Live updates: Lexington Sporting Club reveals roster, schedule for first year in USL League One

It’s only a matter of weeks until Lexington’s newest pro sports franchise makes its debut.

Lexington Sporting Club — a soccer franchise created in October 2021 that will field a senior men’s team in USL League One, the third tier of American pro soccer — will play its first-ever game at that level on Saturday, March 18, and its first home game on Saturday, April 8.

As part of the build-up to LSC’s debut, the club has slowly revealed the players on its roster for this inaugural season.

Unlike teams in Major League Soccer — the highest level of professional men’s soccer in the United States — there is no expansion draft for new clubs entering USL League One, like Lexington Sporting Club.

As such, the club’s roster for its first season will be comprised of players who arrive via signings or via LSC’s own academy.

As the signings continue to be announced and LSC’s debut match inches closer, use this page to keep track of every new Lexington Sporting Club signing, as well as news about the club’s 2023 schedule and where home matches will be played.

LSC roster news

Here’s a complete look at the players who have been announced as part of the Lexington Sporting Club roster, sorted by position.

Goalkeepers

▪ Amal Knight (age 29)

Knight is listed only as a goalkeeper.

The Jamaican previously played with San Diego Loyal in the USL Championship, the second tier of American pro soccer, and with FC Tucson in USL League One.

Knight also has playing experience in the top division of the Jamaican domestic league, and he’s played in several international matches with the senior Jamaica Men’s National Team.

Defenders

▪ Kaelon Fox (age 27)

Fox is listed at three positions: Center back, right back and central defensive midfielder.

A Louisville native, Fox previously played youth soccer for Javanon SC and Lexington FC, and won a pair of high school state titles at St. Xavier High School in Louisville.

Fox played college soccer at UK and Saint Francis (Pennsylvania), and has previous professional experience in Iceland and with FC Tucson in USL League One.

Fox was the first signing officially announced by LSC.

▪ Owen Green (age 24)

Green is listed at two positions: Right back and right wingback.

Born in England but raised in Miami, Green played college soccer at Florida International and last played with South Georgia Tormenta FC in USL League One.

Green was part of the Tormenta team that won the USL League One championship last season. He made 14 starts and played in 27 total matches during that title-winning season.

▪ Diallo Irakoze (age 21)

Irakoze is listed at two positions: Right back and midfielder.

While he was born in the east African country of Tanzania, Irakoze is a local presence on the inaugural LSC team.

Irakoze was raised in Lexington and played youth soccer for Lexington FC and high school soccer at Bryan Station High School.

He spent one season playing college soccer at Louisville before joining Metro Louisville FC in the United Premier Soccer League.

Irakoze was part of LSC’s first USL Academy team last fall, impressing enough to earn a professional contract.

▪ Kimball Jackson (age 18)

Jackson is listed as both a center back and an outside back.

A Lexingtonian, Jackson was a part of MLS club FC Cincinnati’s MLS NEXT Under-19 team, and graduated from Lafayette High School.

Jackson spent the 2022 season at Xavier University, but didn’t play.

▪ Franky Martinez (age 27)

Martinez is listed as a center back and outside back.

Martinez, a New York City native, played college soccer at Iona and Massachusetts-Lowell before being selected in the third round of the 2019 MLS SuperDraft by Sporting Kansas City.

His professional career has featured stops at Los Angeles Force, Stumptown AC and Chattanooga FC, all of the National Independent Soccer Association (NISA).

▪ Tate Robertson (age 25)

Robertson is listed at two positions: Right back and central midfielder.

Robertson previously played in both USL League Two (a pre-professional league) and the NISA.

He played his college soccer at Bowling Green State before embarking on a pro career that has featured stops at Dayton Dutch Lions (USL League Two) and Stumptown AC and Chattanooga FC of NISA.

Attackers

▪ Khalid Balogun (age 24)

Balogun is listed at three positions: Center attacking midfielder, center forward and winger.

Balogun spent time with MLS Club D.C. United’s youth academy before going to NCAA Division III St. Mary’s College (Maryland), where he scored 37 goals in 66 matches.

Recently, the 6-4 Balogun played three seasons for Maryland Bobcats FC in the NISA.

▪ Will Baynham (age 25)

Baynham is listed only as a striker.

Born in Australia, Baynham played youth soccer in England with the academy of English Premier League team AFC Bournemouth, before playing college soccer in the United States at Yavapai College (Arizona) and California-Santa Barbara.

The 6-3 Baynham scored in three consecutive NCAA Tournament matches for UCSB in 2019, and previously spent two seasons playing in Scotland’s lower divisions with Queen’s Park FC.

