KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The Swope Park Rangers announced on Friday they had signed Sporting KC Academy products Felipe Hernandez and Will Little to USL contracts. Both players were part of the Rangers’ roster in 2016 while on Academy contracts, but have today signed full professional deals with the club, pending USL and federation approval.

“I’m very pleased to have signed my first professional contract with the Swope Park Rangers,” Hernandez said. “It’s always been an honor being a part of this organization and I’m very thankful for having the opportunity to stay here in Kansas City. I’d like to thank God, my family, my coaches and the whole Sporting KC organization for giving me this opportunity.”

"I am very excited to be starting my professional career with the Swope Park Rangers,” Little said. “I'm beyond blessed to be a part of this organization and I'd like to thank all my family, friends and coaches who have supported me and been by my side through it all."

“Felipe and Will are two very talented players that are part of a group of Academy players that we are going to give a chance to this season,” Swope Park Rangers Head Coach Nikola Popovic said. “Felipe is a dynamic midfielder with good vision, with the capacity to contribute in the final third. Will is a player who can explore the right channel with speed and he’s a player with a very good mentality that can be used in several positions on the wing.”

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Hernandez, 18, joined the Sporting KC Academy ahead of the 2014-15 U.S. Soccer Development Academy season after playing for Sporting Nashville Heroes – an Academy affiliate through the Sporting Club Network. The creative midfielder has been a key member of the Under-18 side the last two seasons, making 27 appearances and scoring six goals in the 2015-16 season before bagging another seven goals in nine games so far in the 2016-17 campaign.

Born in Ibague, Colombia but raised in Nashville, Tenn., Hernandez represented the U.S. Under-19 National Team at the Stevan Vilotic-Cele tournament in Subotica, Serbia in late August and has also taken part in two U.S. U-19s training camps in Chula Vista, Calif. (Oct. 3-10) and Sunrise, Fla. (Nov. 5-14). Hernandez signed an Academy contract with the Rangers on Aug. 18 but did not make an appearance.

Little is also a Tennessee native, relocating from Johnson City to Kansas City in January 2015 after being identified by Sporting Nashville Heroes. The 18-year-old signed an Academy contract with the Rangers prior to the start of the 2016 season and went on to make nine total appearances for SPR after making his professional debut on his 18th birthday against San Antonio FC on April 9.

Since the start of the 2015-16 season, Little has scored 13 goals in 34 games for the U-18s, including three strikes in 11 appearances so far in the 2016-17 season. The winger played a key role in the U-18s run to the USSDA Playoff Quarterfinals over the summer, starting all four games and scoring twice in the group stage.