FanPost
Jacob Bartlett isn’t your average rising sophomore at Notre Dame.
Born and raised in Overland Park, Kansas, Bartlett is the youngest of a soccer-hungry group of siblings. His brother Alec (32) played college soccer at Creighton and Drake before going pro with USL sides Des Moines Menace and Charlotte Independence from 2013 to 2016, his sister Grace (21) is entering her final year with Grand Canyon University’s soccer team, and his brother Lucas (27) is starting in central defense for MLS side D.C. United.
Bartlett joined Sporting Kansas City’s academy at the age of 12 and ascended the youth set-up with remarkable ease; by the time he was 14, he was regularly traveling across the country to compete in youth tournaments. Two years later, he was training with the first team and on the fringes of action in MLS. He went on SKC’s 2023 preseason tour and regularly trained with the senior team, before graduating high school in 2024 and enrolling at Notre Dame.
It looked set to be an exciting opportunity for Bartlett, who moved to Indiana to compete for the Fighting Irish on an athletic scholarship. Playing as a midfielder and a defender, Bartlett played 16 times for Notre Dame, starting in eight of them in his brief tenure with the university. When Sporting Kansas City came calling during the winter break and offered him a professional contract, Bartlett decided to return home and play for his boyhood club.
“My time at Notre Dame was very special,” stated Bartlett. “I was very blessed to have the opportunity to go play under coach Chad Riley and I can’t thank that coaching staff enough as well as everyone in the university staff as well as the players. I had such a blast there. I also think I grew as a player and a person there that I’d never been really on my own, and to go away for college for six months, I think it was very much needed for me to mature and grow as a personal as well as a player. I’ve made relationships that hopefully will last a lifetime there, but when you’re a kid, you dream of becoming a professional soccer player, and for that to be on the table for my family and me, it was a no brainer.”
Bartlett is no longer competing for Notre Dame’s soccer team, but competing in the #1 professional soccer league in the USA. He made his first-team debut on February 19, going up against Inter Miami, who had achieved the best regular season record in MLS the previous season. Facing off against legendary soccer stars like Lionel Messi, Sergio Busquets and Luis Suarez, Bartlett held his own in midfield, completing 7 out of 8 long balls and lasting the full 90 minutes.
He’s parlayed that into an impressive first season in MLS, becoming one of the first names on the team sheet and continuously going the full 90 more often than not. In total, the 19-year-old has racked up 21 appearances for Kansas City, who are hovering just outside of the final playoff spots. And yet, whilst he’s emerging as a key figure at the holding midfield position for SKC, he’s also holding it down from an academic standpoint, transitioning into online classes at Notre Dame.
“Continuing my education at Notre Dame was a non negotiable for my parents, so I’m incredibly blessed to have that opportunity to do that. I was looking to go down the Pre-Law track but right now, my major is in finance and I’m getting a minor in constitutional studies. I don’t know if we’ll continue, but we’ll see.”
“I’m easing into the classes so far, trying to keep the the balance between soccer and in school at a good level. It also gives me something to take my mind off soccer. If I have a tough training, I can go and focus on schoolwork or do something else. But it’s definitely helping me continue to mature and grow and keeping me disciplined.”