One of the best players in the 2015 class of New York Red Bulls Academy graduates has begun his professional soccer career. Defender Kyle Duncan signed with French Ligue 2 club Valenciennes FC.

I'm happy to say that yesterday I officially signed with Pro club Valenciennes FC in France. This is only the start. pic.twitter.com/MMOSqR6OK5

— Kyle Duncan (@Undefined_KcaLm) October 15, 2025

Duncan was routinely listed as one of the best players in the U-18 age group along with Juan Sebastian Sanchez and Derrick Etienne. He has been a frequent call up to various United States youth national teams and was recently with the U-20s in September at the Stevan Vilotic-Cele Tournament hosted by Serbia.

Les Atheniens finished in 16th last season and are currently in 13th with 12 points from 10 matches. They're located in the north of France in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region and play at the 25,000 seat Stade du Hainaut.

Obviously, we'd all prefer every Academy player stayed with the organization as professionals, but that's not going to happen. Some players want to pursue their dreams of playing abroad.

Was Duncan offered a Homegrown contract? Was he offered a New York Red Bulls II contract? We'll never know (unless we find out, obviously), but hopefully in the future more top youth players will stay with the club.

Best of luck to Kyle in France and with the national team. Hopefully he crosses paths with the Red Bulls again after a long, successful career in Europe and is welcomed back with open arms.