13-Year-Old Soccer Phenom Becomes Youngest Pro in American Sports History

Da’vian Kimbrough is charting his own path on the soccer field.

On Tuesday, Kimbrough became the youngest professional soccer player (13 years, 5 months and 13 days) in the United States when he signed a professional contract with the USL’s Sacramento Republic FC. The 13-year-old phenom also became the youngest pro athlete among North American professional sports that include the NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL and WNBA.

That title was previously held by New York City FC’s Maximo Carrizo, who signed with the club at age 14 in February ’22.

Kimbrough, a forward, joined Republic FC’s youth academy in 2021 at age 11. Over the past two seasons on Sacramento’s U-13 and U-14 teams of the MLS Next league, Kimbrough registered 61 goals in 81 matches.

As he enters his third season, Kimbrough will be eligible to compete on the club’s first-team roster in USL Championship matches. Todd Dunivant, president and general manager of Republic FC, said in a statement that Kimbrough’s journey is “just beginning.”

“He is a remarkable talent who has committed to his dream of becoming an elite player, from competing with players in older age groups, thriving at top competitions, to stepping on to the first team training grounds,” Dunivant said. “We are honored that the Kimbrough family and Da’vian have chosen Republic FC to support his professional pathway, and we look forward to taking the next steps together.”

Recently, Kimbrough made headlines for his play in the Bassevelde U-13 Cup, a respected youth tournament that includes clubs such as Juventus, West Ham and Benfica. In the tournament, Kimbrough was a guest player for the MLS’s Red Bulls, helping the club become the first MLS team to win the tournament while also securing MVP honors.

Per the approval of the federation and the league, the 5’11” Kimbrough could make his professional debut as soon as Saturday against Birmingham Legion FC.