▪ Nico Brown (age 24)

Brown is listed as both a left wing and right wing.

A native of Baltimore, Maryland, Brown’s youth soccer career included time in the academy system of MLS club D.C. United, as well as time with the Jamaican national team at the under-17 level.

Brown played college soccer at Loyola University Maryland, and has spent his professional career to date with Maryland Bobcats (NISA) and Greenville Triumph (USL League One).

▪ Ates Diouf (age 22)

Diouf is listed at two positions: Midfielder and winger.

Born in Senegal, Diouf played last season for San Antonio FC in the USL Championship. San Antonio won the USL Championship title, defeating Louisville City FC in the final.

Diouf has also played in the United States for Orlando City B (USL League One) and Austin Bold (USL Championship).

▪ Phila Dlamini (age 23)

Dlamini is listed as a midfielder.

Born in South Africa, Dlamini has played for the South African Under-20 National Team and NCAA Division II school Saginaw Valley State (Michigan).

▪ Seo-in Kim (age 27)

Kim is listed only as a central midfielder.

Kim, who goes by “Soso,” is a native of South Korea who was raised in Kansas.

He made three appearances for the reserve team of MLS club Sporting Kansas City, and later played college soccer at Duke and California-Santa Barbara.

Kim’s professional playing experience includes time with Oakland Roots (now of the USL Championship) as well as clubs in the Czech Republic and Malta.

▪ Charlie Machell (age 28)

Machell is listed as a midfielder.

An Englishman from Newcastle, Machell began his playing career with the youth academy of English Premier League club Newcastle United. He then came to the United States and played college soccer for NCAA Division II school Wingate University (North Carolina) and NCAA Division I school East Tennessee State.

As a professional, Machell has played in Cambodia, Denmark, the Faroe Islands, Malaysia and Singapore.

Along with Fox, Machell played the 2022 season with FC Tucson of USL League One.

▪ Pierre Mané (age 24)

Mané is listed only as a midfielder.

Born in Senegal, Mané played college soccer at both Pittsburgh and Virginia Commonwealth.

Mané spent time during the 2021 season with the FC Florida’s under-23 team in USL League Two.

▪ Drew Patterson (age 21)

Patterson is listed as a center forward and winger.

The 6-3 New Jersey native played college soccer at Marist College (New York) and Cal Poly.

Last season, Patterson played for Cedar Stars Rush in USL League Two.

Coaching staff

▪ Sam Stockley (head coach)

Stockley is the head coach of the senior men’s team that will play in USL League One, and also serves as the men’s sporting director for LSC.

Stockley was born in England and played professional soccer for nearly two decades in England, Hungary and the United States.

Stockley has been a part of the LSC project since the beginning: When the club was first announced in October 2021, he was appointed as sporting director.

▪ Nacho Novo (assistant coach, under-23 team head coach)

Of all the coaches and players that will be a part of LSC’s debut season, Novo owns by far the most distinguished playing career.

Born in Galicia, an autonomous community in northwestern Spain, Novo played professionally as a forward for two decades in England, Northern Ireland, Poland, Scotland, Spain and the United States.

He’s best known for his time with Rangers — one of the biggest soccer teams in the world — in Scotland. While there, Novo helped Rangers reach the UEFA Cup (now Europa League) finals and scored twice in a win over Celtic in the Old Firm Derby, one of the oldest and most storied rivalry matches in club soccer.

Novo also scored for Rangers during the group stage of the Champions League in 2009.

▪ Warren Goodhind (assistant coach, associate head coach of USL Academy team)

Born in South Africa, Goodhind had an extensive professional playing career in England for more than 15 years.

In addition to being an assistant coach with LSC’s senior men’s team in USL League One, Goodhind will also serve as the men’s technical director for Lexington Sporting Club.

▪ Connor Talbot (goalkeeping coach)

Raised in South Carolina, Talbot played college soccer at NCAA Division II schools Mars Hill University (North Carolina) and Lynn University (Florida).

Talbot then played professionally in Texas and has held coaching positions with Austin Bold (USL Championship) and the U.S. Virgin Islands Men’s National Team.

Most recently, Talbot was the junior director of coaching at Lonestar Soccer Club, a youth soccer program in Austin, Texas.

Talbot is the head of goalkeeping for the entirety of LSC.

▪ Taylor Spyker (head athletic trainer)

LSC’s head athletic trainer is Taylor Spyker, who is working with the club through its collaboration with UK HealthCare Sports Medicine.

Spyker will be the primary athletic trainer for the USL League One team, and she will also oversee all LSC medical staff, including youth and academy teams.

