Cameron Iwasa is making the jump from USL to MLS.
On Tuesday, Sporting Kansas City announced they had signed Iwasa, who scored a club-record 12 goals for Sacramento Republic FC last year to help the club finish first in the USL Western Conference.
A 2016 USL all-league second team honoree, the 23-year-old forward signed a one-year deal with SKC with options for 2018, 2019 and 2010.
“Cameron is a player we saw at the MLS Combine in 2015 and who we followed closely during his time at Sacramento,” SKC director of player personnel Brian Bliss said in a release. “We think that he is a player with a high upside who can contribute at multiple positions in the attack.”
Iwasa, a native of Sacramento, appeared in all 30 regular-season matches for his hometown club in 2016, including a team-record 27 straight starts to end the campaign. His 59 shot attempts and 31 shots on goal were also single-season Sacramento records.
The Montreal Impact selected Iwasa in the fourth round of the 2015 MLS SuperDraft but didn't sign him. The forward inked his first professional contract with Sacramento and ended 2015 with one goal and one assist in 17 regular-season appearances as a rookie.
Before that, he logged 23 goals and 14 assists during four seasons at UC Irvine. As a senior, he was named a 2014 MAC Hermann Trophy semifinalist after recording six goals and six assists while helping the Anteaters advance to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament.
The move comes a day after SKC acquired Christian Volesky, another young forward who found recent success in the USL. Volesky, the top scorer for the Rochester Rhinos last year, came over in a trade with the Portland Timbers.
