Sporting Kansas City signed 19-year-old defender Kevin Ellis as the second Home Grown Player in club history on Friday.

Ellis is a product of the Sporting Kansas City Juniors academy and was presented at a press conference, sponsored by Providence Medical Center, at the team's Swope Park Training Center.

Ellis was brought through the Sporting Kansas City Juniors academy for the last four years, highlighted by his participation with the Under-17 team in the inaugural SUM Cup in 2007 and most recently in the Kansas State Cup and Region II Regionals with the Under-19 team last year.

At the 2007 SUM U-17 Cup in Colorado, Ellis scored two goals in back-to-back minutes of the second half of the group finale against FC Dallas to lead the team to a 3-2 comeback victory. The Juniors then advanced to the championship match in the inaugural event with Ellis in the starting lineup throughout the tournament.