Rumor: Kyle Zajec to sign Homegrown player contract with New York Red Bulls

The forces behind the @DMVSoccer96 Twitter account - close followers of DC, Maryland, and Virginia area soccer - have tipped Kyle Zajec to be among the next cohort of New York Red Bulls Homegrown player signings.

Zajec is on many observers’ RBNY HGP watch-lists, but DMV Soccer is not out to make a name for itself on the rumor mill - it mostly records and recounts the achievements of up-and-coming prospects in the region it covers. And the account’s contention that Zajec has signed with The Krahling Sports Agency is confirmed by the agency’s website, where he is listed as a client.

UPDATE: DMV Soccer has since deleted its Tweet about Zajec, perhaps indicating a change of heart about its prediction he is RBNY-bound.

The midfielder clearly intends to turn pro, and RBNY has long appeared to be encouraging that ambition. Prior to his freshman year at college in 2015, the long-time Red Bulls Academy prospect made a handful of appearances for the freshly-formed NYRB II in USL.

He summered with the RBNY U-23s in PDL in 2016, 2017, and 2018. He has been RBNY-connected since he was 13, and his signing would fit the club’s current commitment to developing its own talent.

Zajec is not the sort of player whose work on the field is necessarily reflected by goals and assists - though he did tally four goals and seven assists in 21 appearances in his last college season with Georgetown. Nor has he much troubled US Youth National Team selectors over the years. But he’s stepping off a production line that has served RBNY well in recent seasons: Alex Muyl, Brandon Allen, Arun Basuljevic, and Chris Lema have all moved from the club’s academy to Georgetown to pro contracts within the RBNY MLS-USL complex.

No great surprise if Zajec follows his fellow academy and Georgetown alums’ on the path to RBNY. If he does sign, he won’t be expected to compete for first-team minutes right away: he looks a likely candidate for a rookie season with the II team in USL, though if he’s signed to a homegrown contract, he’ll technically be part of the MLS roster.