Spyker was previously a senior athletic trainer at UK who worked with the men’s and women’s soccer programs.

LSC schedule news

Here’s a complete look at what we know so far about Lexington Sporting Club’s 2023 schedule.

Match dates and opponents for the 2023 season have been announced, but match times have not.

▪ Saturday, March 18: One Knoxville SC vs. Lexington SC (Regal Soccer Stadium in Knoxville, Tennessee).

▪ Saturday, April 1: North Carolina FC vs. Lexington SC (WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, North Carolina).

▪ Saturday, April 8: Lexington SC vs. Forward Madison FC (TBD).

▪ Saturday, April 15: Lexington SC vs. South Georgia Tormenta FC (TBD).

▪ Saturday, April 22: Lexington SC vs. Greenville Triumph SC (TBD).

▪ Saturday, April 29: Chattanooga Red Wolves SC vs. Lexington SC (CHI Memorial Stadium in East Ridge, Tennessee).

▪ Saturday, May 13: Lexington SC vs. Charlotte Independence (TBD).

▪ Saturday, May 20: Richmond Kickers vs. Lexington SC (City Stadium in Richmond, Virginia).

▪ Saturday, May 27: Lexington SC vs. One Knoxville SC (TBD).

▪ Saturday, June 3: Lexington SC vs. Northern Colorado Hailstorm FC (TBD).

▪ Saturday, June 10: South Georgia Tormenta FC vs. Lexington SC (Optim Sports Medicine Field in Statesboro, Georgia).

▪ Wednesday, June 14: Lexington SC vs. Chattanooga Red Wolves SC (TBD).

▪ Sunday, June 18: North Carolina FC vs. Lexington SC (WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, North Carolina).

▪ Thursday, June 22: Forward Madison FC vs. Lexington SC (Breese Stevens Field in Madison, Wisconsin).

▪ Sunday, July 2: Lexington SC vs. South Georgia Tormenta FC (TBD).

▪ Sunday, July 9: Charlotte Independence vs. Lexington SC (American Legion Memorial Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina).

▪ Saturday, July 15: Central Valley Fuego FC vs. Lexington SC (Fresno State Soccer Stadium in Fresno, California).

▪ Saturday, July 22: Lexington SC vs. Union Omaha (TBD).

▪ Saturday, July 29: Lexington SC vs. Richmond Kickers (TBD).

▪ Wednesday, Aug. 2: Union Omaha vs. Lexington SC (Werner Park in Papillion, Nebraska).

▪ Saturday, Aug. 5: Northern Colorado Hailstorm FC vs. Lexington SC (Future Legends Complex in Windsor, Colorado).

▪ Saturday, Aug. 12: Lexington SC vs. Central Valley Fuego FC (TBD).

▪ Friday, Aug. 18: One Knoxville SC vs. Lexington SC (Regal Soccer Stadium in Knoxville, Tennessee).

▪ Saturday, Aug. 26: Lexington SC vs. Richmond Kickers (TBD).

▪ Friday, Sept. 1: Lexington SC vs. Greenville Triumph SC (TBD).

▪ Wednesday, Sept. 6: Northern Colorado Hailstorm FC vs. Lexington SC (Future Legends Complex in Windsor, Colorado).

▪ Sunday, Sept. 10: Central Valley Fuego FC vs. Lexington SC (Fresno State Soccer Stadium in Fresno, California).

▪ Saturday, Sept. 16: Lexington SC vs. Charlotte Independence (TBD).

▪ Saturday, Sept. 23: Lexington SC vs. Chattanooga Red Wolves SC (TBD).

▪ Saturday, Sept. 30: Forward Madison FC vs. Lexington SC (Breese Stevens Field in Madison, Wisconsin).

▪ Saturday, Oct. 7: Lexington SC vs. North Carolina FC (TBD).

▪ Saturday, Oct. 14: Greenville Triumph SC vs. Lexington SC (Paladin Stadium in Greenville, South Carolina).

LSC home stadium, ticket news

There has been no official announcement yet from LSC on where the club will play its home matches during the 2023 season.

Potential options for a home venue include the Wendell and Vickie Bell Soccer Complex (home to UK men’s and women’s soccer) and Pat Deacon Stadium (home to Transylvania University men’s and women’s soccer).

Thomas Field, which is also located on the campus of Transylvania University, will be the practice facility for LSC for the 2023 season.

According to LSC, the initial 2,500 ticket allotment for fans is sold out, but fans can still sign up for the ticket waitlist at lexsporting.com/ticketwaitlist.