United States
College: Cal State Fullerton
Twitter: @Cruzs100
Instagram: @sebascruz_10